Kolbe Named MVFC Offensive Player of the Week

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – For the second-straight week, Illinois State quarterback Jake Kolbe led his team to a win over top-15 ranked foe when he led the Redbirds to a 31-26 win on the road against No. 11 Western Illinois. For his efforts in the win over the Leathernecks, Kolbe was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week Sunday by the league office.

The weekly honor is the first for Kolbe in his career at ISU and the fourth for a Redbird player this season. Last week, center Mark Spelman was named the MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week and teammates Dalton Keene and Cameron Lee were also previously honored by the league office.

The sophomore signal-caller from Naperville, Illinois, tossed a career-high four touchdown passes and amassed 265 yards passing to lead the Redbirds to a big win over the Leathernecks. Kolbe connected with Anthony Warrum on a season-long 58-yard touchdown pass to get the scoring started, and also threw a 15-yard strike to Anthony Fowler to stake the Redbirds to a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. He later found Warrum again for a 50-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter and capped off his stellar day with a seven-yard score to Christian Gibbs late in the fourth quarter.

In the two wins over No. 7 South Dakota State and No. 11 Western Illinois, Kolbe has completed 33 of his 53 pass attempts (62.3) while throwing for over 400 yards and six touchdowns while not throwing an interception. He also moved over the 2,000 yard passing plateau for the season, becoming just the seventh quarterback in school history to top that mark in a single season.

Kolbe and the Redbirds will look to close out the regular season on a high note, when they host Missouri State next Saturday on Senior Day at Hancock Stadium.  Kickoff is slated for noon, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN3 as the Missouri Valley Conference Game of the Week.

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