No. 9 Redbirds Fall To No. 7 South Dakota State 38-28

NORMAL, Ill. – A 21-point second-quarter scoring outburst by No. 7 South Dakota State (5-2, 3-2 MVFC) propelled the Jackrabbits to a 38-28 victory over the No. 9-ranked Illinois State Redbirds (5-3, 2-3 MVFC) at Hancock Stadium on a perfect football Saturday afternoon.

How It Happened:
•    South Dakota State scored on the opening drive, as quarterback Taryn Christion completed a 64-yard pass to Adam Anderson to take a 7-0 advantage with 13:27 remaining in the first quarter.
•    On ISU's first offensive play from scrimmage, quarterback Brady Davis found Andrew Edgar on an 81-yard pass to tie the game at 7-7 with 13:11 remaining in the first quarter.   
•    After a fumble gave the Jackrabbits the ball inside the ISU five yard line, SDSU running back Mikey Daniel pounded it in from five yards out to give the Jacks the lead once again at 14-7 with 4:39 left in the first half.
•    After another ISU turnover, Christion would go back to the air finding Jacob Brown for a five-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-7 with 2:24 left.            
•    Less than a minute later, Christion would strike again, as he found Cade Johnson for an 81-yard touchdown pass extending the lead to 28-7 with 1:27 to go and SDSU took that 21-point lead into the locker room at halftime.         
•    Daniel would score again for South Dakota State, as he would rush in from seven yards out for the touchdown to make the score 35-7 with 3:19 left in the third quarter.      
•    Illinois State backup quarterback Jake Kolbe would then throw a three-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Taula, the first of Taula's career, to cut the SDSU lead to 35-14 with 11:50 left in the game.         
•    South Dakota State kicker Chase Vinatieri would add to the Jackrabbits' lead by drilling a 48-yard field goal to make the lead 38-14 over the Redbirds with 5:41 left in the game.   
•    Kolbe would throw another touchdown pass, as he connected with Tylor Petkovich on a nine-yard touchdown pass to make the score 38-21 with 3:29 remaining in the game.   
•    Kolbe would throw one more late touchdown pass, as he found Edgar in the back of the end zone for 26-yard touchdown to bring the score to its final at 38-28.

Game Notes:    
•    Kolbe replaced the injured Davis at the half and finished the game 15-of-23 for 183 yards with three touchdowns … Davis completed 11-of-18 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown before the injury.     
•    Edgar led the team in receiving, as he finished with career-highs in receptions (9), yards (202) and touchdowns (2).
•    The 200-plus yard effort was the first for the Redbirds since Anthony Warrum hauled in 241 yards vs. South Dakota State on Nov. 7, 2015 … it was also Edgar's second 100-plus yard performance of the season.
•    Zackary Mathews led the Redbirds defensively with seven tackles including a tackle-for-loss. 
•    Willie Edwards forced the only turnover by the Jackrabbits, as he intercepted a pass in the end zone and added four tackles.  

Up Next:
Illinois State will be on the road next Saturday, as they travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to face Northern Iowa (4-4, 3-2 MVFC). Kickoff is set for 1 P.M. at the UNI Dome, and fans can listen to the game on WJBC AM 1230, 93.7 FM and on the TuneIn app.

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