NORMAL, Ill. – A dominant defensive effort by No. 3 North Dakota State resulted in a Homecoming defeat for Illinois State, as the Redbirds (2-4, 0-3 MVFC) could not take advantage offensively in the first half and the Bison (6-0, 3-0 MVFC) pulled away for a 20-0 win in front of 12,416 fans at Hancock Stadium Saturday afternoon.
How It Happened:
•   The Bison struck first on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Quincy Patterson to Christian Watson late in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead.
•   A 46-yard field goal as time expired on the first half by Jake Reinholz made it 10-0 in favor of the Bison as both teams headed to the locker room.
•   The third quarter saw both teams turn the ball over and neither scored until there was 5:41 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, when Reinholz hit his second field goal of the game this one from 24 yards to make it 13-0 NDSU.
•   A late 7-yard touchdown run by TaMerik Williams with 2:37 left in the game brought the score to its final at 20-0.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   Clayton Isbell's interception was his second of the season and fourth of his career at Illinois State.
•   Isbell tied for the team lead with nine tackles on the day, which also tied his career high at ISU.
•   Iverson Brown recorded the day's other interception, the first of his career at ISU.
•   Shanon Reid tied Isbell for the team lead with nine stops and Zeke Vandenburgh added seven on the day, to go along with 1.5 TFLs.
•   Dillon Gearhart recorded his first career sack in the contest as well to round out a gritty effort for the Redbird defense.
Up Next:
Illinois State will hit the road and fly to Vermillion, South Dakota, to take on the nationally ranked South Dakota Coyotes. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the DakotaDome.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
Â
