NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State offense turned the ball over seven times to South Dakota on Saturday afternoon and still had a chance late in the game to tie or win it, but the Coyotes (1-0, 1-0 MVFC) came up with an interception on the final drive to defeat the No. 7 ranked Redbirds (0-1, 0-1 MVFC) in the 2021 spring opener at Hancock Stadium.
How It Happened:
•   The Redbirds got off to a strong start, scoring the game's first 17 points with the first touchdown coming on a 1-yard fullback dive by senior Timothy McCloyn II to make it 7-0 late in the first quarter.
•   A 29-yard field goal by Aidan Bresnahan early in the second quarter then extended the ISU lead to 10-0 with 12:08 remaining before halftime.
•   ISU then took a 17-point lead on the next possession, when Bryce Jefferson connected with Taylor Grimes on a 59-yard touchdown pass with 9:15 left.
•   From there, it was all South Dakota as the Coyotes scored 27-straight points to take control of the game. Mason Lorber got things started with a 34-yard field goal with just over four minutes to play in the half.
•   A 23-yard touchdown pass from Carson Camp to Caleb Vander Esch then cut the lead to a touchdown with 2:21 remaining and the Coyotes tied the game heading to halftime on a 15-yard touchdown run by Camp with 13 seconds left on the scoreboard.
•   USD scored the only points of the third quarter on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Camp to Carter Bell that made the score 24-17 and then Lorber added his second field goal of the game, this one from 31 yards out, to make it 27-17 with 12:55 left in the contest.
•   A 25-yard field goal by Bresnahan with 10 minutes remaining in the game cut the deficit to a touchdown for the Redbirds, who had a shot to tie the game with under a minute to go but Jefferson was picked off in the end zone and the Coyotes took a knee to secure the 27-20 victory.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   The loss is the first in a home opener for the Redbirds under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack (now 11-1 in home openers).
•   Jefferson threw for a career-high 280 yards, including the 59-yard touchdown pass to Grimes, and rushed for 65 yards in the loss for the Redbirds.
•   Redshirt freshman Pha'leak Brown led the way on the ground for the Redbirds, recording 86 yards rushing with a long run of 24 yards.
•   Austin Nagel recorded a career-high 132 yards receivngi on five receptions, becoming the first Redbird wideout to post a 100-plus yard effort since Andrew Edgar put up 228 yards in a win in 2019 over Northern Arizona.
•   The 59-yard touchdown for Grimes was the second of his career at ISU.
•   McCloyn's 1-yard score was the first touchdown of his career.
•   The two field goals made by Bresnahan were his first two as a Redbird.
•   Newcomer Shanon Reid tied for the team lead with seven tackles, six of which were solo stops, and added a sack and two TFLs in his debut.
•   Nose tackle John Ridgeway tied with Reid and Kenton Wilhoit with seven tackles in the game with a TFL and the Redbirds' lone turnover that came after he tipped a ball at the line of scrimmage and brought it in for his first career interception.
•   Michael Gomez and Brandon Simon also added two TFLs each for the Redbirds, who recorded 12 in the contest.
Up Next:
Illinois State will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, next Saturday to take on the nationally ranked UNI Panthers with kickoff set for 4 p.m. at the UNI Dome.
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.
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