CHARLESTON, Ill. – It was another highly competitive game in the always interesting Mid-America Classic Saturday night, as Illinois State took an early lead over Eastern Illinois, but the Redbirds (2-1) needed a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game to pick up a gritty win over the Panthers (0-4) in the 109th meeting of the storied rivalry. With the victory, ISU head coach Brock Spack picked up his 87th win at ISU to break the program's win record.
How It Happened:
•   The Redbirds got off to a quick start, scoring a touchdown on their first drive of the game after winning the toss and taking the opening kickoff … they would proceed to go on a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was capped off on a 15-yard touchdown run by Nigel White to make the score 7-0 early in the contest.
•   A 33-yard field goal by Aidan Bresnahan early in the second quarter extended the ISU advantage to 10-0.
•   The Panthers would answer on a 5-yard touchdown pass with just 20 seconds remaining before halftime to trim the ISU lead to 10-7.
•   The Redbird defense then got into the scoring act, as Jarrell Jackson picked off EIU quarterback Otto Kuhns and returned it 95 yards for the pick six to move the ISU lead back to 10 points at 17-7 with 10:51 to play in the third quarter.
•   A 44-yard field goal and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown by the Panthers quickly knotted up the game at 17-17 just a few minutes later.
•   Just 1:25 after the Panthers tied the game up, two strong runs by Cole Mueller, followed by a pair of facemask penalties on the Panthers helped move the ball down the field quickly and quarterback Jackson Waring capped off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to give the Redbirds the lead back at 24-17.
•   Early in the fourth quarter, EIU tied the game at 24-24 with 13:05 left in the contest.
•   Strong runs of 33 and 27 yards by Mueller once again set up the final scoring drive, after the Redbird defense forced a turnover on downs to get the ball back … Pha'leak Brown punched it in from three yards out to score the go-ahead touchdown with 1:54 left in the game.
•   The Redbird defense held and forced another turnover on downs, as Waring took a knee to seal the victory for ISU.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   The win for ISU head coach Brock Spack was his 87th, breaking the tie at 86 with Edwin Struck, making him the program's all-time wins leader (87-54 overall).
•   With the victory, the Redbirds have now won four-straight games against the Panthers and six out of the last seven games overall in the series … ISU's win improved their record in all-time series with EIU to 58-42-9.
•   Mueller had a career-high 144 yards on 16 carries in the victory for the Redbirds, with a long of 33 yards.
•   Waring picked up his first win as the Redbird quarterback and his rushing touchdown was the first score of his career at ISU.
•   Zeke Vandenburgh recorded a career-high 10 tackles for the Redbirds and added a sack to lead the defense.
•   Fellow linebacker Shannon Reid also finished with a career-high 10 stops in the win.
•   Transfer defensive lineman Braydon Deming had a career day as well, totaling 10 tackles with a sack and four TFLs.
Up Next:
Illinois State heads to Carbondale, Illinois, next Saturday to begin Missouri Valley Conference play against the Southern Illinois Salukis.
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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