NORMAL, Ill. – The 110th Mid-America Classic between Illinois State (2-1) and Eastern Illinois (0-3) was dominated by the Redbird defense, which scored twice on interceptions and forced five turnovers in a dominant 35-7 win over the Panthers Saturday night at Hancock Stadium in front of 8,208 raucous fans.
How It Happened:
•   A 17-yard touchdown pass from Zack Annexstad to J'Kalon Carter got things started for the Redbird offense, as ISU took a 7-0 lead with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
•   Just over three minutes later, Eastern Illinois answered the ISU touchdown when Jonah O'Brien found Dewayne Cooks from 11 yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
•   Annexstad tossed his second touchdown pass of the game, this time for 30 yards to Daniel Sobkowicz, to take back the lead for ISU at 14-7 with 6:25 left before halftime.
•   With just 1:09 left in the first half, Jeff Bowens grabbed a tipped pass by Jeremiah Jordan and ran it back 40 yards for the touchdown to extend the Redbird lead to 21-7 at the break.
•   The Redbird defense struck again early in the third quarter, when Deandre Lamont corralled a tipped pass by Zeke Vandenburgh at the 3-yard line and dove into the endzone for a touchdown to make it 28-7 with 12:11 left.
•   With 5:53 left in the third, Annexstad called his own number and ran it in from two yards out for the final score of the game to make it 35-7 in favor of the Redbirds.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   With the victory, Illinois State has now won five straight over Eastern Illinois and seven out of the last eight games overall in the Mid-America Classic.
•   ISU's win brings the advantage in the all-time series to 59-42-9 and ISU head coach Brock Spack improved to 9-4 against the Panthers in his tenure.
•   With the two defensive touchdowns tonight for the Redbirds, ISU has now scored at least one defensive touchdown in each of the last 14 seasons under head coach Brock Spack.
•   The touchdown catches by Carter and Sobkowicz were both the first of their careers at Illinois State.
•   Carter led the recievers with 56 yards on four receptions, with a long of 31 yards.
•   Sobkowicz had a career-best three catches for 49 yards, with a long of 30 yards.
•   Annexstad has now accounted for at least three touchdowns in each of the past two contests for the Redbirds, both games with two passing and one rushing score.
•   Reigning MVFC Defensive Player of the Week Zeke Vandenburgh had another stellar performance for the Redbirds, recording eight tackles, a sack, three tackles-for-loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
•   Jason Lewan and D'Marco Cross each added sacks as well for the Redbird defense, which totaled four on the night.
•   For the second week in a row, Franky West recorded an interception which was one of three for the ISU secondary.
Next Up:
Illinois State will have a bye next week, before opening Missouri Valley Football Conference action on October 1 against Southern Illinois with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. at Hancock Stadium. It will be Family Weekend at ISU, and 2022 College Football Hall of Fame selection Boomer Grigsby will be back for his on-campus salute.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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