ST. LOUIS – Illinois State linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh and quarterback Zack Annexstad helped lead the Redbirds to a big 35-7 win over longtime rival Eastern Illinois in the 110th meeting of the Mid-America Classic. For their efforts, each came away with Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors on Sunday as announced by the league.
Vandenburgh takes home MVFC Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and for the third time in his career, while Annexstad earned the first MVFC Newcomer of the Week honor in his time at Illinois State.
For the second week in a row, Vandenburgh disrupted the game for the Redbird defense, which was dominant in its big win over the Panthers. Vandenburgh's final line was extremely balanced, as he led the team with eight tackles, added a sack, three tackles-for-loss, recovered a fumble, had a pass breakup that led to an interception for a touchdown and was credited with two quarterback hurries. In total, the Redbird defense forced five turnovers on the night (3 INT, 2 FR), recorded four sacks and had 11 tackles-for-loss. On the season, Vandenburgh is averaging 10 tackles per game and has racked up five sacks and seven tackles-for-loss.
Annexstad accounted for three touchdowns for the Redbirds against the Panthers as he threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for another in the victory over EIU. It marked the second-straight game that Annexstad and two passing scores and a running score for the Redbirds. The transfer from Minnesota had touchdown throws of 17 and 30 yards and called his own number on a 2-yard touchdown run for the final score of the game. He finished the game 19-for-33 with 212 yards passing while leading the Redbirds to their fifth win in a row over EIU.
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: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
Â
