Redbirds Score 44 Unanswered Points In 44-7 Rout of Indiana State

NORMAL, Ill. – After an auspicious start that saw Indiana State take an early lead on an interception return for a touchdown off a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage, Illinois State rallied with 44 unanswered points as the Redbirds (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) rolled to a 44-7 victory over the Sycamores (0-6, 0-3 MVFC) at Hancock Stadium on Saturday in front of a Homecoming crowd of over 9,000 fans.

How It Happened:
•    The Sycamores took the early lead, as a Zack Annexstad pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and returned 27 yards for a touchdown by Garret Ollendieck to make the score 7-0 less than a minute into the contest.
•    Illinois State tied the score at 7-7 with 1:44 left in the first quarter, with the Redbirds facing a 4th-and-5 situation Annexstad connected with Jalen Carr for a 30-yard score to knot things up.
•    The Redbirds took the lead with 8:55 left in the second quarter, thanks to a 30-yard field goal by Ian Wagner that made the score 10-7 in favor of the Redbirds.
•    Illinois State extended the lead to 17-7 with 3:31 left before halftime, following a 13-yard touchdown run by Mason Blakemore that capped off an 8-play, 55-yard scoring drive that took 3:02 off the clock.
•    After a blocked punt attempt by the Sycamores went off the hand of Cole Mueller, the Redbirds took over and wasted little time in finding the endzone again as Annexstad connected with Cam Grandy on a 10-yard shovel pass to make the score 23-7 with 16 seconds left before halftime.
•    A 12-yard touchdown pass from Annexstad to Daniel Sobkowicz with 5:27 left in the third quarter then extended the Redbird to 30-7 over the Sycamores.
•    Following an interception by Jeff Bowens that gave Illinois State great field position at the Indiana State 40-yard line, 
•    The lead ballooned to 37-7 with 13:11 left in the game, as Annexstad connected with Javon Charles on a two-yard touchdown pass that capped off the 6-play scoring drive.
•    On the ensuing Indiana State drive, Keondre Jackson stepped in front of a Cade Chambers pass and returned it 30 yards for the pick six and the extra point from Wagner made the score 44-7 with 12:24 left in the game.

Game Notes:    
•    With the win, the Redbirds are now 11-3 in Homecoming contests under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack.
•    The four touchdown passes by Annexstad set a career-high, as did his 79 rushing yards in the win over the Sycamores.
•    Blakemore's touchdown was his team-leading seventh of the season.
•    With his two sacks, Amir Abdullah now has at least one sack in five of the six games this season and upped his team-leading total to 8.5 on the year.
•    The touchdown reception in the fourth quarter by Charles was the first of his career as a Redbird.
•    The pick six was the first of Jackson's career and was his second career INT. He finished his day with seven tackles, a TFL and the interception to round out a fantastic effort for the ISU defense.
•    Dillon Gearhart led the Redbird defense with 11 total tackles and added a half TFL and quarterback hurry in the victory for the Redbirds.
•    Bowen's interception was the second of his career, with the first being that last pick six for the Redbirds prior to Jackson's return on Saturday.

Next Up:
Illinois State will travel to Youngstown, Ohio, next Saturday for a matchup with the Youngstown State Penguins, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. CT at Stambaugh Stadium.

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