Redbirds Fall Behind Early, Fall To No. 1 South Dakota State, 40-21

NORMAL, Ill. – Defending FCS national champion No. 1 South Dakota State ripped off 20 early points and despite a strong offensive effort from No. 22 Illinois State, the Redbirds (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) were not able to recover from the early deficit and fell by a score of 40-21 to the Jackrabbits on Saturday night at Hancock Stadium.

How It Happened:
•    The Jackrabbits jumped out to an early lead on their first drive of the game, courtesy of a 31-yard touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski to Jadon Janke to make the score 6-0 after the PAT attempt bounced off the left upright no good.
•    SDSU tacked onto the lead on another big play from Gronowski, as he connected with Jaxon Janke on a 60-yard touchdown connection to increase the lead to 13-0 with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
•    South Dakota State took advantage of a Redbird fumble on the kickoff return and scored quickly on a 13-yard run by Gronowski to make the score 20-0 just two and a half minutes later.
•    The Redbirds got on the board thanks to some trickery, as Cole Mueller took the handoff then pitched the ball to Daniel Sobkowicz who then found quarterback Zack Annexstad in the end zone for the 9-yard touchdown on a perfectly executed 'Philly Special' to make the score 20-7 with 14:28 left in the second quarter.
•    The Jacks answered on their next drive, however, driving 65 yards in seven play to take a 27-7 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Davis.
•    Illinois State answered back with a methodical drive of its own, going 65 yards in nine plays to take four minutes off the clock as Annexstad found Sobkowicz on a 7-yard touchdown pass to make the scire 27-14 in favor of the Jackrabbits with 6:06 left before halftime.
•    Gronowski and Jadon Janke connected for their second touchdown of the day, this one from 22-yards out, to bring the score to 34-14 with 3:10 left in the second quarter.
•    The Redbirds took the opening kickoff of the second half 75 yards in five plays to cut the Jacks lead to two scores, as Mason Blakemore broke free for a 37-yard touchdown run to make it 34-21 just 1:30 into the third quarter.
•    Davis would add his second rushing touchdown of the game, this one from two yards out, to make the score 40-21 in favor of the Jackrabbits with 10:09 left in the contest and that's where the game would stay until the final horn.

Game Notes:    
•    Annexstad finished the game 26-of-33 for 162 yards with a touchdown and also caught the first touchdown of his career on the pass from Sobkowicz.
•    In his first game back from injury, Blakemore finished with 57 yards on six carries and upped his team-leading rushing touchdown total to six on the year.
•    The receiving touchdown for Sobkowicz was his third of the season, tying his total mark from 2022 … he also upped his receiving yards total to 425, surpassing his total of 377 from last season.
•    Keondre Jackson set a career high with 13 tackles against the Jackrabbits, while also adding a pass breakup.
•    Amir Abdullah recorded a sack for the fourth time in five games and upped his team-leading total to 6.5 on the year. 
•    Lavoise-Deontae McCoy also had a solid game for the Redbird defense, recording nine tackles including one for a loss while also recovering a fumble.

Next Up:
Illinois State continues its homestand next weekend, when the Redbirds host Indiana State on Homecoming with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. CT at Hancock Stadium.

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