No. 18 Illinois State Picks Up Key Road Win Over No. 21 South Dakota, 21-13

VERMILLION, S.D. – It wasn't pretty at times in the DakotaDome on Saturday afternoon, as both Illinois State and South Dakota State struggled to get any sizable momentum in a crucial Missouri Valley Football Conference contest. However, it was the No. 18 ranked Redbirds (5-3, 2-2 MVFC) who took a lead just before halftime and never relinquished it against the No. 21 ranked Coyotes (5-4, 3-2 MVFC) as they held on for a gritty 21-13 road victory in front of 6,333 South Dakota fans.

How It Happened:
•    South Dakota took the opening kickoff and drove 66 yards in 13 plays, but had to settle for a field goal as a pass breakup in the endzone by Mason Kaplan forced a 37 yards field goal make by Will Leyland that made the score 3-0 in favor of USD with 8:47 left in the first quarter. 
•    With 10:45 left in the second quarter, the Redbirds took the lead as Tommy Rittenhouse found Scotty Presson Jr. for an 11-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-1 to put the Redbirds up 7-3.
•    The Coyotes took the lead back with 2:23 to play before halftime, when quarterback Aidan Bouman connected on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Miller which put them up 10-7.
•    Rittenhouse took it upon himself to give the Redbirds the lead back right before the halftime break, as he capped off a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a 6-yard touchdown run that put the Birds up 14-10 with 30 seconds to play.
•    Facing 4th-and-2 from the USD 2-yard line, Rittenhouse found Presson Jr. again for their second touchdown connection of the game as the Redbirds widened their lead to 21-10 with 1:22 left to play in the third quarter.
•    Leyland later connected on his second field goal of the contest, this one from 42 yards out, to pull the Coyotes within one score at 21-13 with 3:38 remaining in the game. 
•    That is where the game would stay, as a late punt by Hayden Futch pinned the Coyotes deep in their own end with under 20 seconds to play and the Redbird defense held on for the road victory.

Game Notes:    
•    Presson's two touchdown receptions were the first two of his career at Illinois State, as he finished the game with three catches for 30 yards and the two scores.
•    The rushing touchdown for Rittenhouse late in the second quarter was his second of the season and 14th of his career at Illinois State.
•    Wide receivers Dylan Lord (8) and Rylan Crawford (6) each set career highs in receptions in the contest for the Redbirds, as Lord led all receivers with the 8 catches for 82 yards in the victory.
•    With his 33 yards rushing, Wright moved over the 2,500 yard mark in his career at ISU as he became just the eighth back in school history to hit that plateau. He now sits in eighth place on the career rushing list with 2,510 yards, just 13 yards behind seventh place on the list (Larry Spinks).
•    Tye Niekamp tied his career high with 14 stops against the Coyotes to lead the way for the Redbird defense, and he was credited with a TFL in the contest. 
•    CJ Richard Jr. also had a career day in just his second career start, tallying a career-best nine tackles in the win over USD.
Next Up:
The Redbirds return home to host UNI on Saturday, November 1, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium.

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