NORMAL, Ill. – Like usually happens in the Mid-America Classic, the Eastern Illinois was with a touchdown of visiting Illinois State in the fourth quarter however the Redbirds (2-1) pulled away late with two touchdowns in the final six minutes to defeat the Panthers (1-2) on Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field.
How It Happened:
•   After forcing a turnover on downs on the first drive of the game by EIU, the ISU offense went on an 8-play, 59-yard scoring drive that was capped off on a 2-yard touchdown run by Wenkers Wright to make the score 7-0 after the extra point make from Matt Maldonado with 7:13 left in the first quarter.
•   Following an interception by Jack Dwyer that gave the Redbirds excellent field position, quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse connected with Daniel Sobkowicz on a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Redbirds up 14-0 with 13:49 left in the second quarter.Â
•   The Panthers answered right back on the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, as quarterback Connor Wolfe found receiver CJ Nelson wide open down the sideline for a 71-yard touchdown pass to cut the ISU lead to 14-7 just 19 seconds later.
•   EIU would make it a one-score game with just 42 seconds left before halftime, when kicker Drew Schiller connected on a 43-yard field goal to bring the score to 14-10.
•   Taking advantage of a kickoff out of bounds, the Redbirds took over on their own 35-yard line and needed just 34 seconds to find the endzone as Rittenhouse found Luke Mailander for a 46-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-10 at halftime.
•   The Redbirds widened their lead to 28-10 early midway through the third quarter, when Wright scored from 18 yards out on the ground nearly untouched for his second score of the game with 7:21 left in the stanza.
•   The Panthers later cut the ISU lead to 28-17 with 11:43 left in the contest, when Wolf connected on a 18-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Willman.
•   EIU drew even closer on its next passion, as Wolf found Nelson once again for a score this one from 51 yards out to cut the ISU advantage to 28-23 after a missed two-point conversion attempt with 8:30 remaining in the game.
•   The Redbird wasted little time in widening the lead back to 12 points as Wright scored his third touchdown of the game, this one from 16 yards out, to cap off a 6-play drive and make the score 35-23 with 6:21 remaining in the contest.
•   ISU took advantage of an interception by Shadwel Nkuba II to extend the lead to 42-23, when Rittenhouse found Sobkowicz in the corner of the endzone for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 3:14 remaining.
•   The Panthers would add one final score with 1:47 to play on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Wolf to DeAirious Smith to trim the ISU lead to 42-30, before the Redbirds closed out the game on their final drive for the victory.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   The Redbirds have now won seven of the last eight meetings against the Panthers, and nine out of the last 11 overall.
•   The interception in the second quarter by Dwyer was the first of his career at Illinois State. He finished contest with five tackles and a half tackle-for-loss.
•   Mailander's touchdown was his second in as many weeks and the second of his career at ISU. He finished the game with a career-high 109 yards and a score on five receptions.
•   Nkuba II picked off his third interception in as many games to start his Redbird career to give ISU the ball back late in the fourth quarter with 5:46 left.
•   Tye Niekamp recorded a career-high 14 tackles in the win over the Panthers and was credited with two tackles-for-loss to lead the way for the Redbird defense.
•   The three touchdowns for Wright are a career-high and the senior finished with 94 yards on 14 carries against EIU.
Next Up:
The Redbirds will welcome in North Alabama to Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium next Saturday for the second game of a home-and-home series with the Lions. Kickoff is slated for Noon CT on Family Day at ISU.
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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