NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State scored touchdowns on its first 10 drives of the game and scored the second most points in program history on Saturday night, as the No. 4 ranked Redbirds (1-0) rolled to a 76-0 shutout win over St. Francis (Ill.) on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium in front of 9,072 fans in the season opener.

How It Happened:
•    The Redbirds took advantage of great field position on their first drive of the game, needing just six plays and over two minutes to find the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run by Victor Dawson to make it 6-0 with 11:04 left in the first quarter, as the extra point was missed.
•    On their second possession of the game, the Redbirds found paydirt once again on a 53-yard touchdown run by Seth Glatz and this time the extra point was good by Michael Cosentino to make it 13-0 with 6:54 to play in the opening stanza.
•    ISU made it 3-for-3 on touchdowns to start the game, as a one-yard touchdown pass from Gage Roy to Dylan Lord capped off a 4-play, 38-yard scoring drive that made the score 20-0 with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter.
•    Early in the second quarter, the Redbirds made the score 27-0 when Roy found tight end Max Ziebarth on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 14:27 on the clock, the fourth score in as many drives for ISU.
•    The scoring barrage continued, as Stevan Gavric caught his first career pass for a touchdown on a 4-yard throw from Beckham Pellant to balloon the lead to 34-0 with 12:05 remaining in the second quarter.
•    The streak moved to six touchdowns in as many drives, as running back Tyler Lofton broke free for an 85-yard touchdown run with 5:47 left before halftime to make the score 41-0 after the extra point. That possession was set up by an interception by Dexter Niekamp, but a penalty pinned the Redbirds deep in their own end.
•    A 48-yard touchdown pass from Pellant to Lord made it 7-for-7 in touchdowns for the Redbirds, as the ISU advantage widened to 48-0 with just under two minutes left before the break.
•    Illinois State picked up right where they left off to start the second half, as Roy found Lofton out of the backfield and he bowled his way into the endzone for a 9-yard touchdown pass to bring the score to 55-0 just over three minutes into the third quarter.
•    Lofton was back at on the next Redbird drive, as he powered his way through the middle of the defense and bowled over a defender near the goal line for his second rushing touchdown of the game and his third TD overall as the ISU lead expanded to 62-0 with 10:15 remaining in the third.
•    After a 30-yard run by quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski put the Redbirds in the red zone, two plays later Kwiatkowski dropped a dime in the corner of the end zone to Travis Stamm for a 3-yard touchdown pass to push the ISU advantage to 60-0 with 5:37 left in the third stanza.
•    The final score of the night came on a 7-yard touchdown run by Albert Gooden III with 3:36 left in the contest to bring the score to its final at 76-0.

Game Notes:    
•    The 76 points scored are the second most in program history, trailing only the 80 scored against Eureka in 1937. The 76-point margin of victory is also the second highest, only to the 80-0 victory against Eureka.
•    It also set a facility record inside Hancock Stadium and was the best for the 'Birds under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, topping the 67-14 win over Morgan State in the home opener in 2015.
•    The shutout by the Redbird defense was its first since 2023, when they defeated Dayton 41-0 in the home opener.
•    The Redbirds quarterbacks started the game 20-for-20, before the first incompletion occurred at 11:56 mark of the fourth quarter … Overall, the team went 21-24 with both Roy (10-for-10) and Pellant (6-for-6) finishing with perfect marks.
•    Roy threw for 85 yards and tossed three touchdowns, while Pellant led the team with 114 yards and tossed a pair of TDs in the contest.
•    In all, 13 different players caught passes with Lord, Ian Willis and Lofton each recording three … Lord paced the group with 69 yards and the two scores in the win over the Fighting Saints.
•    A total of 86 players saw action in the game for the Redbirds, with several true freshman making their first career appearances under the new NCAA eligibility rules.
•    Lofton, Gavric, Stamm and Gooden all scored their first career touchdowns as Redbirds, and Roy and Kwiatkowski each threw their first in an ISU uniform.
•    Lofton finished the game with a career-high 119 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns and added three catches for 21 yards and another score to finish the contest with three total touchdowns to lead the way for ISU.
•    It was a balanced defensive effort for the 'Birds, who we led in tackles by linebackers Solomon Oduma and Dexter Niekamp with five stops each … Niekamp also finished with 1.5 tackles-for-loss and the interception and his older brother, Tye, finished with four tackles and 1.5 TFLs.

Next Up:
Illinois State (1-0) will renew one of its longest-standing rivalries next Saturday, when the Redbirds travel to Macomb, Illinois, to take on the Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-0) at Hanson Field, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. CT.

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