NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State scored touchdowns on its first three drives of the game on Saturday against Eastern Illinois and never looked back, as the No. 4 ranked Redbirds (4-0) rolled to a 49-13 win over the Panthers in the 114th Mid-America Classic at Hancock Stadium in front of a sellout crowd on Family Weekend.

How It Happened:
•    The Redbirds got out to a quick start, driving 75 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead just 2:22 into the contest after a 12-yard touchdown run by Tyler Lofton. 
•    Following a quick 3-and-out for Eastern Illinois on its first possession, Illinois State extended its lead to 14-0 on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Gage Roy to Alex Herrera. That capped off a 10-play, 69-yard drive that took nearly four minutes off the clock.
•    The Panthers got on the board late in the first quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Drew Schiller that cut the lead to 14-3 with 1:50 remaining in the opening stanza.
•    ISU opened the second quarter in fine fashion, facing 4th-and-8 from the EIU 37-yard line Mar'Quan Gary was wide open and Beckham Pellant found him for the touchdown to widen the advantage to 21-3 with 14:15 left before halftime.
•    After a goal line stand by the Redbird defense, Schiller connected on his second field goal of the game this one from 21 yards out to make the score 21-6 with 6:00 left in the second quarter.
•    The Redbird offense continued to be efficient, driving 75 yards in seven plays to score on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Roy to Dylan Lord with 2:45 left before halftime to bring the score to 28-6.
•    EIU got the football to start the second half and the Redbird defense forced a punt, which Lord corralled at the EIU and proceeded to break tackles and weave his way to a 79-yard punt return for touchdown to widen the lead to 35-6 with 13:25 left on the clock.
•    Roy then led the Redbirds on a methodical 13-play, 80-yard drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock as Anthony Hall scored on the ground from three yards out to make the score 42-6 with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
•    Lofton's second touchdown of the game, this one from just one yard out, further extended the Redbird lead to 49-6 just under a minute into the fourth quarter.
•    The Panthers scored their first touchdown of the game with 7:59 left, as quarterback Cole LaCrue bowled his way into the endzone from one yard out to make the score 49-13 in favor of the Redbirds.

Game Notes:    
•    With the win, the Redbirds retain the Mid-America Conference trophy for the third-straight season and have now won eight of the last nine games overall against the Panthers.
•    Illinois State moves to 4-0 for the first time since 2017, when the Redbirds won their first four games before suffering a non-conference road loss at Northern Arizona.
•    In his first start as a Redbird, Lofton scored his third and fourth touchdowns of the season and finished with a team-high 62 yards on 15 carries with the two scores.
•    Herrera's touchdown in the first quarter was his third in as many games for the Redbirds … Herrera transferred to Illinois State from Eastern Illinois prior to the season.
•    The touchdown reception by Gary was the first of his career at Illinois State … he finished the game with three receptions for 72 yards with the score.
•    Lord's 79-yard punt return for touchdown to start the third quarter was the first for the Redbirds since 2013 when Anthony Warrum returned on 62 yards for a score against Abilene Christian (9/21/13) … Lord also led the Redbirds in receiving with 77 yards on six receptions to finish the game with 169 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
•    Hall's touchdown run in the third quarter was his first in a Redbird uniform … he finished the contest with 58 yards on 11 carries for the Redbirds.
•    Tye Niekamp led the way for the Redbird defense with eight tackles, while Anthony Corona added six with a half TFL in the dominant defensive effort for ISU that saw them only give up 66 yards rushing to the Panthers.

Next Up:
No. 4 Illinois State (4-0) will open Missouri Valley Football Conference play next Saturday at Northern Iowa (1-2), with kickoff set for 4 p.m. CT at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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