McLean County Times

No. 16 Illinois State secured a significant 52-20 victory over Indiana State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute. The Redbirds, now 7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, used a 28-point second quarter to take control of the game.

The scoring began with Tommy Rittenhouse connecting with Max Ziebarth for a 2-yard touchdown, capping a 10-play, 70-yard drive. Indiana State tied the game late in the first quarter after Talan White caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Keegan Patterson. Early in the second quarter, Victor Dawson ran for a 6-yard touchdown to restore Illinois State's lead.

Indiana State responded with Rashad Rochelle's 64-yard touchdown reception from Patterson, tying the score at 14-14. Illinois State then took over: Rittenhouse threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Lord, followed by a screen pass to Seth Glatz for a 20-yard score just before halftime. An interception by Patrick Bauer set up another quick drive that ended with Rittenhouse running it in from four yards out, putting Illinois State ahead 35-14 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Daniel Sobkowicz caught a 12-yard touchdown pass, and Glatz added his second touchdown of the game on a short run. Deion Brown scored for Indiana State with a long run, but their extra point attempt was unsuccessful. A late third-quarter field goal by Matt Maldonado extended Illinois State's lead to its final margin.

Illinois State’s offense produced its highest point total since scoring 67 against Morgan State in September 2015 and its most points in an MVFC game since tallying 55 against Indiana State in 2013. The team’s second-quarter output matched a school record for points scored in that period.

Ziebarth’s first-quarter catch was his first reception and touchdown of the season and only his second career score. Dawson finished with a career-high 116 rushing yards on 21 carries, surpassing the century mark for the second consecutive game. Lord recorded nine catches for a career-high 87 yards and his second career touchdown.

Sobkowicz moved into second place on Illinois State’s all-time receiving yards list (3,031), passing Laurent Robinson, and claimed sole possession of third place on the program’s career receiving touchdowns list with his thirtieth score.

Rittenhouse accounted for five touchdowns—four passing and one rushing—and completed nearly all of his attempts (29-for-34) for 314 yards while also rushing for another score. Defensively, Niekamp led with ten tackles; Christian Lorenzo added a sack.

Illinois State will next travel to Brookings to face No. 8/9 South Dakota State at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in an important late-season matchup scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.

For more information about tickets or updates on Illinois State Athletics, visit GoRedbirds.com or use the Illinois State Redbirds App.