Photo Gallery (by
Sandy King)
Illinois State scored on its first drive of the game and the Redbirds defense kept the Eastern Illinois offense in check winning the 114th Mid-America Classic 49-13 on Saturday afternoon at Hancock Stadium.
Tyler Lofton scored on a 12-yard run with 12:38 to play in the first quarter for the No. 4/5 ranked Redbirds as they led 14-3 after the opening quarter of play.
Drew Schiller put the Panthers on the board with a 41-yard field goal with 1:50 to play in the first quarter. Schiller knocked home a second short field goal (21 yards) with 6 minutes left in the opening half.
The second EIU score was set up by a Panthers turnover gained as
Premiere Whitley forced a fumble that
Isaac Engle recovered at midfield.
ISU led 28-6 at the half and scored a special teams touchdown to open the third quarter as Dylan Lord had a 79-yard touchdown on a punt return.
EIU put together its best offensive drive of the day midway through the fourth quarter with
Cole LaCrue plunging over from 1-yard out. The Panthers finished the day with 216 yards of total offense, 74 yards coming in the 4th quarter.
Mafileo Tupou and
Nick Vecchiarelli led the Panthers defense with nine tackles each. LaCrue passed for 150 yards with
Jeremy Reeves catching two passes for 44 yards.
Lofton rushed for 62 yards for ISU as three backs finished with 50 or more yards. Gage Roy and Beckham Pellant combined to pass for 330 yards and three scores.
ISU improved to 4-0 on the season. EIU dropped to 1-3 on the year.
