|
The Redbirds move to 2-1 on the
season and will face Florida Atlantic on the road next Saturday.
Eastern Illinois got on the
board first, when quarterback Andrew Harris executed a 14-play,
80-yard opening drive, resulting in a 1-yard touchdown run by
Vincent Webb on fourth-and-goal.
The Panthers went three-and-out
on their next possession, with Boomer Grigsby and James Temple each
picking up a sack. The defensive stop led to the Redbirds' first
score, when Laurént Robinson (two catches, 22 yards) made a leaping
grab in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown catch
from Yance Vaughan (19-30, 214 yards, three TDs), tying the game
7-7.
Illlinois State took the lead
14-7 after Vaughan connected with Jason Horton (three catches, 36
yards), but a Ben Brown interception on Vaughan late in the second
quarter led to an Adam Parsill touchdown catch, tying the game
14-14.
The Redbirds quickly regained
the momentum when Josh Chrestman's sack and forced fumble on Harris
resulted in a Grigsby recovery at the Panther 11. The turnover
resulted in another score for the Redbirds. Dave Mordis hauled in
Vaughan's third touchdown pass of the game, from 2 yards out, giving
the Redbirds a 21-14 lead.
[to top of second column in
this article]
 |
A third-quarter touchdown and
fourth-quarter field goal put the Panthers up 24-21, and they were
given some breathing room when Chad Cleveland forced a LaShawn
Bullock fumble at the Illinois State 30. The ball sailed into the
hands of Jamarr Day, who ran 30 yards down the sideline and into the
end zone for a 30-21 lead.
However, the Redbirds gained
the lead back on two touchdowns, one a 2-yard run by Earl Newby, the
other a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Vaughan, making the score
35-31. The Vaughan touchdown was set up when Eastern Illinois
fumbled a kickoff at their own 22, which was recovered by Pierre
Jackson.
Game notes
- With a sack in the
first quarter, Boomer Grigsby moved into a tie for fifth place on
ISU's all-time list of career tackles for loss. The sack was
Grigsby's third of the season.
- Grigsby moved into second
place on the Redbirds' career tackles list (481) with 14 tackles
against Eastern Illinois.
- Yance Vaughan's touchdown
pass to Dave Mordis in the third quarter was his third of the
game, marking the first time Vaughan has thrown three or more
touchdown passes in a game.
- Offensive lineman Mike
Stegeman returned to the lineup against Eastern. An ACL tear
during the spring season sidelined him for the first two games of
2004.
[Illinois
State University news release]
 |
