Illinois State 59, Eastern Washington 46
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[December 15, 2014]
Illinois State 59, Eastern
Washington 46: Marshaun Coprich ran for a career-high 258 yards and four
touchdowns as the visiting Redbirds avenged a 2012 loss to the Eagles in
the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
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Coprich extended his school record of 100-yard rushing efforts to
13 and took over the FCS lead in rushing scores with 26 for Illinois
State (12-1), which scored touchdowns on eight straight possessions
not interrupted by halftime and will travel to face top-seeded New
Hampshire in next week's semifinals. Tre Roberson finished 19-of-24
for 206 yards and accounted for three touchdowns as the Redbirds
went 10-of-16 on third down and set a single-season record for
victories.
Quincy Forte (88 yards rushing), Jabari Wilson and Vernon Adams Jr.
each ran for a touchdown as Eastern Washington (11-3) fell in the
quarterfinals for the second straight year. Adams threw for 425
yards and three fourth-quarter scores including two to Cooper Kupp
(10 catches for 185 yards), who became the 19th player in FCS
history to record more than 100 receptions in a season (104). Illinois State scored on each of its first four possessions, getting
touchdown runs of 7 yards from Coprich and 3 yards from Brady
Tibbits before establishing a 14-point advantage midway through the
second quarter on Cameron Meredith’s one-handed grab on a 7-yard TD
throw from Roberson. Eastern Washington countered with scoring
drives on its last three series of the opening half, settling for a
24-17 halftime deficit following Wilson’s 1-yard scoring plunge with
36 seconds left.
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The Redbirds carried their offensive efficiency over into the second
half as Coprich fought through an ankle injury for third-quarter TD
runs of 21 and 3 yards before Roberson added a rushing and passing
score to make it 52-27. Adams connected with Kupp on scores of 30
and 35 yards over a 36-second stretch after the Eagles recovered an
onside kick, but Coprich halted the comeback on a 74-yard dash to
the end zone with 7:29 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The game was delayed for nearly 30 minutes with 1:40
left when the parent of one of Eastern Washington’s players suffered
a heart attack. Emergency personnel on the scene performed CPR
before transporting him to a local hospital; no updates were given
regarding his condition. … Coprich – the Missouri Valley Football
Conference Offensive Player of the Year – became the first Redbird
to surpass 2,000 yards rushing in a season (2,089). … Eastern
Washington scored in all four quarters, closing its season by
scoring in 48 consecutive periods and 55 of 56 for the season.
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