Sophomore cornerback Mark Cannon Jr. has achieved career highs this season with 67 tackles, nine passes defended and tied his career high with three interceptions. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Illinois State heads into the FCS playoffs Saturday on a five-game winning streak and as healthy as the team has been all season.
The No. 12 seeded Redbirds (9-3), who travel to Southeast Missouri (9-3) for an 11 a.m. kickoff in Cape Girardeau, Mo., in an opening-round playoff game, also have put together an impressive display of pass defense.
Over the past five weeks, ISU has only allowed one quarterback – Indiana State’s Elijah Owens – to complete more than 60% of his passes in a game.
“It just comes from working our game plan on Tuesday and throughout the week and focusing on the details that will help us,” sophomore cornerback Mark Cannon Jr. said. “Our coach (defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp) puts us in the right position to make things like that happen.”
Cannon has been in plenty of the right places this season. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Evanston High School product has a career-high 67 tackles and nine passes defended. His three interceptions are tied for a career best and leads the team along with linebacker Tye Niekamp.
Cannon’s 22 career starts includes all 12 games this season.
“Experience has helped me a lot with seeing the game and letting the game slow down,” he said. “It’s just become more (clear) for me.”
Cannon plays the boundary corner spot across from sophomore Teon Parks, who has started the past five games and compiled a team-high nine pass breakups along with 33 tackles. Cannon’s backup is redshirt freshman Paul Omodia (29 tackles), who made his first career interception in last week’s victory against North Dakota.
“They have integrated really well,” Cannon said of his young teammates. “They’ve grown a lot. I’ve been very impressed with what they’ve done so far and what they continue to do on a day-to-day basis.
“I know those guys are going to be really good players in the future and they’re going to help us on this playoff run.”
Parks is backed up by senior Nigel White, whose 49 career games played are the most on the entire ISU defense.
“He’s the older guy in this group, so he’s one of the leaders,” Cannon said. “He points stuff out that we may not see. He understands how the game works.”
Thanks in part to the play of their cornerbacks, the Redbirds allowed the fourth-fewest passing touchdowns (18) this season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
“We’re just a group of guys that love the game and love each other,” Cannon said. “We’re just a family, and with that bond we’re willing to do anything for each other to help us win games.”
The Redbirds are facing a key matchup with SEMO quarterback Paxton DeLaurent, the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association Offensive Player of the Year.
In the receiving corps, the Redhawks boast a three-pronged attack with 5-11 sophomore Cam Pedro (73 catches, 748 yards, four TDs), 6-foot-5 junior Tristan Smith (66-795-5) and 6-7 senior Dorian Anderson (63-930-10).
Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis said defending Anderson and Smith was like watching a basketball player throw the ball into the post to a power forward.
“They’ve got height. They’re good athletes. But I believe in our guys,” Cannon said.
Illinois State head coach Brock Spack called Saturday’s game “a different kind of matchup” against SEMO’s receivers.
“They’re big. They’re long. We have a pretty big boundary corner (Cannon). We think he’s pretty good too. That will be interesting to see how that plays out,” Spack said.
This week’s opponent
SEMO quarterback Paxton DeLaurent, who began his career at NAIA Central Methodist, will start his 45th career college game Saturday. He has achieved six career highs this season, including 293.3 passing yards a game, 29 touchdowns and 320 completions. “He’s very comfortable in the pocket,” Spack said. “He doesn’t panic because of his experience. Sometimes, that can be difficult (for a defense). He’s played a lot of football.” DeLaurent is one of 35 semifinalists for the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the best player in FCS. … The Redhawks got off to an 8-1 start this season, with the only loss to FBS New Mexico State. They finished the season 1-2 with an upset loss to Lindenwood and a loss against fellow playoff participant Tennessee State. Injuries at running back and tight end at the end of the season have led to five different players having at least 46 carries this season. … SEMO is in the playoffs for the fifth time in school history and the fourth since 2018 after earning the Big South-OVC’s automatic berth. The Redhawks are 5-0 at home this season, and a victory would give them 10 wins in a single season for the first time in school history. …. The SEMO roster includes nine players from Illinois, including Pontiac native Steven Lewis, a graduate student defensive lineman. Also on the roster are former Western Illinois linebackers Michael Cardilli of Mokena, Ill., and Missouri native Sam Cook. Todd Drury, who was the WIU defensive coordinator last season, is SEMO’s safeties coach. … Though SEMO is Matukewicz’s first head coaching job, he was credited with a victory in 2010, when he led Northern Illinois to a 40-17 victory in the Humanitarian Bowl. Matukewicz served as NIU’s interim head coach after Jerry Kill departed the school for the Minnesota job. … Kicker D.C. Pippin leads the nation with 26 made field goals and 2.17 field goals per game. His 34 attempts also rank No. 1.
Kickoff: 11 a.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup to watch
ISU RB Wenkers Wright vs. SEMO run defense: Wright is one of the biggest success stories of the Redbirds’ season. He had only 32 carries a year ago when NIU transfer Mason King took over the lead role in the backfield. This fall, King sustained a season-ending knee injury in the season opener at Iowa. Wright stepped in and has rushed for 1,035 yards and 10 touchdowns. “He’s got 1,000 yards in the Missouri Valley, which isn’t easy to do,” said Matukewicz, who added that Wright especially excels after contact. “He’s a really tough tackle. You can be there and still not get the job done.” … The junior, who was born in Haiti before being adopted by an Indiana family, has six 100-yard games this season. Three of those have come in the past four weeks. SEMO ranks No. 20 nationally against the run, allowing 115.5 yards per game. “They’re just stout,” Spack said. “They strike blockers and get off blockers. They’re just really good fundamentally.”
What’s at stake?
Illinois State is seeking its first playoff win since 2019 and a spot in the second round against No. 5 seed UC Davis.
Quick hits
Illinois State has faced three of the nation’s top eight quarterbacks in passing yardage this season. DeLaurent ranks fifth with 3,520 yards. Missouri State’s Jacob Clark (No. 4, 3,604 yards) passed for 343 yards and three TDs against ISU on Oct. 12. Western Illinois QB Nathan Lamb (No. 7, 3,332) threw for 269 yards and a TD, while rushing for three scores, on Sept. 14. ISU limited Eastern Illinois QB Pierce Holley (No. 8, 3,125) to 72 yards and no touchdowns on Sept. 21. … SEMO has three common opponents with Illinois State – Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois. “I think it helps (watching that film) when you’re trying to identify how good a player is,” Matukewicz said. “You get some pretty good ideas from the talent level.” … Junior wide receivers Daniel Sobkowicz and Xavier Loyd rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the MVFC with 71.75 and 71.08 receiving yards per game. … Illinois State’s most productive quarter of the season has been the third quarter. The Redbirds have outscored opponent, 104-71. … ISU is in the playoffs for the ninth time and has advanced to the quarterfinals six times. Illinois State is 10-8 all-time in the postseason.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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