Illinois State defenders Ben Harman (91), Patrick Bauer (13) and Mason Kaplan (14) celebrate one of the Redbirds’ five sacks during Saturday’s 41-13 win at Hancock Stadium. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
NORMAL – The way things started for the Illinois State defense in Saturday’s home opener certainly wasn’t the way they finished.
Morehead State, a member of the non-scholarship Pioneer League, came out with an aggressive plan against the No. 7-ranked Redbirds.
After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, the Eagles used 14 plays to drive 86 yards in just under eight minutes to grab a 6-0 lead.
Quarterback Carter Cravens picked apart the ISU defense, completing 7 of 8 throws for 73 yards on the scoring march. Graduate student Ryan Upp was his primary target, catching five balls for 51 yards.
“We knew that’s what they were going to do. They throw the ball quick,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said of Morehead’s offense. “The first drive was concerning.”
Illinois State regrouped and forged ahead.
“We realized what we were doing wrong. We were not tight enough in coverage,” cornerback Cam Wilson said. “They were going to 13 (Upp) the whole game. We knew where he was and knew if we tightened down on him, the game would be over.”
After that first drive, Upp caught no more first-half passes and Cravens missed on his next eight passes before halftime.
Trailing 6-0 in the first quarter, Illinois State rushed five players while playing man-to-man defense in the secondary. Defensive end Travis Jones and linebacker Reese Edwards combined to sack Cravens for an 8-yard loss on a third-and-10 play.
ISU then took over on downs at the Morehead State 43 when the Eagles fumbled the snap while attempting to punt.
“Our guys did a good job. They rose up and made some plays when we had to,” Spack said.
ISU cashed in on a 27-yard field goal by senior Matt Maldonado. The Redbirds scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, staking themselves to a 17-3 halftime lead.
Though ISU did allow Morehead a 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive in the second half, the Redbirds defense mostly clamped down. The Eagles managed 97 yards on 29 plays (3.3 average) in the second half.
The Redbird defense finished with a flourish. With just over four minutes remaining in the game, reserve linebacker Solomon Oduma sacked Cravens, forcing a fumble.
Wilson scooped up the loose ball and raced 27 yards for a touchdown.
Asked when he had last scored a TD, the beaming senior announced, “High school,” amid laughter from his teammates.
“It was an electric moment,” Wilson added. “I saw the ball and was like, there is no way this is happening right now. I picked it up and just started running.”
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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