NORMAL, Ill. – A couple of quick first-quarter scores and a powerful rushing attack by No. 16 Illinois State were too much to overcome for the Morehead State football team Saturday night as the Eagles fell 42-14 to the Redbird at Hancock Stadium.
Morehead State returns home to host Kentucky Christian next Saturday for Family Weekend. Game time is set for 4 p.m. ET.
KEY STATS
* Total yards finished at 489 for ISU and 252 for the Eagles, but the Eagles held the Redbirds to just 12 passing yards in the second half.
* Mark Pappas was 13-of-27 for 125 yards and two touchdowns.
* Issiah Aguero led the Eagles with 38 rushing yards.
* James Robinson pounded out 178 yards and scored three times on the ground for the home team.
* Andrew Foster averaged 43.4 yards on eight punts, including a long boom of 50.
* The turnover cane came out four times – with interceptions from CJ Austin and Brandon Barbee and fumble recoveries by Beau Griegoand DJ Niculescu.
Josh Holland posted a career-high 10 tackles, while Justin Benvie led the team with 1.5 tackles for loss.
HOW THE SCORING TRANSPIRED
* Illinois State scored with 12:01 left in the first quarter on a 16-yard run by James Robinson.
* ISU made it 14-0 less than a minute later on a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown.
* A 52-yard jaunt by ISU QB Brady Davis made it 21-0 with 3:09 remaining in the opening stanza.
* The ISU lead grew to 28-0 at the 5:06 mark of the second quarter on an 11-yard TD pass to the corner of the end zone.
* Robinson burst away for a 34-yard score at the 3:17 mark of the second quarter.
* Following CJ Austin’s interception (the Eagles’ third takeaway of the night), MSU drove 41 yards on six plays before quarterback Mark Pappas hit tight end Jacob Peters on a three-yard scoring pass – Peters caught the ball on a forward dive right off the top of the turf.
* Robinson scored his third TD of the night at 14:32 in the fourth period.
* Pappas found wideout Geremiah Edison for his first career touchdown on a 16-yard pass with 7:25 left in the game.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
“The start and the first half were really difficult, but we shut them out 7-0 in the third quarter, and the kids played hard.”
“We just need to look at this film and make some corrections and get better and ready to play our next opponent.”
“If we keep turning teams over that many times and giving our offense a chance, we have the chance to get really good as the season progresses.”
