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NORMAL, Ill. -- The Morehead State football team was unable to carry the momentum of its home-opening victory as Illinois State, led by a swarming defense, opened its 2011 home schedule with a 52-21 victory over MSU Saturday night at Hancock Stadium.
MSU began the game firing on all cylinders defensively. Defensive end Jerome Raymond scooped up a fumble by Redbird quarterback Matt Brown on the first drive of the game. Sophomore defensive tackle Aaron Meadows caused the miscue as Brown scrambled after a broken play.
Eagle quarterback Zach Lewis was harassed early and often by the ISU defense. The Eagles were unable to turn the Raymond fumble recovery into an early score and did not generate a first down until their third drive.
ISU also demonstrated the ability to create the big play offensively. Brown connected with receiver Marvon Sanders as he raced down the sideline with 8:32 left in the first for a 73-yard touchdown which gave the Redbirds a 7-0 lead.
The Redbird defense created the second scoring opportunity of the game following a jarring hit to Donte Sawyer which forced a fumble that was taken into the end zone by junior defensive end Nate Palmer. Palmer was a consistent force for the ISU defense and their constant presence in the Eagle backfield, though he finished the game with just one sack and a fumble recovery.
“We faced a very solid and outstanding football team in Illinois State,” said football coach Matt Ballard. “I thought the difference in the football game was they won the battle up front on both sides of the football. When you are able to do that good things tend to happen for them.”
With ISU leading 14-0, the Eagles took the field looking to generate some offense and once again ran into a wave of red. Lewis was victimized by the Redbird defense and they forced a fumble that gave them excellent field position at the MSU 12. Brown immediately turned the Eagle fumble into a Redbird score tossing a 10-yard pass to receiver Tyrone Walker in the back of the endzone.
The Eagle offense continued to sputter into the second quarter, even adding the wrinkle of a wildcat formation to aid an ailing running game.
“We had a very difficult time (on the offensive side of the ball) handling the pressure up front,” said Ballard. “Early on I felt we had some opportunities but we were not able to execute and we had two miscues to give them some easy scores.”
In the second half the teams traded touchdowns and the sluggish Eagle offense scored 21 points. Despite the lack of offense on the ground, Desmond Cox reached the end zone in the third quarter putting the Eagles on the board for the first time as he rumbled in for a 1-yard touchdown scamper.
Brown and Walker connected again with 7:26 left in the third quarter to extend the Redbird lead. A 64-yard touchdown toss to a racing Walker gave ISU a 38-7 lead. Brown finished the game with 286 passing yards and five touchdowns.
The Eagles scored two more touchdowns, one at the end of the third quarter and one in the fourth. Both touchdowns were products of the sure-handed receiver Kevin Thomas who grabbed a 4-yard pass at the end of the third quarter and nabbed a 19-yard score in the middle of the fourth.
Zach Lewis finished the contest with 371 passing yards going 35-of-53 passing with two touchdowns and one interception for the Eagles. He was also sacked eight times. Ronnie McDermott led the team in receiving yards with 96.
The Eagles face St. Francis next Saturday in Loretto, Pa., as they continue their road swing beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
