NORMAL, Ill. – Missouri State scored a season-high 41 points and racked up 468 total yards to dispatch No. 16-ranked Illinois State, 41-7, here Saturday in Missouri Valley Football Conference play.
No. 25 Missouri State (4-2, 2-0 MVFC) scored the first 31 points of the game and rode the shoulder of standout quarterback Jacob Clark for its fourth straight victory. Clark was 24-of-31 for 343 yards and three touchdowns to push the Bears to their second-highest offensive production of the campaign.
Dash Luke led all MSU receivers with 6 catches for 88 yards, while Lance Mason caught 4 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. James BlackStrain and Hunter Wood each added 4 receptions for the victorious Bears.
Jacardia Wright was the game’s top rusher, carrying 18 times for 58 yards and his seventh rushing score of the year for coach Ryan Beard’s squad.
After leading 24-0 at the midway point, the Bears kept their foot on the gas to start the third quarter. An eight-yard TD pass from Clark to BlackStrain extended MSU’s advantage to 31-0 and capped a seven-play, 75-yard march. BlackStrain’s first career score was made possible by a clutch third-down pass from Clark to Luke for 32 yards that set up the Bears at the ISU eight.
Illinois State broke up the shutout with a Wenkers Wright nine-yard touchdown carry midway through the third, but the Bears bounced back with Yousef Obeid’s second field goal of the game later in the period to push the visitors ahead 34-7 headed into the final quarter.
Wright carried 13 times for 58 yards and a score to lead Illinois State (4-3, 1-2 MVFC).
The fourth quarter was highlighted by a near-record 78-yard punt by All-American Grant Burkett and Tavier Williams’ second interception of the game for the Bears’ defense.
Williams’ takeaway set up Wright’s one-yard touchdown run with 6:47 to go in the game to make the final score, 41-7. The offensive production marked MSU’s third straight contest posting 30 or more points and fourth time over the last five games.
Illinois State finished with 362 total yards with QB Tommy Rittenhouse completing 9-of-17 passes for 79 yards. He was relieved in the second quarter by Jake Rubley who was 14-of-28 for 167 yards.
Daniel Sobkowiz was the Redbirds’ primary target, collecting 8 receptions for 81 yards.
The Bears wasted no time taking command in the early going, putting seven points on the board on their first drive of the afternoon and building a 17-0 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
A 62-yard touchdown pass from Clark to D’Vontae Key on MSU’s fourth play of the game gave the visitors an early 7-0 advantage. It also marked the third time in four games the Bears had scored on their opening drive.
Just over two minutes later, MSU took the wind out of the Redbirds’ sails again with a strip sack by Darion Smith that jarred the ball loose from Rittenhouse. Michael Teason picked up the fumble and took it to the house to give MSU a 14-0 lead seven minutes into the game.
After a three-and-out defensive stop by the MoState defense, the Bears tacked on three more points when Yousef Obeid’s 26-yard field goal capped an 11-play scoring drive that chewed up nearly five minutes. A third-and-four pass to Luke kept the drive alive, and Obeid’s fourth field goal of the season made it a 17-0 game with 1:52 remaining in the opening quarter.
Illinois State’s first drive of the second quarter stalled at the MSU 35 with a nifty fourth-and-one stop by Avery Powell on a keeper by Rittenhouse. That gave the Bears an opportunity to expand their advantage which they did nine plays later on a 12-yard TD pass from Clark to Mason. It was Mason’s fifth touchdown in five games and stretched MSU’s lead to 24-0 with 4:19 to go in the half.
Clark was 14-of-17 for 197 yards in the opening half with a pair of touchdowns to help MSU outgain the Redbirds by a 240-161 margin in the first 30 minutes.
In addition to his two picks, Tavier Williams led MSU with 8 total tackles, including three solos with Powell, Dallas Winner-Johnson and Kaleno Levin each contributing seven stops on the afternoon.
The red-hot Bears return to Springfield for next week’s homecoming showdown against Indiana State (2 p.m.) at Robert W. Plaster Stadium.
Tickets for the Indiana State game are available at MissouriStateBears.com or through the Missouri State box office at Great Southern Bank Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular office hours. The game-day box office at Plaster opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
