NORMAL, Ill. --- Illinois State University continued right where it left off one year ago as the NCAA FCS national championship runner-up by defeating University of St. Francis 76-0 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday night before 9,072 fans at Hancock Stadium.  The No. 4-ranked Redbirds scored on each of their first ten offensive series en route to producing their second-highest scoring output in school history.

USF's lone threat at breaking the scoring barrier came after ISU had built a 34-0 lead 18 minutes into the contest.  Back-to-back passes to Mason Hackman for a combined 61 yards and the second first down of the game put the Fighting Saints in ISU territory for the only time on the night.

A Jonny Sorensen 10-yard run followed by an Illinois State University pass interference penalty eventually got the Saints as close as the ISU five-yard line.  A third down pass play resulted in an interception, however, for one of three turnovers on the night for the guests.  The end result was the Redbirds' first shutout of the Saints in four all-time meetings.

USF finished the contest mustering just 120 yards of total offense opposite 589 (10.7 yards per play) for the hosts.  Nearly all of St. Francis' output came through the air as the Saints managed just 14 yards on the ground.

Illinois State rushed for 353 yards on 31 attempts (11.4 per carry average) and added another 236 yards through the air.  ISU's first two quarterbacks on the night were a perfect 16-for-16 with starter Beckham Pellant going 6-for-6 for 114 yards with two touchdowns.  Gage Roy followed with ten passes in ten attempts for 85 yards and three scores.

A total of 13 different Redbird receivers caught passes, including Dylan Lord, who had two of his three receptions go for touchdowns as part of a 69-yard game.

On the ground, Tyler Lofton's 85-yard touchdown right after the Sorensen interception was the biggest play of the game.  He finished with a team-high 119 yards on just five carries with two touchdowns.  Victor Dawson was right behind with nine carries for 75 yards and a score.

Sorensen threw for 103 yards, completing eight of his 18 pass attempts.  Hackman collected half of those completions for 83 yards.  Sorensen also had the most yards on the ground with 22 in 16 attempts.

Defensively, the Saints were led in tackles by converted running back Gavin Day.  He finished with ten stops.  Matthew Perry returned to the Saints to record eight tackles.

Notes: The Redbirds scored 20-plus points in each of the first three quarters … Seven of ISU's 10 touchdowns came on drives of four plays or less … Adrian Guerrero punted 11 times on the night with his long being 46 yards … Both teams split up the 20 penalties assessed by the officials evenly for a combined 158 yards … The Saints were just 2-of-14 on third down … ISU was a perfect 8-for-8 in the red zone.

Next Up
The task gets no easier next Saturday (Sept. 5) when the Saints open their home season against NAIA No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University.  Kickoff is set for 1 pm at Joliet Memorial Stadium.