OXFORD, OH - (8/28/2004) — The “National College Football Kickoff” was delayed by 45 minutes due to thunderstorms in the Yager Stadium area, putting a temporary hold on the Sycamores’ 2004 campaign. When the lightning cleared, Indiana State received the opening kickoff looking for success in a season opener for the first time since a 48-0 win over Mars Hill in 1996. ISU’s hopes were dashed early in the game as Miami claimed a 49-0 win over the Sycamores.
Indiana State’s first possession resulted in two first downs, highlighted by senior Sidney Montfort’s 11-yard rush on the game’s fourth play. After a screen pass from sophomore Jake Schiff to senior Jake Shields came up short on third-and-long, a punt by freshman Brandon Anwieler pinned Miami back at their own 15-yard line.
The RedHawks moved the ball on their first possession, drawing first blood when Josh Betts hit a wide-open Luke Clemens on a 16-yard swing pass which capped a 10-play, 85-yard drive to put Miami up 7-0 with 7:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Following a Sycamore punt on their second possession, it took the RedHawks just five plays to move to the ISU three-yard line. It took the RedHawks four more plays to reach pay dirt. A one-yard quarterback plunge by Josh Betts put Miami on the board for a second time. Betts recorded his third career rushing touchdown from a yard out to put the RedHawks ahead 14-0, capping a nine-play, 63-yard drive.
ISU’s third punt of the contest provided a jolt of electricity for the home crowd when Ryne Robinson took an Anwieler punt 70 yards for a score to pad the Miami lead to 21 points. The return was Robinson’s fourth of his career, a Miami record, and the first punt return for a touchdown by an ISU opponent since the 2001 season when Northern Iowa’s Jake Soliday took a punt back for a 49-yard score.
With Schiff facing a third-and-four situation on the ensuing possession, he tossed an interception to Miami’s Steve Burke setting up the RedHawks for their next score. On MU’s first play from scrimmage following the turnover, Betts connected on a strike to an outstretched Michael Larkin for the 30-yard score to give the RedHawks a commanding 28-0 advantage.
Following ISU’s fifth punt of the game, Miami was able to score when Mike Smith plunged over left tackle for a score with 9:04 remaining before halftime, capping a six-play drive that began on the Sycamore 44-yard line.
A three-and-out forced another Sycamore punt, and the RedHawks put together a march down the field to go up 42-0 with 3:25 remaining before the intermission. Miami scored on a three-yard run up the middle by Clemens, capping an eight-play, 65-yard drive.
The ISU offense recorded their initial first down of the second quarter with just over three minutes remaining when Schiff hit junior Jamie Petrowski for a 13-yard gain. Indiana State moved the ball into RedHawk territory for the first time during the contest on the strength of a roughing the passer penalty following a three-yard completion to sophomore Markus Naves that moved the ball to the MU 49-yard line.
The impressive drive continued when Schiff connected with junior Matt Beste for a 26-yard pass down to the Miami 19 yard line. The drive ended on the next play, as the Sycamores committed their second turnover of the contest, a fumble by Montfort that was recovered by Miami’s Marcus Johnson at the MU 35-yard line. With just over a minute left before the half, the Sycamore defense made their first stop of the contest, forcing a RedHawk punt after three incomplete passes by Betts.
On the punt, senior Quincy Wallace returned the kick 31 yards, setting up the Sycamores at the Miami 44-yard line with 46 seconds remaining before the break. Following a completed pass to Naves, a rush by Schiff, and an incomplete pass, Shields moved the chains for ISU’s seventh first down of the contest on a four-yard run to move the ball into Miami territory. A last second attempt by Schiff fell incomplete to end the half with the RedHawks holding a 42-0 advantage.
Larkin picked up his second scoring catch of the contest with 9:25 remaining in the third quarter for 5 yards from Betts. The play capped a 14-play drive to open the half by the RedHawks as they took a 49-0 lead.
"Tonight we did some things that we can build upon over the next couple of weeks," head coach Tim McGuire said. "We have to improve on things like our spacing and angles. We were able to gauge most of the things that we need to improve on heading into the Eastern Illinois contest."
Schiff led the way for ISU. completing 12 of his 21 passes for 104 yards and an interception. Montfort led ISU in rushing with 39 yards on 16 carries while Braden caught a team-high four balls for 29 yards.
Miami’s Betts completed 17 of his 27 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns in his collegiate starting debut.
Along the injury front, Adam Vogel (elbow), Griff Howard (back), Mike Thorpe (knee) all left the contest with injuries. Derrick Williams was transported to a local hospital where x-rays to his neck were negative, after which he was released from the hospital and will travel home with the team.
Following an open week, the Sycamores are back in action on September 11 when they travel to Eastern Illinois for a 6:00 p.m., (CDT) kickoff. Indiana State defeated the Panthers 23-7 at Memorial Stadium a season ago. USA-365.com provides live Internet audio streaming with Brian Fritz providing the play-by-play and Pete Emmert with the color commentary. The pre-game show starts at 5:40 p.m., with the kick-off set for 6:00 p.m., CDT / EST on www.USA-365.com.
Copyright ©
2004 USA-365.com and Meyer
Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights
reserved.
Revised: August 29, 2004
.