NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Gage Roy threw three touchdown passes, and Tyler Lofton ran for 119 yards and two scores as Illinois State shut out St. Francis of Illinois 76-0 on Saturday in both teams’ season opener.
Illinois State, ranked No. 4 in the FCS Stats Perform Top 25, set a Hancock Stadium record for points in a game.
Roy completed all 10 of his passes for 85 yards, while Beckham Pellant went 6 of 6 for 114 yards and two touchdowns. The Redbirds completed 21 of 24 passes for 236 yards and six touchdowns without an interception.
The Redbirds scored four touchdowns in the second quarter, including Lofton’s 85-yard run and Pellant’s 48-yard touchdown pass to Dylan Lord, for a 48-0 halftime advantage.
Stevan Gavric’s first career catch went for a 4-yard touchdown from Pellant. Travis Stamm later caught a 3-yard pass from Chase Kwiatkowski for his first career touchdown.
Lofton scored again on a 9-yard run and needed just five carries for his 119 yards. Illinois State rushed for 353 yards and five touchdowns on 31 attempts.
St. Francis, an NAIA team, was held to 14 rushing yards and 106 yards passing. ___
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