Illinois State Football 2006

It isn't often that one gets to combine business and pleaseure; but I have the opportunity to shoot ISU Foortball at the same time as my son Jonathan Lyon #79 plays - so the photos will have a bias to include him here - pictures of the remainder of the team wil be posted on a gallery at a later date

Watch this page for highlights of the Illinois State Football season - GO REDBIRDS!!

Illinois State Redbird Athletics

ISU vs Kansas State at Bill Snyder Field - ISU 23 KSU 24- Birds up two points in national standing

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Heading into Saturday's football season opener against Kansas State, the Illinois State Redbirds were determined to give their Division I counterparts a tough game. That is certainly what the Wildcats received from the Redbirds, as a failed two-point conversion with 3:02 left in the fourth quarter left the `Birds a point short and ISU was defeated 24-23 in front of 47,250 fans at the newly dedicated Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

On the first play from scrimmage, ISU safety Tom Nelson intercepted a long pass from KSU quarterback Dylan Meier and put the Redbirds on offense. The `Birds took full advantage of the early turnover as Kevin Mazur capped off a 11-play, 53 yard scoring drive with a 35-yard field goal to give the Redbirds a 3-0 lead with 9:42 left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats missed a field goal with 37 seconds left in the first quarter, giving the 'Birds a 3-0 lead after one quarter of play. Kansas State would come out strong in the second quarter though, as kicker Jeff Snodgrass connected on a 52-yard field goal to tie the score at 3-3 with 4:54 left in the half. The Wildcats then continued to impress on special teams, as Yamon Figurs returned a Bobby Kelsey punt 81 yards for a touchdown to give KSU a 10-3 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

After receiving the kickoff to start the second half, the Redbirds wasted little time tying up the score. With the ball on the ISU 24-yard line and facing second down, Luke Drone connected with Pierre Jackson on a 70-yard strike down the sideline to put the `Birds on the Kansas State six-yard line. Two plays later, Drone found Laurént Robinson in the end zone for a four-yard touchdown pass and the 23rd of his career, which made him ISU's all-time leader in career touchdown receptions. Kevin Mazur's extra point followed and knotted the score at 10-10 with 12:25 left in the third quarter.

KSU would answer with 4:35 left in the quarter to re-take the lead 13-10, as Snodgrass connected on his second field goal of the game, this time from 41 yards out. The score would stay that way until the fourth quarter when Drone and Robinson hooked up on their second touchdown pass to put the Redbirds up 17-13. KSU then cut the ISU lead to one 17-16 on Snodgrass' third field goal of the game with 8:36 left to go.

On the ensuing kickoff, however, ISU's Jason Horton fumbled on the return and KSU's Byron Garvin returned the fumble nine yards to put the Wildcats up 24-17. The Redbirds would not go away, though, as Drone then led his team to an 11-play, 47-yard scoring drive that culminated in a three-yard touchdown pass to Jackson to cut the lead to 24-23. Head coach Denver Johnson then made the call to go for the two-point conversion, but Drone was unable to break the plane on the quarterback draw and ISU was left one point behind with 3:02 left in the game.

After forcing the Wildcats to go three-and-out on the next possession, the Redbirds got the ball back with 1:35 left to play and took one last shot down the field. However, ISU could not muster a first down and the KSU defense secured the 24-23 victory. Drone finished the game 24-of-38 for 253 yards and three touchdowns and Pierre Rembert finished with 105 yards rushing on 29 carries. Cameron Siskowic paced the Redbird defense with 15 tackles, while Nelson finished the game with two interceptions.

Next up for the Redbirds will be Central Arkansas, which will face the 'Birds next Saturday in ISU's home opener at Hancock Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

http://lyon-photography.com/Gallery4/

`Birds Defense Holds UCA Without a Touchdown in 18-3 Win

Illinois State moves to 1-1 on the season.

Sept. 9, 2006

Final Stats

NORMAL, Ill. - On a rainy night in the home opener at Hancock Stadium, the Redbird defense shined bright as they did not allow a Central Arkansas touchdown and picked off two passes in a 18-3 victory over Bears in front of 10,262.

The Bears found it extremely hard to run or pass against the `Birds as junior linebacker Kye Stewart set a career high 14 tackles to lead the team, junior defensive tackle Jarek Thomas recorded three tackles-for-loss and junior free safety Tom Nelson picked off his third pass of the season.

While the defense was close to perfect, holding the Bears to just three points and 63-yards rushing, the offense received strong performances from its receiving core that played without injured All-American wide receiver Laurént Robinson. In Robinson's absence, junior Pierre Jackson shouldered the load, hauling in career highs with 9 receptions for 113 yards and sophomore Jake Rourke hauled in his first career touchdown catch from junior quarterback Luke Drone, who went 16-38 on the night for 228 yards.

The defense came out in the first half and set the tone, much like they did last week when ISU held Kansas State to 207 total yards, by holding the Bears scoreless. The `Birds allowed 120 yards of total offense and limited four UCA running backs to 56 yards rushing on 15 carries. Thomas highlighted the `Birds' defensive efforts by picking off his first career pass against UCA's Robbie Park with 2:49 left in the second quarter, stopping a Bear drive that was threatening to move into Redbird territory.

The Redbirds got on the board first with a pair of field goals in the first five minutes of the second quarter off the leg of sophomore kicker Kevin Mazur. The Mt. Prospect, Ill., native put the `Birds up 3-0, following a 23-yard field goal, capping off a 13-play, 83-yard drive at the 14:12 mark. After a quick three-and-out by Central Arkansas, ISU marched 44 yards down the field in seven plays before Mazur booted a 25-yard field goal with 10:04 remaining in the first half to put the Redbirds up 6-0.

The `Birds quickly scored their lone touchdown just over two minutes into the second half on a 61-yard touchdown strike from Drone to Rourke. ISU began the first drive of the second half on their five yard line before running five plays, which to Drone dropping back to hit a streaking Rourke up the middle of the field for the long touchdown completion. The touchdown strike was the fourth on the early season for Drone.

The Bears threatened to get the 12-0 deficit within a touchdown later in the third quarter, but had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by James Paul with 1:25 left. UCA picked up the bulk of its 73 yards on the drive when Park hit Aaron Fairooz on a 59-yard pass play. ISU held UCA on third-and-11 from the `Birds' 16 yard line when senior Niall Campbell stopped Park after a short gain.

The Redbirds answered the Bears with a 9-play, 71-yard drive of their own taking 3:40 off the clock. The drive resulted in Mazur's third field goal of the day, this time from 20 yards out, pushing ISU's lead back up to 15-3.

Mazur finished the scoring for the `Birds, putting them up 18-3 with his fourth field goal at 3:03 left in the fourth quarter. Mazur's fourth field goal of the night set a new career high in one game and tied a Hancock Stadium record.

The Bears made one last attempt to score a against the ISU defense, but the `Birds turned away UCA on four straight plays inside the 10-yard line and turned the ball over on downs with 43 seconds left to play.

Illinois State returns to action next Saturday when the Redbirds welcome intrastate rival Eastern Illinois to Normal, Ill. Kick-off at Hancock Stadium against the Panthers is slated for 6:30 p.m.

CAS_O_