Owens’ five-touchdown performance leads Indiana State past Eastern Illinois, 42-35

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Elijah Owens turned in a career performance with five total touchdowns and the Sycamore offense delivered late with a key first down to hold off an Eastern Illinois rally as Indiana State topped the host Panthers on Saturday night, 42-35.

Eastern Illinois (1-2) cut Indiana State's (1-2) 35-7 lead down to 42-35 with a four-touchdown surge over the span of 15 minutes as quarterback Cole LaCrue connected on three touchdown passes and added a touchdown run to make it a one-possession game. Needing a first down on 3rd-and-9 from the Indiana State 26-yard line, the Sycamores turned to quarterback Elijah Owens to deliver once again in the game.

Owens took the snap and stepped back, before running the ball up the middle for an 11-yard gain for the first down, forcing EIU to take its final timeout with 2:21 remaining in the game. Three plays later, Owens took the ball up the middle for a four-yard gain on 3rd-and-1 to record the final first down allowing Indiana State to run out the clock in securing their fifth win over EIU in the last seven meetings.

Owens spotlighted the Indiana State offensive attack as the redshirt junior quarterback went 21-of-33 through the air for 284 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 18 carries for 98 yards and two additional scores in his first collegiate five-touchdown game. The Jacksonville, Ill. native was effective throughout the game with touchdown passes to BJ Wuest, Dane Pardridge, and Aaron Ball, while his final rushing touchdown, a 15-yard draw up the middle, give Indiana State the 42-21 lead with 10:40 remaining in the contest.

EIU fought back into the game after going down 35-7 early in the third quarter after Owens found BJ Wuest for a 42-yard touchdown pass on Indiana State's opening drive of the second half. Panther quarterback Cole LaCrue nearly willed EIU to the comeback with touchdown passes to Jeremy Reeves, Jacarre Fleming-Page, and Charles Kellom, while adding an eight-yard touchdown rush in leading the EIU comeback attempt.

The Sycamores jumped out to the 28-7 halftime lead with Aaron Ball scoring on a three-yard touchdown run on Indiana State's opening offensive possession, while Owen (1-yard TD run), Dane Pardridge (35-yard TD reception), and Aaron Ball (1-yard TD reception) all found the end zone in the first half.

Ball finished with 13 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown and recorded Indiana State's longest carry of the season with a 57-yard rush up the middle late in the second quarter. BJ Wuest hauled in a career-high six catches for 142 yards and a score, while KeShon Singleton added five receptions for 66 yards in the win.

Alex Rose and Braxton Sampson each recorded a team-high seven tackles, while Sampson posted a team-best 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Kaleb Harris added six stops and a TFL, while Kolten Gajewski, Robert Beasley, and Bryce Patterson all recorded sacks in the win.

How They Scored

Aaron Ball scored on a three-yard touchdown run to cap Indiana State's opening seven-play, 80-yard drive to put the Sycamores ahead 7-0 over EIU early in the first quarter. EIU answered on Charles Kellom's 76-yard touchdown run at the 11:18 mark of the first quarter to tie the game up at 7-7. The Sycamores retook the lead with 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter as Elijah Owens went around the left side for a one-yard touchdown on the quarterback keeper to cap a six-play, 59-yard drive to put Indiana State up 14-7. Indiana State added to the lead in the second quarter as Elijah Owens found Dane Pardridge for the 35-yard touchdown pass to end a 10-play, 99-yard drive to make it a 21-7 game with 7:50 to play in the first half. The Sycamores found the end zone just before the halftime break as Aaron Ball hauled in the one-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Owens with seven seconds remaining in the second quarter to stretch the lead to 28-7 to cap a six-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by an Aaron Ball 57-yard carry down to the EIU 23 on the first play of the drive. Indiana State added to the lead on their first drive of the third quarter as Elijah Owens found BJ Wuest down the left sideline for the 42-yard touchdown pass with 11:11 on the clock to stretch the lead to 35-7. EIU was back on the scoreboard with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter as Jeremy Reeves hauled in the 21-yard touchdown pass from Cole LaCrue to make it a 35-14 game. The Panthers continued to chip away as Cole LaCrue scored on an eight-yard touchdown run with 1:23 remaining in the third to cut the deficit down to 35-21. Elijah Owens was back in the end zone for the second time of the game as the redshirt junior quarterback carried the ball in from 15 yards out to cap an eight-play, 91-yard drive and make it a 42-21 lead with 10:40 remaining. The Panthers responded on their ensuing drive as Cole LaCrue found Jacarre Fleming-Page for a seven-yard touchdown pass to make it a 42-28 game with 6:16 remaining. EIU took advantage of a Sycamore turnover to cut the game back to 42-35 as Charles Kellom hauled in the eight-yard touchdown pass from Cole LaCrue to make it one score game with 4:03 remaining to provide the final scoring margin. News & Notes

Elijah Owens jumped from 11th all the way to seventh all-time in Indiana State's career passing list following his 284-yard game on Saturday night at Eastern Illinois, becoming just the seventh Sycamore quarterback to surpass 3,000 career passing yards, achieving the feat in just 20 career games played. Owens (3,017) passed Blayne Baggett (2,741 – 2005), Kyle Frondorf (2,778 – 1986-88), Kevin Cox (2,885 – 1993-96), and Julian Reese (2,961 – 2001-02) to move into seventh all-time in Sycamore program history. Owens (4,010) became just the 10th player in Indiana State history to achieve 4,000-plus career total offensive yards after recording 284 passing yards and 98 rushing yards in Saturday night's game. Owens recorded his first collegiate game with at least five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) after achieving the feat on Saturday night against Eastern Illinois. Owens' three passing touchdown game marked his second collegiate three-passing touchdown game and first since achieving the feat at Eastern Illinois back on September 7, 2024. Owens' two rushing touchdown game marked his second collegiate multi-rushing touchdown game and first since achieving the feat on November 23, 2024, at Northern Iowa. Aaron Ball recorded two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving), becoming the first Sycamore running back to achieve the feat since Plez Lawrence recorded a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown on September 6, 2025, against Eastern Illinois. Dane Pardridge recorded his first receiving touchdown at Indiana State after hauling in a 35-yard touchdown for a second in the second quarter. BJ Wuest set new career highs in receptions (6), receiving yards (142), and his first collegiate receiving touchdown in the win. Wuest's 142-yard game marked Indiana State's first 100-yard receiving game of the 2026 season and first Sycamore receiver to post at least 100 receiving yards since Rashad Rochelle recorded 120 yards in the 2025 season finale against Murray State (Nov. 22, 2025). Kolten Gajewski, Robert Beasley, and Bryce Patterson all recorded sacks in the game. CJ Davis recorded his first forced fumble of the season, while Lovell Vereen II recorded his first fumble recovery. Indiana State evened the all-time series against Eastern Illinois to 43-43-4 with the win on Saturday night. The Sycamores have won five of the last seven in the series against EIU. Postgame Press Conference

Indiana State returns home on Saturday, September 19, as the Sycamores close out non-conference play at Memorial Stadium against Valparaiso University. Kickoff between Indiana State and the Beacons is set for 1 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.

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Owens’ five-touchdown performance leads Indiana State past Eastern Illinois, 42-35

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