S. Illinois defeats Illinois St. in Gateway

Missouri State overwhelmed Southeast Missouri, 55-17.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Quarterback Nick Hill threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 85 yards to lead Southern Illinois to a 34-24 victory over Illinois State Saturday.

Hill completed 19-of-25 passes for the Salukis (9-1, 5-1 Gateway Conference), who led 14-9 at the half.

The Salukis led 17-9 going into the fourth quarter. The Redbirds scored 15 points in the final quarter, but only managed to get as close as 10 points in the last minutes of the game.

His top target was Phil Goforth, who had six receptions for 64 yards.

Luke Drone completed 22-of-36 passes for 222 yards for the Redbirds (4-7, 2-4). Rafael Rice, Cortes Rice and Drone each added one touchdown for Illinois State.

The Saluki had 444 yards of total offense, including 259 on the ground.

Missouri State 55, SE Missouri 17

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Gerald Davis rushed for three touchdowns as Missouri State defeated Southeast Missouri State as the Bears wrapped up their first winning season since 2004.

Missouri State (6-5) finished with 534 yards of total offense, led by freshman quarterback Cody Kirby’s 18-for-21 and 255-yard passing performance.

Davis, who scored on runs of 13 and 7 yards in the second quarter, broke the school’s single-season record with his 19th rushing touchdown on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to give the Bears a 41-10 lead.

Kirby threw first-half touchdowns to Jordan Eversley and Brandon Oliver and the Bears led 27-3 at halftime.

Southeast Missouri State quarterback Houston Lillard was 20-for-39 for 230 yards but was intercepted twice.

The Redhawks (2-8), who close the season next week against Jacksonville State, also lost two fumbles.

Freshman Kingjack Washington led Missouri State with 91 yards on 11 carries and Davis, a senior, added 59 yards on 14 attempts. The Bears rushed for 257 yards.