Indiana State leaves Western Illinois in MVFC basement with 27-6 win

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) Justin Dinka ran for 147 yards and reached the end zone twice on the ground and Indiana State won its first game of the season, beating Western Illinois 27-6 on Saturday.

After a scoreless first period, Western Illinois' Matt Morrissey threw a 79-yard scoring pass to Donald McKinney for the game's first score The failed point-after attempt made it 6-0 with 13:42 left in the second. Roughly 6 1/2-minutes later, the Sycamores took the lead for the remainder when Dinka ran it in from 41 yards out. His 2-yard scoring run with 5:51 remaining in the game ended the scoring.

Morrissey threw for 177 yards for Western Illinois.

Indiana State (1-9, 1-6) and Western Illinois (0-10, 0-7) entered as the lone winless teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season. Last year, after winning their opener against North Alabama, the Sycamores lost their next eight and broke the skid by beating the Leathernecks 21-0, also in week 10.

As for the Leathernecks, the program now has a 23-game losing streak and hasn't entered the win column since Oct. 30, 2021 when they beat Illinois State 38-31.

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