MACOMB, Ill.  -  Western Illinois' senior Dre Gibbs recorded his sixth 100-yard rushing game this season as the No. 12 South Dakota State Jackrabbits defeated the Fighting Leathernecks, 27-7, at Hanson Field Saturday, Nov. 21.

"I am very proud of the Leatherneck football team for the eleventh-straight week," Western Illinois acting head coach Mark Hendrickson said. "I told the seniors and the team how proud I am for the way they conducted themselves this entire season. They showed up to every practice and every meeting all season with a great attitude and a willingness to give everything they had. These guys have never missed a day, even without that ultimate reward on Saturday, and that is very impressive."

Midway through the first quarter, senior Ed Roberts returned the first interception of his career 20 yards, putting the Leathernecks (1-10, 0-8 MVFC) in scoring position at the SDSU-25. Gibbs went on a 25-yard run for a touchdown on the following play for a seven-second scoring drive to tie the game, 7-7, with 8:54 remaining in the first quarter.

The Jackrabbits (8-3, 7-1 MVFC) began the following drive at their own 34-yardline and drove down to the WIU-22 for a first down. A delay of game penalty, a rush for five yards and a pair of incomplete passes forced SDSU to go for three. Kicker Kyle Harris' 39-yard attempt was good for a 10-7, first-quarter lead.

The Jackrabbits' Kyle Minett rushed for 20 yards and hauled in a 15-yard touchdown pass from Thomas O'Brien for a nine-play, 45 yard drive five minutes into the second quarter.

After a three-and-out with two minutes remaining in the half, Chris Fuchs' punt was blocked by Chris Tracey and recovered by Erich Feller at the Western's 16 yardline. The Jackrabbits capitalized in two plays with a 10-yard touchdown completion to Glen Fox for a 24-7 halftime lead.

The teams traded drives to open the second half, and Western's second drive put them in field-goal range at the SDSU-17. Brian Egan's field goal attempt was blocked by Jordan Paula, keeping the Leathernecks from closing in on the point deficit.

South Dakota State's Peter Reifenrath hit a 33-yard field goal on the following drive to secure the 27-7 win as both teams remained scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Western was forced to play catch up for the entire game as the Jackrabbits' Minett rushed for a 39-yard touchdown on the opening drive, capping a two-play, 40 yard scoring drive in only 49 seconds.

SDSU showed a balanced attack with 184 yards rushing and 142 yards passing. The Leathernecks recorded 77 yards rushing and 206 yards in the air. O'Brien threw for 142 yards, going 12-for-24 with an interception, while Wil Lunt threw for 206 yards, going 25-for-38.

Minett led all players in the ground game with 147 yards and two touchdowns, while Gibbs netted 103 with one touchdown. Gibbs recorded the 10th-best rushing season for a Western Illinois player with 1,110 yards on the year. He closes out his career with 1,927 rushing yards.

"It has been an honor to play with these guys," Gibbs said. "I'm proud of the season because nobody gave up on either side of the ball. We have a great man right here (referring to coach Hendrickson). A great man first and foremost and a great coach secondly. It was great to play for him my senior year."

Defensively, junior Kyle Glazier, who leads the league in tackles, led all players in the game with 12 total stops. Glazier closes out the season with 120 total tackles to lead the Leathernecks for the second-consecutive season and hold the best season total since for Western since the 2003 season when Lee Russell had 146. Four-of-six punts landed inside the 20 for Fuchs with a long of 42 yards.

The game closed out the 2009 season for the Leathernecks.