MACOMB, Ill.  -  Western Illinois came within two points, 32-30, with 9:22 remaining in the final quarter, but Stephen F. Austin held the Fighting Leathernecks from a two-point conversion to finish out the home-opening game, 40-30.

The Lumberjacks (2-1) scored on their first drive and forced a fumble on the Leathernecks' (1-2) first kick return that allowed SFA possession at the Western 27, which they capitalized on with nine plays into the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

Western was forced to punt on its next drive, but Dre Gibbs opened Western's third drive with a 13-yard rush that was capped by a 53-yard pass to Justin Rideau in the end zone. The Leathernecks forced the Lumberjacks to punt on their next drive, a punt that Todd Speight returned for 88-yards and a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 with 13 seconds in the first quarter. Speight's 88-yard return was the second-longest punt return in school history and longest since the 2003 season when James Norris returned a punt for 95 yards.

Anthony D'Astice tipped a Jeremy Moses pass into the hands of Kyle Glazier for the second interception of his career and Leatherneck possession at the 10:43 mark of the second quarter, but Western was unable to capitalize on the gain and was forced to punt. Stephen F. Austin dominated the quarter with a touchdown and three field goals from Evan Engwall, including a 51 yarder, while Western's Brian Egan hit a 43-yard field goal to close the quarter, down 29-17.

Speight represented Western in the kickoff return to open the fourth quarter, a 93-yard return for a touchdown, which is the first time in school history that a player returned both a punt and kickoff for a touchdown. Neither team was able to put more points on the board in the third.

The Lumberjacks opened the final quarter with a field goal and a 32-24 lead. With Western's drive start at 11:40, Barr hit Lito Senatus with an 11-yard pass to the WIU-33. Gibbs rushed for eight yards and a SFA penalty allowed Western five more. At second and 10, Barr completed a pass to Terriun Crump for 14 yards and a Leatherneck first down in SFA territory. Barr found Matt Warner at first and 10 for seven yards and reached him again with a 33-yard pass resulting in a touchdown. Gibbs rushed for the two-point conversion that resulted in a failed attempt.

Moses completed a 24-yard pass to Aaron Rhea on the following drive for a 38-30 lead, which was secured with a safety at the 2:50 mark. The Lumberjacks handed the Leathernecks their first home-opening loss under Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson.

SFA had possession for 35:12 compared to Western's 24:42. The Lumberjacks held the Leathernecks to 80 yards rushing and 270 yards passing. Speight totaled 295 yards in returns on the night with 207 from kickoffs and 88 from punts.

Glazier led the Leatherneck defense with 13 total tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception, which he returned for 14 yards. Mike Stieren registered a pair of sacks and 2.5 TFL's and Mike Garoppolo added an additional sack. The defensive efforts combined for eight TFL's resulting in a loss of 21 yards.

The Leathernecks have a bye week next week and host Southern Illinois for a 6:05 p.m. family weekend game.


Postgame Quotes:

Western Illinois Head Coach Don Patterson:
“One of my biggest frustrations was that we gave them a lot of big hits, but those didn't lead to any turnovers for them. It's a real testament to Stephen F. Austin that even though we had those big hits they held onto the ball. I give them credit for executing really well. Their receivers are really slippery after the catch and their back seven on defense did a good job.”

“The guys we have on this football team are high-character people and I know they'll work harder than ever to improve and work things out. We're going to work our tails off. I know we disappointed both ourselves and our fans, which we take very seriously.”

“I do think we really need this bye week to rest and cut down on mistakes and that's exactly what we'll do. Fundamentally, we just need to get better. I think sometimes when you get down early you lose sight of the fundamentals and techniques you've been taught and you rely on raw emotion but you need to play the way you've been taught.”

SFA Coach J.C. Harper
“We beat a great football team tonight, I think Western Illinois is one of the top football teams in the country. My hat is off to Western Illinois, they are a really good, tough team and play with a lot of heart and passion. That number 12 (Kyle Glazier) was all over the field today--he had a really great game.”

“It was a tough, hard-fought ball game, I'm just happy we could escape with a win. I can't say enough good things about Coach Patterson and his football team. I'm glad we're done with that game, that was a war.”

WIU QB Matt Barr
“We were really excited to be out in front of our home crowd, but going down by two scores early makes it really tough. Offensively, we need to eliminate mental errors and missed assignments. Little things like that can lead to losses.”

“They got a lot of pressure from the front four which gave them the chance to drop seen guys back in coverage. They didn't do anything out of the ordinary but they executed really well and that was big. We'll need this upcoming off-week to rest up before conference play. We'll be able to use it to rest mentally and work on eliminating the silly mistakes.”

WIU WR Todd Speight
“It felt good to run back some kicks for scores but people forget that I also muffed a kick that put us behind an extra seven points. I'd give all the big returns back in order to have that one over again.”