Game Boxscore
BROOKINGS, S.D. – Matt Barr's last second pass was knocked down in the endzone as South Dakota State held on for a 33-29 win over Western Illinois Saturday night (Oct. 9). The 20th-ranked Leathernecks fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.
Barr marched Western down the field and capped a 7-play drive with his career-high fourth TD pass of the game, a 4-yard completion to Josh Gabelmann. Going for two, Aaron Muhammad was able to catch the Barr pass to put Western ahead 29-26 with 4:30 remaining.
The Jackrabbits (1-4, 1-2) used a big kickoff return and penalty to start their game-winning drive on 47. Thomas O'Brien threw a 13-yard pass to Colin Cochart for the lead with 96 seconds left.
Facing 4th-and-10, Barr scrambled for 20 yards, then hit Terriun Crump for 18 more. Crossing midfield, Barr was sacked for a 19-yard loss, but hit Crump for 23 yards. He was able to spike the ball with one second left on the 32. Chris Tracy knocked down the Hail Mary pass to secure the win.
Several personal-highs were set in the loss, starting with the wide receivers. Crump caught a personal-high 10 passes for 183 yards (previous high of 75 yards) and a score. Lito Senatus tied his career-high with two TD receptions, part of his 125-yard day on 10 catches.
For the 10th time in Western history two receivers recorded 100-yard receiving games.
Barr finished with 26 completions, one shy of his career-high. His 351 passing yards were the second most in his career, and set a new high thanks to his four TD passes.
Kyle Glazier set a personal-high with 21 tackles, tying for the fifth-most in program history.
The Leatherneck defense came up with another big play on the Jackrabbits' first drive. Thomas O'Brien looked to have completed a third down pass for a first, however, Brandon Kreczmer laid a big hit on Kyle Minett and forced a fumble which Mike Stieren recovered.
On 4th-and-2 from the 26, the field goal unit initially came out but then Barr and company took the field again. Barr took a rush up the middle and got the first down. A pass interference penalty set up 1st-and-10 from the 11, but the Jackrabbit defense held and Charlie Jouett missed a 27-yard field goal attempt.
Western had the ball again inside SDSU territory but on 4th-and-2 from the 26 Caulton Ray was stopped for a loss. The Jackrabbits marched 75 yards on 12 plays, using a pass interference penalty on third down to set up 1st-and-goal, and scored on Kyle Minett's 2-yard TD run. It marked the first time in five games SDSU scored points in the first half.
The offense took over on its own seven and perfectly worked the 2-minute drill. Facing 3rd-and-15 from their own 21, Barr hit Bryce Flowers on a screen pass that picked up 35 yards. Three plays later Barr found Senatus, who broke two tackles and scored a 27-yard touchdown. Jouett's extra point tied the game with 43 seconds left in the half.
With 43 seconds remaining South Dakota State drove into Western territory and set up for a 53-yard field goal. However, a bad snap sailed way over the holder to run out the half.
Western was forced to punt on its first drive of the third half, and the Jackrabbits used Minett to march down the field. The senior running back surpassed 100 yards on the drive, capping it with a 5-yard TD run midway through the third quarter. However, Western quickly answered.
During the Leathernecks' next drive Senatus completed a 26-yard pass, then caught Barr's pass and fought off tacklers for a 9-yard score with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter to tie the game. That marked the third time in his career he caught two TD passes.
After the defense forced a punt, Crump came up with another big catch. The junior wide receiver broke a tackle and took it 46 yards to the endzone giving Western a 21-14 lead early in the fourth.
SDSU used a 10-play drive covering 82 yards to tie the game. Tyler Duffey scored a 1-yard TD run, however, on the extra point attempt a bad snap led to the a failed 2-point conversion keeping Western in the lead 21-20.
Chris Fuchs punted a 50-yarder from his own endzone but Cole Brodie returned it 35 yards deep into Western territory. The Jackrabbits used a pass interference call in the endzone on third down to put the ball at the two. On the next play Minett plunged in for the lead. Going for two, Kieron James broke up the pass as Western trailed 26-21 with 6:54 remaining.
Flowers rushed for 91 yards to lead the rushing attack. The offense totaled 542 yards compared to SDSU's 378.
Western returns to Hanson Field next Saturday (Oct. 16), playing host to Youngstown State as part of Family Weekend. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Western won the toss and deferred to the second half… On the Leathernecks' first drive, Senatus caught a 10-yard pass. It was his 100th career reception… Western entered the game 2-for-7 on fourth down conversions. Western converted on 4th-and-2 during its opening drive but in second drive was stopped for a loss on 4th-and-2 from the 26... For the first time this season Western failed to put points on the scoreboard first and was tied at halftime… Flowers' 35-yard reception late in first half was the first time a running back caught a pass for 20 or more yards… The 93-yard TD drive equaled the longest scoring drive by Western this year (93 in fourth quarter against Valparaiso)… Senatus moved into a tie for fifth all-time with 109 receptions. He also ranks eight all-time in yardage with 1,457 yards… Barr moved into fifth place all-time with 30 TD passes.
