SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - For the second straight Missouri Valley Football Conference road game, Western Illinois had the ball but ran out of time dropping a 31-28 decision at Missouri State Saturday afternoon (Oct. 23). The 18th-ranked Leathernecks fell to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the MVFC.

Trailing by 10 with 4:16 remaining following Austin Witmer's 35-yard field goal, Western took over on its own 24. Matt Barr completed 3-of-4 passes, the final two to Lito Senatus for the last 50 yards including a 38-yard scoring strike.

The Bears (3-4, 2-2) took over on their own 20 with 3:32 left. Cody Kirby picked up a first down rushing for 11 yards to start the drive, then picked up another when facing 3rd-and-4. The defense finally held and forced MSU to punt, but Western fair caught the ball on its own 10 with just six seconds left.

Barr launched a pass downfield, caught by Myers Hendrickson at midfield, but he was quickly tackled as time ran out.

The senior quarterback's final completion gave him 402 passing yards on the day (21-of-30), his second career 400-game and the fourth-most single-game passing yards by a Leatherneck. Senatus' 180 yards were a season-high, marking his fourth career 100-yard receiving game and third straight.

Senior linebacker Kyle Glazier also turned in a career day, recording 25 tackles. He recorded the third-most stops by a Leatherneck in a game and became the only Western player ever to record two games of 21 or more tackles. Those 25 tackles are the most by a NCAA Division I FCS player this season.

However, despite all the record-setting performances, the Leathernecks fell out of first place in the Valley.

"Missouri State outplayed us over the four quarters of football. They got the victory they deserved," said head coach Mark Hendrickson. "Their running game was a big key, and I think another big key was we did not run the ball successfully enough. They had a key run on their final touchdown. Every coach will say you have to slow up the opponents run game and then go from there. Today at times we slowed them up but not enough, and obviously you cannot give up the big run play in the fourth quarter."

Starting the game going into the 20-plus MPH wind, Missouri State kept its drive alive with a penalty on third down. Victor Visoky recorded an 8-yard sack on second down, then two plays later Western took over on downs when Terry Barney broke up a pass in the endzone.

Barr connected with Senatus on a 51-yard gain, but three plays later he threw his second interception of the season when Jimmy Strong came up with a pick.

During the Bears' next drive Kirby took off running on third down and got the first, but Glazier forced a fumble and Brandon Kreczmer recovered on their own 36.

Western turned the turnover into points. Barr hit Terriun Crump on a 30-yard gain to get into MSU territory. Inside the redzone Barr picked up a first down on a run, getting to the two. Two plays later Josh Gabelmann dove in from inside the one for his third rushing TD of the season. Making his collegiate debut, redshirt-freshman Pat Smith hit the extra point giving Western a 7-0 lead with 2:28 left in the first quarter.

Missouri State responded on its next drive. The Bears converted on 3rd-and-long, then capped off the 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 17-yard TD run by Kirby.

Strong picked up his second pick of the game, intercepting Barr on the Leathernecks' first play and returning it 28 yards for a score and 14-7 lead with 11:25 left in the half.

Western's offense marched down the field to tie the game covering 90 yards in 10 plays. Barr found Drew Helt on a carer-long 50-yard reception, then finished off the drive with a 2-yard TD pass to the senior tight end.

The Bears regained the lead with Kirby found Chris Douglas, who shook off two tackles, on a 23-yard touchdown pass. Missouri State eventually took the seven point lead into the locker room, but both teams gained 251 yards in total offense during the first half.

Barr passed for 182 yards completing 10-of-14. Glazier had 10 of his tackles during the first half, including six solos.

After a scoreless third quarter, Barr and the offense marched into MSU territory. The senior quarterback kept the ball on 1st-and-goal and scored from eight yards out. Smith's extra point tied the game with 12:21 remaining.

Douglas gave Missouri State the lead again (28-21) 1:23 later thanks to a 79-yard touchdown run.

Western totaled 496 yards but gave up 508 yards of offense, including a season-high 351 on the ground, and for the first time this year lost the turnover battle.

The Bears converted 9-of-16 on third down while Western was at 50 percent (6-of-12).

Helt set a career-high receiving yards, totaling 71 yards on four receptions. Crump added four catches for 67 yards.

Glazier, who had set his previous high of 21 tackles two weeks ago, surpassed 100 stops this season (103). Kreczmer contributed seven tackles to go with his fumble recovery.

Douglas (165 yards) and Stephen Johnston (130) both surpassed 100 yards on the ground. Kirby added 54 while passing 14-of-22 for 157 yards.

Western returns to Hanson Field next Saturday (Oct. 30), playing host to Illinois State. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Western won the toss and elected to defer to the second half... Visoky's sack during the Bears' first drive was his first recorded since his sophomore year (2008)... Charlie Jouett came up with two touchbacks on his kickoffs in the first quarter. He had two touchbacks coming into the game (43 attempts)... In his first collegiate game Smith converted on all four extra point attempts... Western had scored first in the first five games of the season. Opponents scored first the past two games, but the Leathernecks were able to strike first today... Western had only two offensive turnovers this season (both in the rain against Indiana State), and matched that 19 minutes into the game... Myers Hendrickson came up with his first career reception during the second quarter, an 11-yard gain that resulted in a first down. He finished with two catches for 56 yards... Glazier moved from 10th place to seventh all-time in tackles (327)... Senatus moved into a tie for eighth place in career 100-yard games. He now ranks fourth among all Leatherneck receivers with 1,747 yards. With 16 career TD receptions he moved into a share of third place. He also extended his streak to 20 consecutive games with a reception... Two of Barr's passes in the first half went for 50-plus yards. He had only one coming into the game.