BOONE, N.C. - Western
Illinois jumped out to an early lead, but top-seeded Appalachian State rattled
off five straight touchdowns as the Leathernecks' season came to an end
following the 42-14 loss Saturday afternoon (Dec. 4) at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Recording seven more wins than last season, Western ends the
2010 campaign in the Second Round of the FCS Playoffs at 8-5 overall.
Kyle Glazier and
the defense gave Western a boost early in the game. Glazier picked off DeAndre
Presley - his second pick this year and fifth of his career - and returned it
to the Appy 12. On the next play Matt
Barr hit Lito Senatus in the
left corner for a touchdown. Pat Smith's
point-after put Western ahead 7-0 less than five minutes into the game.
Later in the quarter Appy took over near midfield following
a punt. Devon Moore scored from three yards out. Western actually got a hand on
the extra point but Jason Vitaris' kick still was able to just clear the
crossbar and tie the game with 3:29 left.
Early in the second, Barr's downfield pass was picked off by
Dominique McDuffie and returned near the redzone. Presley took it to the one then
scored on the next play for a 14-7 lead with 12:56 left in the half.
On ASU's next drive Tyler
West intercepted Presley, his third pick this year and second in as many
weeks. However, the rest of the second quarter was all Mountaineers.
Chris Fuchs' punt
pinned Appy on its own four. Three plays later Presley escaped down the right
sidelines for an 89-yard touchdown run. Right before half ASU went 40 yards on
just six plays, capped by Cedric Baker's 6-yard TD run for a 28-7 lead going
into the locker room.
ASU (10-2) did not complete a pass during the first half as
Presley went 0-for-4 with two interceptions but the junior quarterback rolled
up 177 rushing yards on just nine carries.
Western was minus-26 yards rushing and Barr was 9-of-17 for
78 yards and two interceptions.
The Leathernecks punted on their first drive and Presley
took over again. He ran for a first down, completed his first pass of the game for
another, then hit Brian Quick for a 35-yard touchdown pass and 35-7 lead with
11:11 in the third.
The offense got back on the scoreboard late in the third
going 48 yards on nine plays. Barr picked up a first down thanks to a run on
fourth down. A pass interference penalty put Western on the three yard line.
Two runs by Caulton Ray, the last
from a yard out, made it 35-14 with 3:09 left in the quarter.
Western drove into ASU territory again early in the fourth.
But on 4th-and-long Barr had to avoid the blitz and his pass went incomplete.
On the ensuing drive Presley broke off a 54-yard run getting to the Western
redzone. Rod Chisholm ended the scoring with a 3-yard run.
Western head coach Mark Hendrickson, a finalist for the
Eddie Robinson Award (National Coach of the Year), expressed his pride in the
Leathernecks.
"I'm very proud of this Leatherneck Football team today. I have
been all fall. In 2009 this team lost 10 football games in a row and to get to
this point I'm very proud of them like all Leatherneck fans are," said
Hendrickson. "Our guys never gave up today and I take a lot of pride in that
fact.
"We played a very good team today and they certainly were
the better team today. I understand why they are the top-seeded team," said Hendrickson.
Ray, who was at minus-7 yards rushing in the first half,
finished with 87 yards on 21 carries. He surpassed 1,000 yards on the year,
finishing with 1,075 - the 16th time in program history that feat has been
accomplished.
Barr went 13-of-35 for 98 yards and a TD but threw three
interceptions, the final one on the last offensive play of the game. The senior
quarterback, who set Western records for: season passing yards, touchdowns,
total offense and Missouri Valley Football Conference record for total offense,
will represent the Leatherneck program next month as one of three finalists for
the Walter Payton Award.
Senatus caught three passes for 25 yards, finishing with 65
receptions tying for the second most in a season. He owns the season record
with 1,145 yards.
Glazier fittingly ended his career with a game-high 13
tackles, giving him 167 this season (sixth among season 'Top 10') and 392 for
his career (fourth all-time). He recorded 10-plus tackles now 21 times in his
career, 10 alone this season.
West added a career-high 12 stops, and his 60-yard
interception return set a Western playoff record. Brandon Kreczmer added 10 stops and broke up a pass and fellow
senior Terry Barney made a
career-high nine tackles.
Presley's rushing numbers out-gained Western, 264 yards on
16 carries and the two touchdowns. He also passes for 47 yards, completed
2-of-7 passes. Western gained 231 yards compared to App State's 464.
GAME NOTES: Temperature
at kickoff was 30 degrees... App won the toss and elected to receive... Senatus
extended his streak to 25 consecutive games with a catch, tying Steve Williams
for third place all-time... Justin Morgan
tied a career-high with four receptions... Senior Todd Speight made his first appearance since the South Dakota State
game in early October. He was one of 16 seniors at the game to make their final appearance
as a Leatherneck... Western went 6-0 at Hanson Field, and 2-5 on the road...
Senatus ended his career with 149 catches, good for second place all-time with
a record 21 TDs. His 2,269 receiving yards also placed him second... Terriun Crump finished with 56
receptions this year, tied for eighth among season 'Top 10'... Barr ended his
senior campaign with 3,410 passing yards, and 3,859 yards of total offense with
34 touchdowns accounted for.
