SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS (0-1)
at WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS (1-1)

Saturday, September 18  •  1 p.m.  •  MACOMB
Hanson Field (Natural Grass/16,368 capacity)
All-Time Series: SHSU leads 4-3-1
Last Meeting: WIU 35, @SHSU 28 (9/3/09)

THE GAME: This is the ninth all-time meeting between Western and Sam Houston State... Last year's season-opening win for the Leathernecks at SHSU turned out to be their only win of the season... The last meeting between the two programs in Macomb came during the 2002 season, a 41-13 win for the Leathernecks... Western owns a 3-1 record over Sam Houston State since 2000.

THE RANKINGS: Western received 22 votes (41st place) in The Sports Network/Fathead.com 'Top 25 poll. Sam Houston State did not receive votes in the latest poll.

THE SCHEMES: Western Illinois will line up in a multiple formation on offense and 3-4 alignment on defense... Sam Houston State runs a multiple formation on offense and 4-3 defensive alignment.

THE COACHES: Mark Hendrickson is in his 12th year with the Leatherneck Football program, first as the head coach. He owns a 1-1 record this season, 6-11 record in three years (parts of two years as acting head coach... Willie Fritz is in his first year at Sam Houston State, 0-1 with the Bearkats and 136-53-1 in 18 years overall.

NEARING 500: Leatherneck Football is nearing another milestone in the storied program. Western is standing with 499 wins all-time, now one shy of 500. The .545 winning percentage (499-413-36 dating back to 1903) is the highest winning percentage of all the Division I programs in the state of Illinois.

ALL-TIME SERIES: This is the ninth meeting between Western Illinois and Sam Houston State... The Leathernecks are 7-6-1 all-time against programs in the Southland Conference. At Hanson Field Western owns a 4-1-1 mark, including an unbeaten streak of five games on the line Saturday.

SCOUTING THE BEARKATS: Sam Houston State dropped a season-opening 34-3 decision at Baylor two weeks ago... The Bearkats were off last week... Tim Flanders gained 40 yards on the ground in four attempts, including a long of 31 yards... Bryan Randolph completed 12-of-23 passes for 102 yards... Seth Patterson caught a team-leading four passes totaling 31 yards... The Bearkats offense came off the foot of Miguel Antonio on a 27-yard field goal. He would miss two kicks from 40-yards plus (46 and 42) in the game though... Matt Foster was forced to punt eight times, averaging 39.1 yards, including a long of 49... Darnell Taylor made a team-high eight tackles against the Bears, including six solo stops... Darius Taylor recorded six tackles... SHSU made four tackles for a loss, two sacks and broke up seven passes - three by Vic Carmichael.

SPEIGHT SETS RECORD: Senior return specialist Todd Speight wasted no time tying the Western Illinois career kickoff return record. In the season-opener against Valparaiso, Speight returned the opening kick of the second half 17 yards. He took sole possession of the record at Purdue, currently with 74 and counting... Speight remains 119 yards behind Reggie Gray for that career kickoff return mark.

BARR CRACKS TOP 10 AGAIN: Senior quarterback Matt Barr added his name again to the Western Illinois 'Top 10' passing record book. In the Valparaiso game, Barr reached 10th place in passing yards all-time. During the Purdue game he moved from 10th to seventh place among the career leaders, currently at 4,082 yards. His 25 completions and 286 yards at Purdue were both the second-highest totals of his career... He also ranks among the 'Top 10' in: completions (313/6th), attempts (574/7th), percentage (.545/7th), yards per game (151.2/8th) and touchdowns (20/9th)... His passing yards at Purdue marked the eighth time in his career he has thrown for 200-plus yards. His two touchdown passes versus Valparaiso marked his fifth career multi-TD throwing game.

- CAREER 200-YARD PASSING GAMES -

437 - at Sam Houston State (2009)

286 - at Purdue (2010)

284 - at South Dakota State (2008)

276 - Youngstown State (2007)

270 - Stephen F. Austin (2009)

247 - at Stephen F. Austin (2008)

230 - Valparaiso (2010)

208 - Southern Illinois (2007)

- TOP COMPLETIONS -

27 - at South Dakota State (2008)

25 - at Purdue (2010)

20 - Stephen F. Austin (2009)

18 - South Dakota State (2007)

18 - North Dakota State (2007)

18 - at Sam Houston State (2009)

- MULTI-TOUCHDOWN GAMES -

3 - at Sam Houston State (2009)

2 - on four occasions

SENATUS HITS 90: Senior wide receiver Lito Senatus made three catches for 43 yards at Purdue, giving him 91 career receptions. He enters the weekend in eighth place all-time, just one shy of seventh... Senatus is close to moving into the 'Top 10' for receptions yardage (1,253), just 108 yards shy of joining that career list.

NEARING CAREER TOTALS, IN TWO GAMES: Terriun Crump and Drew Helt are closing in on matching their career totals this season, in just two games... Crump caught 18 passes for 235 yards last year. So far in 2010 he has 10 catches for 112 yards... Helt recorded seven catches during his three-year career for 119 yards. The senior tight end currently has five receptions for 62 yards... Todd Speight already surpassed his 2009 totals (5 rec/15 yards) with seven catches for 88 yards.

GLAZIER HITS DOUBLE-DIGITS AGAIN: Senior linebacker Kyle Glazier led the defense once again, making 10 tackles in the win over Valparaiso. That marked the 12th time in his career he reached double-digits for tackles... Glazier had four games in 2008, seven last year and one so far this season.

TOP TACKLE PERFORMANCES

16 - at Indiana State (2009)

15 - Northern Iowa (2008)

13 - Stephen F. Austin (2009)

13 - at Illinois State (2009)

12 - at Northern Illinois (2009)

12 - at Northern Iowa (2009)

12 - South Dakota State (2009)

CENTURY CLUB MEMBERS: Kyle Glazier isn't the only current Leatherneck to record 100-plus tackles in his career... Senior linebacker Brandon Kreczmer has 141 career stops (88 coming last year)... Senior defensive lineman Victor Visoky has 124 career tackles, including 12.5 for a loss.

WELCOME TO WESTERN: Junior DB Ryan Davis made a quick impact on defense for Western. Earning his first start in the Purdue game, the JUCO transfer shared the team lead with eight tackles and he broke up a pass... Newcomers Keith Enderlein (5 tackles), Ryan Carleton (4), Raynard Pamilton (3), Brent Turner (2) and Alex Martinez (2) - all of whom played JUCO football in California - have seen time on the Leathernecks' 107th defense.