MACOMB, Ill. - Bryce Flowers and Caulton Ray each gained 100 yards on the ground as Western Illinois rushed for a season-high 384 yards in a 40-7 Missouri Valley Football Conference win over Indiana State Saturday afternoon (Sept. 25) at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks (3-1 overall, 1-0 MVFC) captured a rainy Homecoming victory in the conference opener for both teams.
The rain did not let up all game, and Western decided to grind out the win rushing 71 times (six off the program record). Flowers rushed for 192 yards on 26 carries and Ray added 115 yards on 29 attempts, both season-high yards and attempts for both backs. Each recorded two rushing TDs.
"It was tough playing out there, not having the footing you need to make your cuts and play the way you want. But you've got to suck it up and do what you have to do and we did," said Flowers. "The offensive line did a great job opening up holes all game long."
Ray opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD run midway through the first quarter. Flowers broke through on a 32-yard run early in the second. This time Western converted the extra point for a 13-0 lead.
The Sycamores (1-2, 0-1) dropped back to punt from their own 22. Ryan Waldron broke through and got a hand on the punt, and thanks to a penalty Western took over on the 14. Ray needed one play to score his second TD of the game and a 20-0 lead heading into the locker room.
At the half Western had already gained 251 yards on the ground compared to Indiana State's 93 and held the ball for nearly 18 minutes.
Western held Indiana State to a 3-and-out to start the second half, and the Leathernecks used a season-long scoring drive to take control of the game. Josh Gabelmann's 1-yard plunge capped a 17-play drive (all rushes) that covered more than seven minutes and staked Western to a 27-0 lead.
ISU used Brock Lough on five consecutive rushes, the last from a yard out, to get on the scoreboard in the final minute of the third quarter.
Flowers added a 14-yard TD run then later in the fourth quarter Lamor Hickman added a 5-yard score for the final margin.
As good as the offense was rushing the ball, Western's defense continues to dominate at home. Opponents have scored in only two of the 12 quarters played at Hanson Field this year (7.0 ppg allowed at home), and the defense forced four turnovers.
"I'm very proud of the Leatherneck football players in the locker room right now. I'm proud of the way they performed to win the first conference ball game with the conditions we had... Our players executed very well in all three areas of the game today," said head coach Mark Hendrickson. "It's a very satisfying win because these young men have done outstanding things so far and our staff would say we're four-for-four in playing good games. We have yet to play a poor quarter. We're very proud of the way the players have performed, especially after this contest because this was a conference game. Our players wanted to start 1-0 in conference after the three non-conference games."
The last time Western had two runners gain 100-yards each was October 2008, a span of 22 games. Quarterback Matt Barr actually gained more yards rushing (48 yards on seven carries) than he did passing (19 on 4-of-11 passing).
"It took all of our runners a few carries to figure out their footing in the poor conditions. But once they were able to find their footing and hit their creases, they were able to move the ball very effectively. The offensive line held their blocks and moved their defense around to open up creases for the runners," stated Hendrickson.
Senior linebacker Kyle Glazier shared game-high honors with 11 tackles, and he recovered a fumble. Brandon Kreczmer added eight tackles, recovered a fumble and came up with his first career interception. Keith Enderlein finished with six tackles.
"We shut down their run game, and that put them in a tough spot because of the tough conditions. We had a lot of players have outstanding games today and we have more players than we've had in a while that can come in and out and still give us quality reps," said Hendrickson.
Chris Fuchs paced the special teams averaging 37 yards on six punts. He kicked a season-long 52-yarder and placed three inside the 10-yard line.
Darrius Gates led the Sycamores with 51 rushing yards on 12 carries. ISU had 121 yards on the ground and 52 through the air by Ronnie Fouch on 6-of-17 passing.
Aaron Archie led the Sycamore defense with 11 tackles. Ben Obaseki and Nate Brown added 10 tackles each.
Western travels to North Dakota State next Saturday, kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Ray and Flowers have rushed for a touchdown in every game this year... The offense committed their first turnover of the season when Barr threw an interception. Western also fumbled but Indiana State could not convert points on either turnover... WIU held the edge in time of possession, 34:42 to 25:18... Due to the wet weather, Jouett missed his first extra point attempt. That was Western's first missed extra point since the Missouri State game in 2008 - the last time the Leathernecks had two 100-yard rushers... It has rained in all three home games this season... Barr's 19 passing yards matched his career-low (19 vs. Northern Iowa in 2007)... Gabelmann led the receivers with two receptions... Western converted 10-of-18 on third down while holding ISU to 3-of-14... The fourth down conversion by the Sycamores was the first allowed by Western this year... Twenty of the 23 first downs gained by Western came on the ground.
