MACOMB, Ill. - Terriun Crump caught a tipped pass and raced 77 yards down the sidelines with 26 seconds left for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown as Western Illinois defeated 12th-ranked Southern Illinois 27-21, Saturday afternoon (Oct. 1) at Hanson Field. The win extends Western's home win streak to eight games, and ends a nine-game losing streak to the Salukis.

Southern took over possession with 3:21 remaining in the game, but on 3rd-and-3 Kevin Palermo and Emeka Nwankwo stopped quarterback Kory Faulkner a yard shy. SIU punted and the Fighting Leathernecks (2-3 overall, 1-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) took over on their own 15.

Caulton Ray broke off an eight yard run setting up 2nd-and-2 from the 23. On the next play Josh Hudson's slant pass was tipped by a Saluki defensive back and found Crump nearly in stride. The senior wide receiver had a wide open field down the left sidelines, and he out-ran the Salukis to the endzone for the 77-yard score with only 26 seconds remaining. Southern (2-2, 1-1) would however block Pat Smith's extra point attempt.

"Before the play was ran I had a slant route. The safety came up and got a hand on it but we practice not giving up on the ball. I've never seen a tipped ball go forward but this one did and it took me a second to realize I caught it, but then I just took off," said Crump who matched a career-high with two touchdown receptions in the win.

On the ensuing drive, Faulkner found Cam Fuller down the sidelines for 47 yards, a pass that was nearly picked off, putting the ball on the Western 25. With no timeouts remaining and 12 seconds left, Faulkner went for the endzone. The pass was deflected in the endzone and senior Raynard Pamilton came up with his first interception as a Leatherneck to seal the win.

"I want to say how proud I am of the Leatherneck football team.  The staff could not be more proud of how well they played today," said head coach Mark Hendrickson.

Western elected to open with the ball and wasted little time in striking first. After an incomplete pass to start, Hudson found Crump for 44 yards then followed with a 36-yard scoring strike to Justin Morgan just 37 seconds into the game. That score not only was the first time Western scored on its opening drive this year, it was the first time scoring in the first quarter.

The defense held on the next drive, then the Leathernecks used a balanced attack to score again. A 13-play, 80-yard drive was capped when Hudson found Myles Daughtry in the corner of the endzone for a 14-0 lead.

Southern finally got on the board late in the first half. Faulkner, who came on in place of injured starting QB Paul McIntosh, marched the Salukis 76 yards in 17 plays and hit Luke Standiford for a 7-yard TD.

Western forced a 3-and-out in the opening drive of the second half and took over on its own 24. Ray rushed for 23 yards in the drive and Hudson capped it off with a 24-yard strike to Crump and 21-7 lead.

Jewel Hampton took over the running load for Southern, and would eventually tie the game on a 20- and 4-yard TD run, the latter midway through the fourth.

The win not only allows Western to go into its bye week on a high note, but end a streak of nine consecutive losses in the series dating back to its 38-21 home win in 2001.

"Southern has three running backs that are some of the best in FCS football. So for starters, a great job by the defense in tackling and wrapping up the ball carriers. It was a very physical game as all Western Illinois games are and every MVFC game is," said Hendrickson. "It was played very well by both teams and there were very few mistakes by both sides... Josh did very well today, not only playing his position well but also making big plays. There were a lot of individual plays on defense and (Raynard) Pamilton wrapped it up at the end."

Crump recorded 163 yards on five receptions, the second-highest yardage game of his career. It marks his fourth 100-yard receiving game this season and seventh of his career. Hudson finished 20-of-30 for 307 yards and a career-high four TD passes.

Daughtry caught a game-high six passes totaling 39 yards. Charles Chestnut matched a career-high making five receptions and ended with 64 yards. Ray rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries.

Defensively, Palermo tied a career-high thanks to a game-high 14 tackles. Mike Garoppolo added nine stops while Tim Franken and Theon Dixon added seven each.

The final stats were nearly similar overall as Western out-gained SIU 429 to 405. Western led in passing 307-143 but SIU held a 262-122 edge on the ground. Both teams had 22 first downs, and SIU held the ball for just eight seconds more.

Hamilton rushed for 146 yards and two TDs on 22 carries. Faulkner added 70 rushing yards to go with his 143 passing (12-of-23).

Following its bye week, Western travels to Indiana State on October 15th for a 2 p.m. kick.

GAME NOTES: Western held SIU to 0-for-2 on fourth downs, stopping Hamilton on a 4th-and-1 midway through the second and Antoine Ford stopping Fuller a yard shy on 4th-and-6 early in the fourth quarter... The Salukis missed scoring earlier in the second quarter when Jackson MacLachlan missed a 28-yard field goal... Palermo matched a tackles career-high also done last year at home against Youngstown State... Western's last win over a ranked opponent came during the 2010 regular season finale at home, a 30-14 win over 12th-ranked Northern Iowa... Crump now ranks tied for third with four 100-yard receiving games this season, and now with seven in his career is one shy of matching Reggie Gray's all-time mark of eight. His game-winning TD catch was the 100th reception of his career. He overtook sixth place all-time with 1,688 receiving yards, jumping up two spots in the win... Hudson threw four TD passes in a game during his career at the College of Siskiyous. His fumble was the first time this season Western lost one on the ground... The Leatherneck defense broke up five passes, two each by Ford and Kieron James. Ford made his first start of the year and second of his career... Southern did not complete its first pass until its scoring drive late in the second quarter... Western has won three of its last four Homecoming games and improved to 49-22-5 all-time... The announced attendance of 14,168 is the largest crowd since the 2009 home opener (15,328 against Stephen F. Austin).