MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois could not overcome five turnovers on Saturday night (Oct. 22), losing to Missouri State 31-17 in Missouri Valley Football Conference action. The Leathernecks fell to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the MVFC.
Down by a touchdown with 2:50 left in the game, Josh Hudson started a drive by hitting Charles Chestnut over the middle for 54 yards. A penalty at the end of the play put the Leathernecks 1st-and-goal from the nine. On the next play Hudson overthrew Bryce Flowers, and Jimmy Strong picked off the pass and raced 91 yards for an insurance score.
Western tried staging another late comeback, but the fifth turnover of the game - a fumble after Hudson was sacked - sealed the Bears' first win of the year (1-7, 1-4).
Redshirt-freshman Larry Patterson started the game off when he caught the opening kick on the 10, broke two tackles and raced 90 yards into the endzone, his first career TD. MSU tied the game with a 9-play, 74-yard drive capped with a Trevor Wooden 14-yard touchdown run.
Both teams missed field goal attempts (two by MSU and one by Western), then in the second quarter Hudson was sacked by Mikel Ruder and the Bears recovered on Western's 20. Wooden hit Jermaine Saffold on a 20-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 lead.
At the end of the first half, looking at 1st-and-goal from the four with five seconds left, Western elected to kick a field goal, 21 yards from Pat Smith to make it 14-10 at the half.
In the third quarter the Leatherneck defense held again when the Bears were inside the five yard line, forcing MSU to settle for a 19-yard field goal from Austin Witmer. Western and Patterson quickly evened the score.
Patterson caught a screen pass from Hudson and raced 38 yards down the left sidelines for a touchdown midway through the third quarter.
The Bears used an 88-yard drive to take the lead for good. Three WIU penalties eventually put the Bears on the two, then Stephen Johnston scored from two yards out with less than a minute in the third quarter.
"The Leatherneck football team gave a great effort tonight, but the great effort could not overcome the mistakes and that's frustrating. We had an opportunity to tie the score late in the game. We did not play as smart as we needed to play. Anytime you have four or five turnovers in a single game makes it difficult to win," said head coach Mark Hendrickson. "Each turnover is different. When you have a QB that can run the ball effectively, they may get tied up enough that they just need to go down with the ball. It was the second TD that came off of a potential sack when we lost the ball... Every turnover is a total separate error. We'll evaluate and analyze those very close. You almost have to play with perfect ball security and that is our goal. Only three teams were plus in turnover margin and we were one of the ones that were plus."
Patterson finished with 223 all-purpose yards, 185 on kickoff returns and 38 on his TD reception. Hudson completed 20-of-34 passes for 269 yards and a TD with his two interceptions.
Terriun Crump caught seven passes for 67 yards while Chestnut recorded a career-high 97 receiving yards on five catches.
Kevin Palermo matched a career-high with 14 tackles. Maurice Hood, Kieron James, Theon Dixon and Tim Franken added six tackles each.
Wooden completed 8-of-16 passes for 190 yards and a score. The sophomore quarterback also rushed for a game-high 82 yards on 11 rushes. Saffold accounted for 138 receiving yards on four receptions.
The loss also ended Western's eight game home win streak.
"Every defeat is disappointing. Our players want to win at Hanson Field. The preparation this week was excellent both physically and mentally throughout the week. We did prepare very well and that makes it tough when that doesn't pay off," said Hendrickson.
Western hits the road for the next two weeks, starting next Saturday (Oct. 29) at Youngstown State. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon central.
GAME NOTES: The last time Western had five turnovers in a game was six at Toledo in 2006... Chestnut matched a career-high with five receptions, the fourth occasion in his career... Crump moved into sixth place all-time with 115 receptions. He surpassed 1,800 receiving yards (1,866) in the game... Palermo also recorded 14 tackles against Youngstown State last year and this season against Southern Illinois... The last time Western returned a kickoff for a TD was by Todd Speight, a 93-yarder in 2009 against Stephen F. Austin... Eight of Western's 13 turnovers this season have come in the last two games. However, the defense has limited opponents to 3-of-20 on third down conversions in that same span despite losing both games... That was just the second time this year Western failed to record a takeaway (Sam Houston State)... The previous home loss was the 2009 season finale, and it marks coach Hendrickson's first home loss since officially taking over as the program's head coach.
