CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Western
Illinois fell behind early and could not stage a comeback, losing its Missouri
Valley Football Conference opener at second-ranked Northern Iowa 38-10 on
Saturday. The loss drops the Leathernecks to 1-3 overall (0-1 MVFC).
The Leathernecks were held to a 3-and-out to start the game,
then Michael Shroble had his punt
blocked as the Panthers took over on the 12. Four plays later Tirrell Rennie
scored from two yards out and 7-0 lead three minutes into the game.
Facing 4th-and-8 inside UNI territory, Josh Hudson's pass was tipped and intercepted. The Panthers' (2-1,
1-0) ensuing drive covered 46 yards in 1:30, capped by Rennie's 12-yard
touchdown run.
Western downed Shroble's punt at the UNI one, and the
defense held to a 3-and-out. A 25-yard punt by Kyle Bernard set up the
Leathernecks in UNI territory. Hudson hit Terriun
Crump over the middle for a 23-yard gain. But Western's drive stalled at
the two, and settled for a Pat Smith 20-yard
field goal early in the second quarter.
Rennie connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass to David
Johnson midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 21-3. The
senior quarterback, who was knocked out in the first half of last year's game
in Macomb during Western's win, rushed for his third TD of the game scoring
from 35 yards out, leading 28-3 at the half.
Rennie threw his second TD pass of the game early in the
third, a 4-yard pass to Darion Howard. Tyler Sievertsen added a 23-yard field
goal midway through the fourth before Western's offense ended a touchdown-less
streak that spanned back to game two (early fourth quarter versus
Jacksonville).
Wil Lunt, who
came in for an injured Hudson, drove Western 75 yards in 12 plays capped by Caulton Ray's 1-yard touchdown run for
the final margin.
Lunt completed 11-of-20 passes for 110 yards while Hudson
was 7-of-12 for 97 yards. Ray led the ground attack with 79 yards on 18
carries.
Crump tallied eight receptions for 131 yards. The senior
wideout's yardage is the third-most in his career and puts him over 1,500 yards
in his three years.
Maurice Hood and Kevin Palermo led the defense with
eight tackles each.
Western gained 312 yards in the game, and played a better
second half allowing under 200 yards over the final 30 minutes. The
Leathernecks also held an advantage in time of possession, 30:21 to 29:39 but
were only 4-of-14 on third down conversion and 0-for-2 on fourth down.
Johnson led all rushers with 132 yards while Rennie added
106 and three TDs. The senior QB completed 10-of-14 passes for 142 yards.
Defensively, L.J. Fort recorded a game-high 12 tackles.
The Leathernecks return home next Saturday (Oct. 1) for the
Hall of Fame/Homecoming 2011 game against Southern Illinois. Kickoff at Hanson
Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Western
head coach Mark Hendrickson said after the game that Hudson's injury was not a
serious one... The first quarter punt block by UNI was the first time since the
2009 season finale Western had one blocked, a span of 17 games... Smith's field
goal was his first made since the opening round playoff game at Coastal
Carolina last year... Western more than doubled the total yards than UNI in the
first quarter but trailed by 14... Delector
Durley, Jr. recovered a fumble on UNI's opening drive of the second half.
It was the first of his collegiate career... Shroble hit a season-long 49-yard
punt in the game and averaged 43.2 yards on six attempts... Emeka Nwankwo picked up his first sack as a Leatherneck... Crump
moved into a tie for seventh in the season list (3) and tied for third all-time
(6) in 100-yard receiving games. He also took over eighth place in career
receptions with 95. Crump now has 1,525 career yards (also eighth among career
leaders)... Tim Franken (104) and Tyler West (102) both recorded their
100th career tackle in the game.
