JACKSONVILLE DOLPHINS (0-1 overall)
at WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS (0-1 overall)
Saturday, September 10 • 3 p.m. • Hanson Field
All-Time Series: First Meeting
THE GAME: Western Illinois, in its 108th season of football, opens at home against first-time opponent Jacksonville... This marks the second time in as many seasons Western opens at Hanson Field against a first-time foe that is a member of the Pioneer League (Valparaiso in 2010)... Mark Hendrickson owns an 11-1 record in home-openers since joining the Leathernecks in 1999... Western will also look to extend its six-game win streak at Hanson Field, dating back to the start of the 2010 season.
THE RANKINGS: Western Illinois received 35 votes in the Sports Network/Fathead.com 'Top 25' poll (39th place)... Jacksonville received 36 votes in the Sports Network/Fathead.com 'Top 25' poll (38th place) and two votes in the FCS Coaches 'Top 25' poll (48th place).
THE COACHES: Mark Hendrickson is in his 13th year with the Leatherneck Football program, second full year as the head coach. He owns a 13-16 record at Western and overall (parts of two years as acting head coach)... Kerwin Bell is in fifth year at Jacksonville, posting a 29-18 record at JU and overall as a head coach.
2011 TEAM CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED: Three seniors and a junior were voted team captains for the 2011 season. Linebacker Kevin Palermo (West Chicago/Driscoll Catholic) and defensive back Tim Franken (Carol Stream/Driscoll Catholic), both seniors, join senior tight end Aaron Muhammad (River Oaks, TX/Tyler College) and junior quarterback Wil Lunt (Rochester/Rochester) in representing the Fighting Leathernecks.
RADIO: Every Western Illinois Football game can be listed to on the Leatherneck Sports Network: WIUS 88.3 FM (Flagship) Macomb... Beau Spencer (Play by Play) will call the action.
TELEVISION: The game will be tape delayed broadcast on WIU-TV3 in the Macomb area.
INTERNET: Fans can listen to the game on the internet at: www.GoLeathernecks.com. Pay-per-view subscribers can watch the game live on Rocky Vision (www.GoLeathernecks.com).
COACH HENDRICKSON IN THE MEDIA:
TELEVISION: Every Thursday during the season on WGEM-TV (NBC in Quincy) at 6 p.m. Ben Marth will host 'On the Sidelines'. He recaps the previous week, looks ahead to the Leathernecks' upcoming game, and talk with Coach Mark Hendrickson and players. This Thursday's edition will air special at 10 p.m. news broadcast.
RADIO: Coach Mark Hendrickson will appear every Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m. locally on 100.1 FM... Thursday from 6:30-7 p.m. on the 'Rocky Report', broadcasted live on WIUS 88.3 FM. The radio show can be heard live on the internet at http://www.wiu.edu/cofac/wiusfm/.
ALL-TIME SERIES: This marks the first meeting between Western Illinois and Jacksonville... The Leathernecks are 4-0 all-time against teams from the Pioneer League (2-0 vs. Drake, 1-0 vs. Morehead State, 1-0 vs. Valparaiso).
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS: Jacksonville jumped out to a 9-0 lead late in the first quarter, from that point on it was all Citadel as the Bulldogs defeated JU 31-9 in the season-opener for both teams... The Citadel, in its second year running the triple-option, rushed for 439 yards which is the second-most allowed by the Dolphins ever... Colby Walden recorded 104 yards in kickoff returns, including a long of 71 yards, while defensively he had three tackles and a sack... Walter Payton Award candidate Josh McGregor (QB) had his streak of 20 consecutive games with a touchdown pass come to an end. He threw for 208 yards on 21-of-33 passing. McGregor owns the season records for: yards, completions and touchdowns. He also owns the JU career records in: touchdowns, yards and completions. Last year he also set the single-game record with seven TD passes at Morehead State... Senior wide receiver Josh Philpart is his favorite receiver. He caught six of the 21 passes for 69 yards... J.J. Laster led the rushing attack with 27 net yards on 10 carries, but thanks in part to five sacks, The Citadel held JU to minus-22 yards of rushing for the game... Freshman punter Garrett Mohr launched a 63-yard punt, the fifth-longest in Dolphin history, and finished with a 42.0 yard average on nine punts... Jacksonville has gone 9-4, 7-4 and 10-1 over the past three seasons... Last year the program led all of Division I FCS in total offense while the Leathernecks finished third... JU made seven tackles for a loss in the game, including a 10-yard sack by Walden... Leonard Smith had a team-high eight tackles while Andre Addison and Taylor Marsh finished with seven stops each.
ALL-TIME AT HANSON FIELD: On September 23, 1950, Hanson Field was dedicated and became the home of Leatherneck Football... In those 60 years, Western has compiled a 219-103-7 record at home. In 48 of those years Western finished at least .500 at home, including a perfect 6-0 at home in 2010.
HANSON FIELD TOUGH ON NON-CONFERENCE TEAMS: Playing at Hanson Field has been a tough thing for non-conference teams in recent years... The Leathernecks are 24-4 against non-MVFC teams since Mark Hendrickson arrived at Western in 1999.
HUDSON/CRUMP MAKE THE RECORD BOOK: Quarterback Josh Hudson and wide receiver Terriun Crump made the Western Illinois record book thanks to a 92-yard touchdown. That ties for the third-longest pass completion in program history... It was the longest since Marco Thomas' 98-yard catch in 2005 against Illinois State.
NEW FACES: Seventeen Leathernecks made their debut in the season-opening game at Sam Houston State, including four starters on offense/defense: NT Emeka Nwankwo, LB Theon Dixon, WR Myles Daughtry, and OG Jeff Lindsey.
QUICK HITS FROM OPENER: Justin Morgan tied a career-high with four receptions (45 yards)... For the second time in his career Mike Garoppolo recorded eight tackles, a career-high... Six of Tyler West's eight tackles were solos... Garoppolo and Kevin Palermo each had a sack while defensive ends Dwight Harris and Ryan Demming shared a sack... Palermo's sack was the second in his career and first since his freshman season.
