MACOMB, Ill. - Western
Illinois dropped its Missouri Valley Football Conference opener to 15th-ranked
Illinois State 23-3 at Hanson Field on Saturday (Sept. 22). The Fighting
Leathernecks dropp to 2-2 overall (0-1 MVFC).
The Leatherneck defense had Illinois State stopped twice on
its opening drive, but a pass interference penalty and running into the kicker
penalty following a 27-yard field goal eventually led to Darrelynn Dunn scoring
from two yards out and a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter Dunn broke through the middle on
4th-and-1 for a 34-yard TD run. The extra point kick was blocked making it
13-0. During the next Western drive,
Josh Hudson was hit and fumbled, giving ISU the ball on the 28. The defense
held to a 3-and-out but Nick Aussieker converted a 37-yard field goal for a
16-0 lead.
Western was held to 48 yards of total offense in the first
half, compared to 220 for the Redbirds (4-0, 1-0). The Leathernecks had only
four passing yards in the first half on one completion.
After holding ISU on its opening drive of the third quarter,
Western took over on its own 35. Nikko Watson rushed on 10 of the 13 plays during that drive, eventually getting
to the three yard line. But the Redbirds stopped Watson on 3rd-and-goal and Pat Smith kicked his seventh field goal of the season cutting the deficit to 16-3.
ISU took the ball 75 yards on seven plays during the ensuing
drive, capped with Matt Brown's 12-yard TD pass to Jordan Neukirch for the
eventual final margin.
"Illinois State is a good football team and of course
they're sitting at 4-0, they are a good football team in all phases of the
game. I felt like our football team prepared very well. It was an outstanding
week of practice, it meant a great deal to the players to prepare for
Homecoming 2012 and they were very focused and locked in," said head coach Mark
Hendrickson. "I congratulated them in the locker room for giving a great
effort; they fought to the very end on both sides of the ball. The defense
played hard all day and tackled hard at the end."
Western held the Redbirds well under their season scoring
average of 47 ppg and 471 yards of total offense with 23 points and 373 yards. The
defense also held ISU to 4-of-14 on third down conversion and 1-of-3 on fourth
down. However, the Leathernecks managed just 137 total yards - 60 on the ground
by Watson.
Hudson wound up completing 10-of-22 passes for 55 yards and
an interception but also fumbled twice. Western was third nationally in
turnover margin heading into the game but finished minus-3.
Redshirt-freshman J.J. Raffelson once again led the defense making 13 tackles.
Brown was 16-of-27 for 210 yards and a TD. Dunn rushed for
114 yards and two scores on 29 attempts. Mike Zimmer had 13 tackles and Evan
Frierson added 11 stops.
Western will take next weekend off before making
back-to-back trips to the state of South Dakota to start October.
"The good news is we have a bye week, were at a point
physically and mentally where a bye week is going to help us. The bye week will
do us a lot of good to physically get rest and get caught up. Offensively we
have a lot of work to do... the bye will help with the offense, both on the
drawing board and on the field," said Hendrickson.
GAME NOTES: The
announced attendance of 16,033 was the ninth-largest in Hanson Field history...
Redshirt-freshman Trey Oliver made
his first collegiate appearance, and on his first play made a 4-yard catch, the
only passing yards by Western in the first half... Jonathon Rollins matched a career-high making eight tackles...
True-freshman Mike Love made his
first start of the year at left guard. He made his first collegiate appearance
the week before... Western improved to 5-for-5 on fourth down conversion before
missing late in the game... That marked the first time Western did not gain a
turnover on defense this season... ISU held a 32:58-27:02 edge in time of
possession... The offense has not scored a touchdown in 11 straight quarters,
dating back to nine seconds left in the first quarter against Indianapolis when
Watson scored a 1-yard TD run... Smith improved to 7-for-7 in field goals, one
shy of matching his two-year career total heading into this his junior year... The Athletics Department's five newest members of the Hall of Fame class were recognized at halftime.
#WIUAthletics
