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Leatherneck Football - Game 9

Football WIU Athletic Communications

#W1U Faces Fifth Straight Nationally-Ranked Football Opponent Saturday

Fighting Leathernecks play host to 23rd-ranked Northern Iowa at 1 p.m. All kids 12 and under receive free admission to the game.

#23 Northern Iowa (3-4, 1-2) at Western Illinois (3-5, 1-3)

WIU GAME NOTES (Game 9)

LEATHERNECK FOOTBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL

TICKET INFORMATION

KIDS DAY: All kids 12 and under receive free admission to the game on Saturday. For more information call the Athletic Department at (309) 298-1190.

INFORMATION - GAME #9
DATE/TIME: Saturday, October 25 / 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Macomb, Illinois
STADIUM: Hanson Field
SURFACE: MatrixTurf
LIVE STATS: www.GoLeathernecks.com
LIVE VIDEO: Fighting Leathernecks All-Access
LIVE AUDIO: www.WRMSFM.com
MOBILE DEVICE: TuneIn Radio app (WRMS)
ALL-TIME SERIES: UNI leads 29-13
LAST MEETING: @UNI 28, WIU 13 (11/23/13)

RADIO (Leatherneck Sports Network)
ANNOUNCERS Scott Kornberg, Dr. Tom Cody
Beardstown: WRMS 94.3 FM (Flagship)
Macomb: WJEQ 102.7 FM
Galesburg: WAIK 1590 AM
Quincy: WPWQ 106.7 FM
Clinton, Iowa: KCLN 1390 AM
Monroe City, Missouri: KWBZ 107.5 FM

VIDEO
Fans can watch the game as a pay-per-view event on GoLeathernecks.com/Watch as part of the Fighting Leathernecks All-Access.

MOBILE / TABLET DEVICES
Stats available on iPhone and Android phones by clicking on the stats link at GoLeathernecks.com.
The game can be heard by downloading the TuneIn Radio app on iTunes and Google Play, then searching for WRMS radio.

SOCIAL MEDIA
In-game tweets are available @WIUAthletics. Fans can use the UNIvsWIU or W1U hashtag.

THE GAME: Western Illinois looks to snap a two-game home losing streak, playing host to the UNI Panthers... The game is the fifth in a row versus a nationally-ranked opponent... A victory would guarantee at least a .500 record at Hanson Field this season...

SERIES: UNI leads the series 29-13... The two teams closed out the regular season last year in the UNI-Dome... Western's last win versus UNI at Hanson Field was a 30-14 decision in the 2010 regular season finale.

THE COACHES: WIU head coach Bob Nielson enters his second year with the Leathernecks. He owns a 7-13 record at Western and 177-72-1 in his 22nd year as a head coach... Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley is in his 14th year with the Panthers, owning a 114-55 record at UNI and overall as a head coach.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Northern Iowa could not answer 21 consecutive points by South Dakota State, and a 44-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka with 1:47 remaining which proved to be the difference in a 31-28 decision... UNI only held the ball for 23:46 in the game and was 3-of-12 on third down... David Johnson rushed for 78 yards and two touchdowns... Brion Carnes passed for 93 yards and Sawyer Kollmorgen threw for 85 as the two combined to throw three interceptions... Reigning MVFC Defensive Player of the Week Brett McMakin recorded 14 tackles and Xavier Williams added 10... UNI ranks 19th nationally allowing just a 32.1 percent success rate on third down, and stands 17th allowing only 110 first downs... The Panthers lead the MVFC and are 21st in the country averaging 37.1 net punting yards... UNI also leads the country in redzone offense at 96.6 percent, and averaging 4.0 sacks per game.

ONE OF THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULES AROUND: Western enters this weekend with the seventh-toughest schedule in the country, based on cumulative opposition winning percentage... The Fighting Leathernecks have played two Big Ten Conference teams and this game versus Northern Iowa marks the fifth straight game against a ranked opponent... Three of the four future opponents are ranked in the nation's 'Top 25' poll: Northern Iowa (23rd), South Dakota State (13th) and Indiana State (22nd)... Against FCS competition, Western enters this week's game with a 3-3 record.

FIFTH STRAIGHT AGAINST A RANKED TEAM: When No. 23 ranked Northern Iowa travels to Hanson Field on Saturday, it marks the fifth straight game Western will face a team in the 'Top 25'... The last (and only other) time Western faced five straight nationally-ranked teams was during the 2005 season, and all five were Valley teams... The MVFC, ranked as the top conference in the FCS, boasts seven teams nationally-ranked.

VALLEY FOOTBALL > FBS: According to the latest Sagarin rankings, the Missouri Valley Football Conference ranks ahead of THREE Division I Football Subdivision Conferences and half of a fourth... The MVFC (62.92) enters this week in front of the: Conference-USA East (61.23), Mid-America West (60.24), Conference-USA West (59.97), Sun Belt (54.63) and Mid-America East (54.11) Conferences... The MVFC is 2-10 versus the FBS, but of those 10 losses nine came against teams from the 'Power 5' Conferences. The only non-Power 5 loss was UNI flying across the Pacific Ocean to play at Hawai'i... Overall the MVFC owns a 28-11 record out-of-conference.

KINTZEL AMONG THE VALLEY LEADERS: Kevin Kintzel enters this week second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in tackles per game (8.9/50th nationally)... His career-high 16 tackles against North Dakota State were the most by a Leatherneck since the 2010 postseason (Kyle Glazier-17 at Coastal Carolina).

DUO REACHES 200 STOPS: Senior safety Jonathon Rollins and junior linebacker J.J. Raffelson both reached a milestone during the Southern Illinois game, they surpassed 200 career tackles... Raffelson leads all active players with 217 while Rollins is close behind at 215.

100 CAREER TACKLES: Five other current Leathernecks have eclipsed 100 career tackles and are looking to join J.J. Raffelson and Jonathon Rollins in the 200-club... Seniors David McDaniel (190), Kevin Kintzel (187), Luke Venegoni (159), Gino Durley, Jr. (136) and Martinez Davis (135) round out the list.

BAKER HITS 100: J.C. Baker made an immediate impact for the Leathernecks last season after transferring from Arizona Western CC... He tied for sixth among the Western season 'Top 10' leaders for most 100-yard rushing games... Baker recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the 2014 season when he ran for 111 yards against Illinois State... He took sole possession of fifth place all-time with 10 100-yard efforts.
BAKER 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES
175 - North Dakota State (21 carries/2014)
163 - Southern Illinois (25 carries/2013)
148 - at Youngstown State (28 carries/2013)
144 - Quincy (14 carries/2013)
137 - Valparaiso (17 carries/2014)
130 - Drake (20 carries/2014)
112 - South Dakota State (27 carries/2013)
111 - Illinois State (26 carries/2014)
109 - at Indiana State (23 carries/2013)
108 - at UNLV (15 carries/2013)
104 - South Dakota (13 carries/2013)

IN THE CAREER TOP 10 AS A SOPHOMORE: Just 20 games into his Western Illinois career, Trenton Norvell broke into the WIU career 'Top 10' in four categories... He enters this week ranked sixth in career completions (343), seventh in attempts (635) and moved into a tie for eighth in passing touchdowns (29)... Norvell also overtook eighth place all-time in passing yards following the Illinois State game and joined the 4,000 club (4,005 yards).

LENOIR BREAKS INTO SCORING COLUMN: It took seven games for sophomore wide receiver Lance Lenoir, Jr. to score a touchdown, but he came up with two big scores in the first quarter at Youngstown State to help Western upset the 10th-ranked Penguins... Lenoir also matched his high against Illinois State the following game, catching two TD passes... He now has 11 TD receptions in his career, tying him for 10th place all-time.

LENOIR LOVES PLAYING VS ILLINOIS STATE: Lance Lenoir, Jr. has found success playing versus Illinois State... In two career games, Lenoir has recorded 19 catches for 300 yards and four touchdowns... Two of his five career 100-yard games occurred against the Redbirds, as has two of his four 2-TD performances...   

5th 100 & 26 AT 1,000: Lance Lenoir, Jr. picked up his fifth career 100-yard receiving game (vs. Illinois State), and in the process joined the 1,000-yard club for all-time receiving yards... Lenoir became the 26th player in program history to record 1,000 receiving yards (1,192 in 20 games).
LENOIR, JR. 100-YARD GAMES
195 - Illinois State (career-high 12 rec, 2TD/2014)
132 - at Youngstown State (8 rec, 2TD/2014)
115 - at Southern Illinois (7 rec/2014)
115 - at Northwestern (11 rec/2014)
105 - at Illinois State (7 rec, 2TD/2013)

LENOIR NAMED MVFC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Following his career-best performance against Illinois State, sophomore Lance Lenoir, Jr. was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference 'Player of the Week'... He caught a career-high 12 passes for 195 yards, also a career-best... Lenoir's two touchdowns matched his personal-best single-game total... He became the second consecutive Leatherneck to receive the weekly award (Trenton Norvell, Oct. 12)... It marks the first time in his career Lenoir won the MVFC offensive award.

THREE CONSECUTIVE MVFC AWARDS: For the first time since 2010, Western Illinois picked up the Missouri Valley Football Conference 'Player of the Week' award... It started with Matt Zobrist (Offensive Lineman), then Trenton Norvell (Offensive) and most recently Lance Lenoir, Jr. (Offensive)... It's also the first time since 2005 that three different Leathernecks received the weekly award.

SCOTT SHOWING CONSISTENCY: Hi-C Scott joined the Leathernecks last year, and in 20 career games he has caught at least one pass in each contest... Scott moved into sixth place all-time in the category, but with only four regular season games remaining, WIU would need to advance to the postseason for Scott to catch the three-way tie for third place (25).

KNUFFMAN IN CAREER LISTING: Nathan Knuffman moved into 10th place in three career 'Top 10' listings... With four extra points made against Illinois State, he ranks 10th all-time with 52 and is one shy of former teammate Pat Smith (53) for ninth place... His 85 career points currently has Knuffman in ninth place all-time... Knuffman converted his 11th career field goal in the contest, creating a five-way tie for eighth place all-time.

 
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Players Mentioned

Luke Venegoni

#46 Luke Venegoni

LB
6' 3"
Senior
Carmel
Jonathon Rollins

#4 Jonathon Rollins

DB
5' 11"
Senior
Everglades
Kevin Kintzel

#17 Kevin Kintzel

LB
6' 2"
Senior
Lincoln-Way West
J.J. Raffelson

#43 J.J. Raffelson

LB
6' 3"
Junior
Lake Zurich
Martinez Davis

#5 Martinez Davis

DB
5' 10"
Senior
North Hopkins / Air Force Prep
Lance Lenoir

#7 Lance Lenoir

WR
6' 0"
Sophomore
Crete Monee
David McDaniel

#22 David McDaniel

DB
5' 11"
Senior
O'Fallon
Nathan Knuffman

#33 Nathan Knuffman

K/P
6' 1"
Sophomore
Camp Point Central
Matt Zobrist

#73 Matt Zobrist

OL
6' 3"
Sophomore
Triad
Hi-C Scott

#19 Hi-C Scott

WR
5' 9"
Senior
Central / Scottsdale CC
Trenton Norvell

#14 Trenton Norvell

QB
6' 5"
Sophomore
Seabreeze
J.C. Baker

#2 J.C. Baker

RB
5' 8"
Senior
Yuma / Arizona Western CC

Players Mentioned

Luke Venegoni

#46 Luke Venegoni

6' 3"
Senior
Carmel
LB
Jonathon Rollins

#4 Jonathon Rollins

5' 11"
Senior
Everglades
DB
Kevin Kintzel

#17 Kevin Kintzel

6' 2"
Senior
Lincoln-Way West
LB
J.J. Raffelson

#43 J.J. Raffelson

6' 3"
Junior
Lake Zurich
LB
Martinez Davis

#5 Martinez Davis

5' 10"
Senior
North Hopkins / Air Force Prep
DB
Lance Lenoir

#7 Lance Lenoir

6' 0"
Sophomore
Crete Monee
WR
David McDaniel

#22 David McDaniel

5' 11"
Senior
O'Fallon
DB
Nathan Knuffman

#33 Nathan Knuffman

6' 1"
Sophomore
Camp Point Central
K/P
Matt Zobrist

#73 Matt Zobrist

6' 3"
Sophomore
Triad
OL
Hi-C Scott

#19 Hi-C Scott

5' 9"
Senior
Central / Scottsdale CC
WR
Trenton Norvell

#14 Trenton Norvell

6' 5"
Sophomore
Seabreeze
QB
J.C. Baker

#2 J.C. Baker

5' 8"
Senior
Yuma / Arizona Western CC
RB