Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Lance Lenoir
35
Indiana State INS 3-3 , 1-2
36
Winner Western Illinois WIU 4-1 , 1-1
Indiana State INS
3-3 , 1-2
35
Final
36
Western Illinois WIU
4-1 , 1-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
INS Indiana State 7 7 21 0 35
WIU Western Illinois 0 20 7 9 36

Game Recap: Football | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Rally in Fourth Quarter for Homecoming Victory

Lance Lenoir finished with 204 receiving yards, Nathan Knuffman kicked game-winning FG


PHOTO GALLERY

MACOMB, Ill. – Nathan Knuffman kicked a fourth quarter 41-yard field goal which proved to be the difference, and the defense made a key fourth down stop with 30 seconds remaining to lead Western Illinois to a 36-35 Homecoming win over Indiana State on Saturday (Oct. 8). The 13th-ranked Leathernecks improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
 
Western held a 27-13 lead before ISU (3-3, 1-2) rattled off 21 unanswered points in the third quarter. Down by eight, Sean McGuire completed a 3rd-and-goal pass to Jamie Gilmore in the back of the endzone for a 9-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. The Leathernecks were unable to convert the 2-point conversion thanks to a pass break-up.
 
The Sycamores went 3-and-out on their next drive. McGuire connected with Lance Lenoir for 20 yards, and a personal foul put the ball down to the ISU 26. Facing 4th-and-8, Knuffman (who missed an extra point earlier in the game) drilled the 41-yarder, putting Western up 36-35.
 
Western's defense posted another 3-and-out, giving the offense the ball with 11 minutes left. Facing 4th-and-1 at the Sycamore 35, McGuire pushed forward to pick up the first down and move the chains. On another 4th-and-1 at the 24, Stacey Smith was tackled for a 4-yard loss to give the ball back to ISU.
 
With four minutes remaining, ISU began a 10-play drive. Isaac Harker found Miles Thompson to convert a 4th-and-13 for 14 yards. Roland Genesy rushed three straight times for nine yards. On 4th-and-1 at the WIU 29, Western's defense came up big again.
 
Brett Taylor faked a blitz, and the ball was snapped early. Harker picked up the ball and ran right, but was stopped by Colin Olson and Riggs Baxter for a 2-yard loss. Using all three of their timeouts, ISU was however able to force Western to punt with eight seconds left. Knuffman, who had a punt blocked in the third quarter, launched a 45-yarder that was fair-caught on the ISU 24.
 
On the game's final play, Harker hit Robert Tonyan for nine yards, then he pitched the ball back to Thompson. Taylor made the final tackle to secure the MVFC victory.
 
"We are excited to win. Any win that you get is hard earned, and I'm certainly excited and happy to win... it feels good to win again. I have great respect for their [Indiana State's] kids and the coaching staff for the way they played. They came in here and remind me a lot of us in many ways. They're tough. They scratched and they clawed. They had their back to the wall numerous times in this game, just like we did, and neither team folded when maybe they could of," said Western head coach Charlie Fisher. "That shows a lot about the character of their team, and we're definitely thankful to have one more point at the end of the game than they did. I thought our guys rallied, and you know that momentum swings in a game are tough. You have to be able withstand them because they're tough, and today, we withstood a couple of them. We've been able to do that for the most part all year-long. It wasn't an easy win. It was hard earned. We've got to march forward now and excited to have our fourth win."
 
ISU got on the board first with a 1-yard run by Dimitri Taylor. McGuire answered with an 11-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. On ISU's next play, Tonyan was hit in the back by a pass, recovered to catch the deflection and raced 65 yards for a touchdown. Western then showed it can strike quickly also.
 
On their first play, McGuire hit Lenoir on a 68-yard touchdown pass. Knuffman hit the upright on the extra point to make it a 14-13 game.
 
Lenoir caught a 1-yard TD pass right before halftime for a 20-14 lead. Steve McShane added to the lead early in the third quarter on a 2-yard TD run making it 27-13.
 
In the span of three minutes, ISU scored three touchdowns. Lenoir muffed a punt and two plays later Jaquan Keys scored a 10-yard touchdown. McGuire threw an interception to Jameer Thurman, who raced 32 yards for a touchdown. On the next drive, Knuffman had his punt blocked and recovered on the 27. Four plays later Genesy scored a 10-yard touchdown for a 35-27 lead.
 
McGuire set career-highs with 363 yards and three touchdown passes while rushing for another TD on 28 rushing yards.
 
Lenoir turned in his second career 200-yard receiving game, both coming at home this season. He caught 11 passes for 204 yards and matched a career-high of two TD passes.
 
McShane added 89 rushing yards and a touchdown. Taylor recorded a game-high 11 tackles while Quentin Moon added a career-high 10 stops.
 
Western held the ball for 10 extra minutes (35:09-24:51), including for nearly 20 of the 30 minutes during the second half.
 
Harker completed 17-of-33 passes for 241 yards and an interception. Genesy gained 78 yards on the ground while Tonyan had 82 receiving yards.
 
"We wanted to get to around their line and get to the quarterback. The best way to make the quarterback not as efficient is to make him uncomfortable. We got three sacks and I think we forced some pressure on them to make it difficult. I have a lot of respect for their quarterback and he's a good player," said Fisher. "I thought our pass defense was good and Darron Wheeler did a nice job. It was his first start as a true-freshman. I like the way our defense competes, we just keep playing. If you do that, try hard and play with great effort, then good things will happen."
 
The Leathernecks travel to Missouri State next Saturday (Oct. 15), kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: True-freshman defensive back Darron Wheeler made his first collegiate start… Sophomore Timothy Smith recorded his first interception this year and fifth of his career… McGuire logged his fifth career 300-yard passing game in nine starts… Lenoir's 204 yards ranks eighth-highest for a single-game. Western's all-time leading receiver joined Frisman Jackson (2001) as the only Leathernecks to register two 200-yard receiving games in the same season… The defense recorded three sacks and held ISU to 3-of-16 conversions on third down… Luke Otto logged five touchbacks on his seven kickoffs and ISU did not record a single return yard (out-of-bounds and fair catch)… Lenoir extended his streak to 35 straight games with a catch while Joey Borsellino extended his streak to 28 games… Attendance for Homecoming was 5,487… Jaelon Acklin made his first catch of the season (27 yards)… McGuire now has five career rushing TDs, moving him into a tie for sixth place all-time... Gilmore recorded his first receiving TD as a Leatherneck and second score this season… Steve Mercado recorded a career-high six tackles... Taylor, who ranks 10th-nationally averaging a MVFC leading 6.3 solo tackles per game, had nine of his 11 stops as solos.
 
Print Friendly Version