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Brett Taylor, Pete Swenson

Football WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks’ Rally Comes Up Short

Lance Lenoir records his first-ever punt return touchdown and Brett Taylor led the defense

Box Score
PHOTO GALLERY

MACOMB, Ill. – Lance Lenoir recorded his first career punt return for a touchdown, but Western Illinois' fourth quarter rally came up short in a 31-26 home loss to Illinois State on Saturday (Nov. 5). The 11th-ranked Leathernecks dropped to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
 
Western marched down the field on its opening drive and got to the seven yard line, but got stopped on 3rd-and-1. The 25-yard field goal attempt by Nathan Knuffman was blocked.
 
ISU took possession and scored 14 points to close out the first quarter. Knuffman put Western on the board with a 36-yard field goal. After Western's defense forced a 3-and-out, Lenoir took the punt at his own 46, got a huge block at midfield from Josh Smith, and broke down the right sideline for his first career punt return for a TD to eventually make it 14-10.
 
ISU (5-5, 3-4) responded on its next drive with another long touchdown pass from Jake Kolbe to Anthony Warrum, this one 50 yards. Right before half, Western marched into the redzone and scored with nine seconds left in the half on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Sean McGuire to Jamie Gilmore. However, ISU blocked the extra point to make it 21-16 at the half.
 
Western got another field goal from Knuffman, this one from 30 yards out to make it 21-19. Kolbe connected on a 7-yard TD pass on their next drive to extend the lead to 28-19. Sean Slattery connected with a 20-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
 
The Leathernecks cut the deficit midway through the fourth quarter when McGuire took the team 75 yards on four plays. He connected with Isaiah Lesure on a 19- and 35-yard pass, hit Lenoir for five yards then found Stacey Smith in the endzone for a 16-yard score to make it 31-26.
 
ISU marched into Western territory, but Slattery missed from 45 yards out to give Western a chance with 2:54 left.
 
The sophomore quarterback hit Joey Borsellino for 13 yards, then rushed for six. But three straight incomplete passes ended Western's rally and allowed the Redbirds to run out the clock.
 
"At the end of the day we came up basically a touchdown short that you attribute to probably when we are down there a couple of times and don't finish the drive. The margin between winning and losing in the best of leagues is really slim. That was a great example today and it's been a great example for our team all year long one way or another," said Western head coach Charlie Fisher. "It's not something we haven't lived with, we have lived with these kind of games really all season. We have got to recover. We have veteran leadership, we got great kids in that locker room, we got to get back on our feet and the one thing we are not going to do is feel sorry for ourselves. We played a good football team and it didn't go our way today. We missed our mark, we didn't reach our goal so we have to get ready for the next one."
 
McGuire matched a season-high of 25 completions, throwing for 312 yards and two scores and an interception. Lesure recorded his first-ever 100-yard game, catching four passes for 102 yards.
 
Brett Taylor recorded a game-high 11 tackles (nine solos) and Quentin Moon added 10 stops.
 
Western was 7-of-15 on third down conversions while ISU was 8-of-15. The Leathernecks were flagged five times for 35 yards while the Redbirds had two flags for 22 yards, both penalties called early in the fourth quarter.
 
Kolbe threw four touchdowns and for 265 yards. Warrum caught seven passes for 152 yards and two scores. DraShane Glass added 10 tackles.
 
Western closes out the home regular season schedule next Saturday (Nov. 12) against Northern Iowa. Kickoff at Hanson Field is set for 1 p.m.
 
GAME NOTES: Junior cornerback Alex Olivas made his first start as a Leatherneck… Taylor and Pete Swenson each finished with two tackles for a loss and a sack… Smith's TD catch was his first this year and fifth in his career. He finished with two catches for 23 yards… It was the 99th meeting all-time between the two teams… Western held a 380-372 edge in total offense… The last time Western returned a punt for a touchdown was in 2009 against Stephen F. Austin by Todd Speight… Knuffman matched a career-high of two field goals in a game for the ninth time in his career… With Lesure's 102-yard receiving game, it is now the sixth time in program history that three or more receivers had a 100-yard game in the same season – and first time since 2013 (Lenoir, Borsellino, Hi-C Scott)… Lenoir caught a pass in his 39th straight game while Borsellino now has a catch in 32 consecutive… Lenoir moved into a three-way tie for fourth place among the season 'Top 10' reception leaders (65), and now holds three of the top six season totals… McGuire overtook ninth place in season total offense (2,494 yards)… Taylor moved past Steve Mertens for seventh place all-time in solo tackles (178).
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Joey Borsellino

#1 Joey Borsellino

WR
5' 11"
Senior
Montini Catholic
Nathan Knuffman

#33 Nathan Knuffman

K/P
6' 1"
Senior
Camp Point Central
Lance Lenoir

#7 Lance Lenoir

WR
6' 0"
Senior
Crete Monee
Isaiah LeSure

#2 Isaiah LeSure

WR
6' 3"
Sophomore
Mount Horeb
Sean McGuire

#18 Sean McGuire

QB
6' 3"
Sophomore
Franklin
Quentin Moon

#39 Quentin Moon

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Pike
Josh Smith

#23 Josh Smith

DB
5' 10"
Junior
Brooks Prep
Stacey Smith

#13 Stacey Smith

WR
5' 8"
Sophomore
Schaumburg
Pete Swenson

#50 Pete Swenson

DL
6' 3"
Sophomore
Clear Lake
Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

LB
6' 2"
Junior
Macomb
Jamie Gilmore

#5 Jamie Gilmore

RB
5' 8"
Senior
North Marion / Temple
Alex Olivas

#21 Alex Olivas

DB
5' 9"
Junior
Upland / Chaffey College

Players Mentioned

Joey Borsellino

#1 Joey Borsellino

5' 11"
Senior
Montini Catholic
WR
Nathan Knuffman

#33 Nathan Knuffman

6' 1"
Senior
Camp Point Central
K/P
Lance Lenoir

#7 Lance Lenoir

6' 0"
Senior
Crete Monee
WR
Isaiah LeSure

#2 Isaiah LeSure

6' 3"
Sophomore
Mount Horeb
WR
Sean McGuire

#18 Sean McGuire

6' 3"
Sophomore
Franklin
QB
Quentin Moon

#39 Quentin Moon

6' 2"
Sophomore
Pike
LB
Josh Smith

#23 Josh Smith

5' 10"
Junior
Brooks Prep
DB
Stacey Smith

#13 Stacey Smith

5' 8"
Sophomore
Schaumburg
WR
Pete Swenson

#50 Pete Swenson

6' 3"
Sophomore
Clear Lake
DL
Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

6' 2"
Junior
Macomb
LB
Jamie Gilmore

#5 Jamie Gilmore

5' 8"
Senior
North Marion / Temple
RB
Alex Olivas

#21 Alex Olivas

5' 9"
Junior
Upland / Chaffey College
DB