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Western Illinois University Athletics

Jaelon Acklin
Scott Holland
Photo by Scott Holland
19
Western Illinois WIU 8-4
21
Winner Weber State WSU 10-2
Western Illinois WIU
8-4
19
Final
21
Weber State WSU
10-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WIU Western Illinois 3 3 6 7 19
WSU Weber State 0 14 0 7 21

Game Recap: Football | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western Edged in FCS Playoffs Opener

Jaelon Acklin added two more WIU season receiving records in the 21-19 defeat

ODGEN, Utah – Western Illinois scored with just under five minutes remaining in the game Saturday (Nov. 25) to make it a one-possession contest, but the Weber State Wildcats came up with four first downs to secure a 21-19 NCAA FCS Playoffs opening round victory. The ninth-ranked Leathernecks end the season 8-4 overall.
 
Jaelon Acklin finished with game-highs of 10 receptions for 116 yards. The senior wide receiver, who already set the program's single-season record for most receiving yards, added the WIU season mark for receptions (84) while also tying for most 100-yard games (five).
 
Down by nine, Western took advantage of a fourth down completion from Sean McGuire to Acklin, a facemask penalty after another completion to Acklin and scored from 18 yards out when the junior quarterback found Tyler Slamans on an 18-yard scoring strike to eventually make it 21-19.
 
Weber picked up a first down on a penalty during the final drive, and then completed a 9-yard pass on 3rd-and-8 to move the chains. Another 9-yard rush on 3rd-and-2 sealed the victory for the eighth-ranked Wildcats (10-2 overall).
 
"First of all, a tip of the hat and congratulations on the win to Weber State. It was a tremendous football game, between two really good football teams that went nose-to-nose for four quarters," said Western Illinois head coach Charlie Fisher. "Like I told my players at the end of the game, 'We didn't lose, we ran out of time.' Our kids tried hard and I love our football team. I have great respect for them, but we just came up a little bit short today."
 
After both teams punted on their opening drive, Western took over inside its own 20-yard line. The Leathernecks marched 56 yards in 11 plays, but the drive stalled. Sam Crosa nailed a 44-yard field goal with 4:38 left in the opening quarter to give WIU a 3-0 lead.
 
A 15-yard penalty on Western's drive and a sack late in the first quarter stalled the Leathernecks. Weber State took over on its own 42. Seven plays later, a flea-flicker pass from Stefan Cantwell to Drew Batchelor for 33 yards and extra point put the Wildcats up 7-3 early in the second quarter.
 
Western's defense held Weber midway through the second quarter and forced a punt on 4th-and-1. The Wildcats attempted a fake, but a wide-open receiver dropped the pass and Western took over on WSU 32. The drive went 3-and-out, but Crosa gave Western three more points on a career-long 45-yard field goal with 7:03 remaining in the half.
 
On their next drive, Weber took advantage of a 50-yard pass completion on a one-handed grab to get down to the 3-yard line. On the next play, Cantwell connected with Batchelor again on a touchdown to make it 14-6 late in the second.
 
The Leathernecks took advantage of two 15-yard penalties by the Wildcats and a nice catch behind his back by Acklin to set up 1st-and-goal from the seven. Clint Ratkovich took the handoff and raced into the left corner of the endzone for a touchdown. The two-point conversion pass failed and Western trailed 14-12 late in the third.
 
On the ensuing drive, Weber converted a 4th-and-short in its territory, took advantage of 30 yards of penalties and completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to go ahead 21-12 with 12:13 remaining in the game.
 
"We've been such a good second half team, and we've come back against so many good teams, but I trust our guys. As I told them at halftime, we have one half of football left and a one-score game. We just need to keep our poise and play better. I thought we played better in the second half, but at the end of the day we were a play or two short. We weren't quite able to get over the hump," said Fisher.
 
McGuire completed 22-of-40 passes for 202 yards. Max Norris rushed for 46 yards and Acklin added 27 rushing yards to his 116 through the air.
 
In his final game as a Leatherneck, senior All-American Brett Taylor led all players in tackles with a game-high 12. He finished his four-year career with 469 total tackles in 48 career games (39 consecutive starts). He ranks third all-time in school history in total tackles, third in solo tackles (266) and fourth in assisted tackles (203).
 
Pete Swenson recorded a career-high of 10 tackles, including 3.0 for a loss and a sack. Quentin Moon added 10 tackles.
 
Cantwell finished 18-of-27 for 186 yards and three TDs. Andrew Vollert caught eight passes for 112 yards and a score while Batchelor added two more receptions TDs.
 
GAME NOTES
• Western was ranked ninth in the STATS FCS Top 25 poll and 10th in the FCS Coaches poll; Weber State was eighth in the Coaches and 11th in the STATS poll.
• Western's eight victories this year match the most since an 8-win season in 2010.
• Crosa's 44-yard field goal in the first quarter matched a season-long (at Indiana State). He surpassed that by a yard in the second quarter. It was the fourth 40-plus yard field goal this season for the sophomore, and he matched a personal-best with two field goals in a game (at Tennessee Tech).
• Weber State won the coin toss and elected to receive.
• The Leathernecks held Weber to 32 total yards on 10 plays in the opening quarter while gaining 119. However, at halftime that total yardage lead was trimmed to 189-162.
• Early in the third quarter, Weber State went for it again on a fake special teams play (field goal attempt). Aaron Diggs was there for a pass break-up in the endzone and Western took over on downs.
• Acklin finishes his career fifth in Missouri Valley Football Conference single-season history with 1,369 receiving yards in a season (WIU season record). He ends his career with 1,733 receiving yards and eighth place all-time in the WIU program history.
• McGuire finished with 2,852 passing yards this year, sixth-best in a season. He ends his junior year with 6,925 passing yards, just 51 yards away from third place.
• Xavier Rowe tied for 10th in a season with 11 pass break-ups.
• Twenty Western Illinois seniors played in their final career contests.
 
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