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Leathernecks Travel to Illinois State Saturday

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

The Leathernecks and Redbirds are slated to kickoff at 2 p.m.

Oct. 6 • 2 p.m. • Hancock Stadium • Normal, Ill.
Game 5 vs. Illinois State
Western Illinois Game Notes
 
The Series: Saturday's game between Western Illinois and Illinois State will mark the 101st all-time meeting
in the storied rivalry between the two schools. The Leathernecks lead the series, 51-46-3, and snapped a seven-game winless skid to the Redbirds last season in a 31-14 road victory.

Western's Last Outing: The Leathernecks (2-2, 1-0 MVFC) opened MVFC play last Saturday with a 45-38 victory over Youngstown State; the Homecoming success captured back-to-back wins for the Purple & Gold as well as career marks for Steve McShane and Sean McGuire.
 
  • Western has scored first in all four games this season
  • The Leathernecks didn't commit a single turnover and forced three (two interceptions and a fumble)
  • Sean McGuire has recorded 300-plus passing yards and at least three touchdowns in back-to-back games; he currently ties for No. 1 all-time in career passing TDs (62)
  • Steve McShane cracked the Leathernecks' top 10 in all-purpose yards (3,080) and rushing touchdowns (17)
  • McShane posted 134 rushing yards Saturday for his fifth career game with 100-plus
  • The game captured season's firsts for Sean McGuire and Adam Conrady; McGuire's first rushing touchdown this year and Conrady's first touchdown
  • Khalen Saunders' first career reception (a three-yard catch) resulted in a touchdown in the third quarter; the defensive lineman recorded a rushing TD a season ago
  • Eric Carerra and Quentin Moon each finished with 10 tackles (seven solo and three assisted); Pete Swenson added seven tackles with three combining for a loss of 17 yards
  • Isaiah Lesure finished a yard shy of 100 receiving yards; he had six receptions 
 
McGuire & Milestones: Sean McGuire is closing in on Western's career marks in passing yards and touchdowns. He currently ties the TD record with 62 while sitting second all-time in yards (8,049). Paul Singer, who played at Western from 1985-88, sits atop the record book in passing yards (8,257), completions (678), attempts (1,231) and touchdowns (62).
 
McGuire matched his career-high with four touchdowns thrown in the Leathernecks' Missouri Valley Football Conference opener against Youngstown State. He was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week for the game, adding a rushing TD while completing 22 of his 34 passes with no interceptions.  
 
Momma, There Goes That Man: Running back and return specialist Steve McShane is on the bend of claiming a top 10 spot on the Leathernecks' career rushing yards list. He moved to ninth all-time in all-purpose yards (3,080) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (17) in the Leathernecks' MVFC opener against Youngstown State.
 
The YSU game also saw McShane tab the eighth-longest rush in program history as it took him 14 seconds to travel 75 yards for a TD.
 
Brian Knuckles is 10th on Western's career rushing list with 2,158 yards, and McShane is currently managing 1,987.
 
The Best in the FCS: Western is the only school in the FCS to have a pair of linebackers ranked in the top-15 in solo tackles per game. Quentin Moon leads the nation with 7.3 stops while Zach Glisan ties for 11th with 6.5.
 
Moon also ties for eighth in the FCS with a pair of forced fumbles.
 
McGuire Named MVFC Player of the Week (Sept. 30):  After putting together his second 300-yard passing game of the season to go along with five total touchdowns, Sean McGuire was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week.
 
He finished Saturday's MVFC opener against Youngstown State 22-for-34 with four passing touchdowns and one rushing.  McGuire has collected an Offensive Player of the Week award in each of the last two seasons.
 
A week prior, John Brunner was named the Newcomer of the Week while Steve McShane earned Special Teams Player of the Week. 
 
We Did It First: WIU has scored first in all four of its games this season – each score was a touchdown in the first quarter.
 
Montana State – A three-yard rush by Steve McShane on Western's second drive
Illinois – A 20-yard pass from Sean McGuire to George Wahee on the very first drive of the game
Montana – A 71-yard pass from McGuire to John Brunner on the second play of the game
Youngstown State – An eight-yard pass from McGuire to Adam Conrady on the opening drive
 
Scouting the Opposition: The Redbirds enter the 101st meeting between the two schools with a 3-1 record and are coming off their only loss, a 24-21 defeat against Missouri State. Brady Davis leads the offense for the Redbirds, amassing 937 passing yards and 10 touchdowns after playing one season at the University of Memphis. An All-MFVC First-Team selection in 2017, running back James Robinson has continued the lead Illinois State's backfield with 436 yards on the ground and five rushing scores. He has tacked on 112 yards and a touchdown through the air. On the defensive side of the ball, Zackary Mathews has 39 stops and is coming off a 16-tackle performance against Missouri State.
   
 
 
 
 
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