Larry Dean

Battle of the Purple & Gold: UNI Visits Hanson Field Saturday

Monday, October 22, 2018

Western Illinois and Northern Iowa will meet for an MVFC matchup this Saturday at 1 p.m.

Western Illinois (3-4, 2-2 MVFC) vs Northern Iowa (4-3, 3-1 MVFC)
Date/Kickoff:	Oct. 27, 2018 \| 1:00 p.m.
Location:	Macomb, Ill.
Site:	Hanson Field
Radio:	WRMS (Scott Kornberg, Dr. Tom Cody) \| Listen Live
Watch:	ESPN+
Follow:	Live Stats \| @WIUFootball on Twitter
Game Notes:	Western Illinois \| Northern Iowa \| MVFC

Super Hero Day: All first responders and military service members can purchase a general admission ticket for $5 with their service ID.

During the first half of the game, children between the ages of 8-12 can sign up at the southwest corner of the end zone to compete in an on-field superhero dash against Rocky. The race will follow the band performance at halftime. All are encouraged to dress up in the costume of their favorite superheroes!

For family and group rates of ten or more, please contact the ticket office at 309-298-1120. Group rates must be purchased by Thursday, October 25 at 4 p.m.

The Series: Northern Iowa has a 31-15 edge in an all-time series that dates back to 1967. The Panthers are 3-2 in the last five meetings with Western's latest victory occurring on the road last season in a 38-29 decision in Cedar Falls.

Western's Last Outing: Western returned to the winning column Saturday with a 31-14 decision at Missouri State. The matchup marked the Leathernecks' first road victory of the year and also saw Steve McShane crack the school's top 10 list in career rushing yards.

The second half completely belonged to the Leathernecks as the only hiccup was a 92-yard kick returned for a touchdown. McShane finished the day with 143 rushing yards on 19 attempts, for his sixth career game with 100-plus. He currently manages 2,157 rushing yards to sit 10th all-time in the category. His first touchdown of the game was the result of a 37-yard run and the second came on a 71-yard pass from Sean McGuire.

• Fourteen points marked the fewest scored by Missouri State this season
• John Brunner now has three career receiving touchdowns after finding the end zone for the first time since the Leathernecks' 31-27 win over Montana
• Eric Carrera and Justin Fitzpatrick each recorded interceptions
• Clint Ratkovich joined four other Western receivers with two or more receiving touchdowns on the season; he finished the day with a season-high, game-high 77 receiving yards
• Max Norris was also a threat on the ground with a season-high 87 yards rushing
• Khalen Saunders led the defense with a team-high seven tackles (three solo)

Momma, There Goes That Man: Running back and return specialist Steve McShane has etched his name in several categories of Western's record book this season.

Western Career Rankings
All-Purpose (6th) | 3,611 yards | 2,157 rushing, 926 receiving, 528 returns
Rushing Touchdowns (10th) | 18 TDs
Touchdowns (6th) | 18 rushing TDs, 9 receiving TDs, 2 return TDs

He cracked the top 10 in all-purpose yards and rushing touchdowns in the Leathernecks' MVFC opener against Youngstown State, and the game also saw him tab the eighth-longest rush in program history as it took him 14 seconds to travel 75 yards for a TD.

Key To Success: All three of Leatherneck victories this season have one common theme – they committed fewer turnovers than the opposition. The team is 3-0 when it takes care of the ball, highlighted by a 45-38 victory over Youngstown State, where it didn't commit a single turnover while recording three.

Two-Time MVFC Player of the Week: Steve McShane was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 21) after guiding the Leathernecks with 271 all-purpose yards, the most by any player in the MVFC this season. McShane scored twice in the fourth quarter of Western's 31-14 victory at Missouri State, one rushing and one receiving, and moved to 10th all-time in Western's career rushing list.

The weekly honor marked McShane's second this season as he was named the Valley's Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 16.

Holding Firm: Western lays claim to one of the best defenses in the MVFC, currently ranking third in the Valley, 20th in the nation, in total defense with 326.6 yards allowed per game.

In its first road victory, the team allowed 283 yards of total offense while holding Missouri State to a season-low 14 points. Western held nearly a 21-minute edge in time of possession (38:13 vs. 21:47).

Swenson Stops: Pete Swenson leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference and ties for third in the nation with 14.0 tackles for loss. He notched a season-high 3.5 TFL at Illinois State and ties for eighth all-time in program history with 39 in his career.

Swenson also ranks fifth in the Leathernecks' history books with 20.5 career sacks.

McGuire & Milestones: Sean McGuire became Western's career leader in passing yards and touchdowns at Illinois State (Oct. 6), and currently manages 8,763 and 68, respectively.

Paul Singer, who played at Western from 1985-88, previously sat atop the record book in passing yards (8,257), touchdowns (62) and completions (678), and still holds the all-time marks for attempts (1,231). McGuire surpassed Singer's completion record at Missouri State (Oct. 20).

He matched his career-high with four touchdowns thrown in the Leathernecks' MVFC opener against Youngstown State and 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.

The Best in the FCS: For three straight weeks (Sept. 30-Oct. 14), Quentin Moon paced the FCS in solo tackles per game. He tabbed a career-high 11 solo tackles at Illinois State earlier this season and has finished with 10 or more tackles in all but two games.

Moon currently ties for sixth in the nation in solo tackles (44) and eighth in total tackles (66).

Scouting the Panthers: Northern Iowa (4-3, 3-1 MVFC) visits Hanson Field on the back of a 24-9 upset victory over No. 3 South Dakota State where its defense held the nation's second-leading scoring offense to no touchdowns.

UNI is 4-1 over the last five games … The Panthers are 24-24 in red-zone chances … Steve McShane's brother Deion is a freshman wide receiver on the team.

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