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Western Illinois University Athletics

Izaiah Fuller

Seniors & Sycamores

Twenty-one Leathernecks will play their final regular season game inside Hanson Field this Saturday.

Western Illinois (5-4, 4-2 MVFC) vs. Indiana State (6-4, 4-3 MVFC)
Date/Kickoff: Nov. 17, 2018 | 1:00 p.m.
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Site: Hanson Field
Radio: WRMS (Scott Kornberg, Dr. Tom Cody) | Listen Live 
Watch: ESPN3
Follow: Live Stats | @WIUFootball on Twitter 
Game Notes:  Western Illinois | Indiana State | MVFC 

Senior Day: Twenty-one Leathernecks will play their final regular season game inside Hanson Field this Saturday. 

Isaiah LeSure, Timothy Smith, Steve McShane,  Xavier Rowe, Sean McGuire, Izaiah Fuller, Zach Muniz, Justin Fitzpatrick, Larry Harleston, Quentin Moon, Michael Bishoff, Pete Swenson, Hunter Varga, Nathan Oquendo, Riggs Baxter, Thomas Kirsch, Drew Wagner, Adam Conrady,  LaQuay Brown, Grant Kasal, and Khalen Saunders will all be celebrated in a senior ceremony prior to kickoff. 

The Series: Western has a 26-15 edge in the all-time series and is currently working a five-game winning streak. 

A season ago, the Leathernecks defeated Indiana State, 45-0, in Terre Haute. The two matchups before that were decided by a touchdown or less in a 36-35 win in 2016 and a 37-30 finish in 2015. 

Western's Last Outing: With less than six minutes remaining in the game, Daymon Murray recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to bring the Leathernecks within five points of South Dakota. The effort marked Western's first blocked punt for a touchdown since 2014, but the late rally wasn't enough as it fell, 17-12. 

•    The decision snapped the Leathernecks' three-game winning streak
•    Western scored three points by halftime, its fewest in the first half this season
•    Clint Ratkovich recorded a season-high 116 receiving yards to become the fourth Leatherneck to surpass the century mark in a game this year 

Close Calls: Five of Western's games this season have been decided by a touchdown or less, and four of the matchups were settled in the fourth quarter. 

Montana State | L, 26-23  ... The Leathernecks never trailed until a pair of MSU field goals in the final minutes of the game
Montana | W, 31-27  ... Steve McShane scored back-to-back touchdowns in the last six minutes
Youngstown State | W, 45-38 ... Western led by as much as 21 points in the fourth quarter
Southern Illinois | W, 34-31 ... Sam Crosa nailed a game-winning, 33-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in the game
South Dakota | L, 17-12 … The Leathernecks blocked a punt in the end zone to score six points in the final six minutes 

Western is 62-47 all-time in games decided by a touchdown or less.

Swenson Stops: Entering the final week of regular season play, Pete Swenson sits atop the nation as the FCS leader in tackles for loss (23.0) and sacks (14.0). 

He notched a season-high 4.0 TFL at Southern Illinois and ranks sixth all-time in program history with 48 in his career. Swenson also places second in the Leathernecks' history books with 27.5 career sacks, just a .5 behind Todd Auer (1984-86). Swenson has sacked the opposing quarterback in all but one game this season (most recently, three at South Dakota). 

McGuire & Milestones: Sean McGuire is Western's career leader in passing yards (9,617), touchdowns (72), completions (755), and attempts (1,264), accomplishing each of the marks this season. 

The senior captain accomplished the first two marks at Illinois State (Oct. 6), the next at Missouri State (Oct. 20), and the completion record at South Dakota (Nov. 11)

Paul Singer, who played at Western from 1985-88, previously sat atop the record book in all four categories: passing yards (8,257), touchdowns (62) and completions (678), and attempts (1,231). 

McGuire 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.

Key To Success: All five Leatherneck victories this season have one common theme – Western committed fewer turnovers than the opposition. The team is 5-1 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.

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 total tackles in six games. 

Moon currently ties for second in the nation in forced fumbles (5), seventh in solo tackles (54) and 21st in total tackles (85).

Just Kickin' It: Sam Crosa's first career, game-winning field goal occurred with 13 seconds remaining in the Leathernecks 34-31 come-from-behind victory at Southern Illinois. Nathan Kaufman was the last Leatherneck to record a game-winning field goal, and he also did so against SIU (2015). 

Crosa currently ties for eighth all-time in Western history with 18 career field goals.

SOS: MVFC teams hold seven of the Top 8 spots in the Massey Ratings strength of schedule index. 

Strength of Schedule Ratings, Massey Ratings
1. UNI
2. Western Illinois
4. South Dakota
5. North Dakota State
6. South Dakota State
7. Illinois State
8. Southern Illinois
16. Youngstown State
20. Missouri State
36. Indiana State

Called Up: Former Leatherneck wide receiver Lance Lenoir was called up to the Dallas Cowboys' 53-man roster on Nov. 9. He suited up in the team's 27-20 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. 

 
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