Who | Western Illinois (1-3, 1-0) vs. Southern Illinois (3-1, 1-0)

When | Saturday, Oct. 2 - 3 p.m. CT

Where | Macomb, Ill. (Hanson Field)

Radio | Q 98.1 and Leatherneck Sports Network (Mixlr) - Dr. Tom Cody and Randy Larson

TV | ESPN +

Social Media | Twitter + Facebook + #TRADITIONofTOUGH
 

Quick Hits

• Western Illinois football is back at home for week five -- hosting in-state foe Southern Illinois for a Saturday afternoon contest (Oct. 2) at 3 p.m. CT.

• Homecoming takes place this weekend on campus, as plenty of festivities will surround the upcoming game.

• WIU is coming off of its first win of the season, having beaten Youngstown State 38-35 in a comeback victory.
   

Most Recently … | Facing Youngstown State, the Penguins completed a 13-play, 75-yard frame on a short touchdown run by team standout Jaleel McLaughlin on its first drive of the evening. Nevertheless, it took even fewer plays by Western to make its way into the end zone, as Daniel Bender scored a 21-yard catch during the team's third play of the game, tying things at 7-7. The Penguins put up another touchdown after their quarterback ran for 11 yards to the left side at 4:11 in the first quarter.

Less than a minute into the second, YSU increased its lead to 21-7 on another quarterback rush. Tony Tate and Ludovick Choquette racked up notable yards during the period, but the WIU offense was stopped just short of reaching Penguin territory during its first drive of the period. YSU tallied an additional score at the 7:41 mark, and McLaughlin chipped in his third rushing touchdown of the half later on to make it 35-7. With Sampson directing traffic, Western looked to make something happen late. The result was a 7-yard receiving touchdown by Mason Sikes in the half's ticking moments, entering the break trailing 35-14.

The third quarter was an absolute swing of momentum for the Leathernecks. After having a touchdown call reversed, the offense stepped back onto the field unbothered, as Tate found Choquette in the end zone for 12 yards. An interception by Michael Lawson happened immediately during YSU's next drive, and Western had an answer again when Connor Sampson threw his third touchdown pass of the night, spotting Nathan Karsjens. The Leathernecks would not be done in the period, tallying a final receiving touchdown with Dennis Houston as the recipient and tying the contest at 35 all. Western mounted a 28-point turnaround in less than 16 minutes.

Defense primarily composed of the fourth quarter's first portion YSU picked off an interception with 8:28 on the clock but could not make anything out of the play before punting it back to WIU. Mostly sparked by Tate's efficient play, Western continued to exploit mismatches offensively and get key defensive stops, including a fourth-down try by the Penguins with under two minutes to play in regulation. Making way into field goal range, Choquette bullied his way into the YSU05 with seconds remaining. With just five seconds left, a field goal by Mason Laramie went up and over the crossbar, sealing the deal.
 

A Comeback for the Ages | Western's 28-point comeback victory was the biggest in both program and MVFC history. The previous record was 23 points in another Leatherneck performance decades ago when the team won 35-31 at Missouri State in 1988 after being down 31-8.
 

Dangerous Darius | Standout safety Darius Joiner has recently earned high recognition for his play at Youngstown State. He was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on Sunday (Sept. 26), and FCS Stats Perform National Defensive Player of the Week less than 24 hours later (Sept. 27).

It was the first such nods of his Leatherneck tenure.

Having made an immediate impact on the team, Joiner enjoyed a stellar performance against the Penguins in the league opener (Sept. 25). He reached new career-highs in solo (14) and total tackles (23). That mark for total tackles ranks sixth-best in program history for a single game. Joiner has recorded double-digit numbers in tackles in all four games this season thus far, along with one interception.
 

A Couple of Firsts | In the MVFC opener, Nathan Karsjens and Mason Sikes respectively scored the first receiving touchdowns of their careers. Additionally, Tony Tate threw the first passing touchdown of his career -- a 12-yard find to Karsjens during the third quarter.
 

On Target | As a team, Western has successfully thrown the ball -- leading the MVFC in pass offense, pass completions, pass completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and pass attempts. Connor Sampson remains at the forefront of the attack. The Leathernecks are also second in total offense yards (1,632).