Skip To Main Content

Upcoming Events and Recent Results

Western Illinois University Athletics

Western Illinois vs. Southern Utah
WIU Visual Productions Center
17
Winner Southern Utah SUU 2-1 , 0-0
10
Western Ill. WIU 0-3 , 0-0
Winner
Southern Utah SUU
2-1 , 0-0
17
Final
10
Western Ill. WIU
0-3 , 0-0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SUU Southern Utah 10 0 0 7 17
WIU Western Ill. 0 3 0 7 10

Game Recap: Football | | WIU Athletic Communications

Western falls in final seconds

Southern Utah drops Leathernecks, 17-10

MACOMB -- The Western Illinois football team rallied late to tie Southern Utah in the home opener on Saturday afternoon, but the Thunderbirds were able to muster one final drive and score, holding off the Leathernecks for a 17-10 victory.
 
Clay Bruno's five-yard touchdown run with :54 remaining in the contest tied the game at 10-10, but Southern Utah took the lead for good with :31 left as Justin Miller connected with Isaiah Wooden for the eventual game-winning, 73-yard scoring strike.
 
"First off, I love this team, a team that battles all the way to the end is a sign of good things," Western Illinois coach Myers Hendrickson said. "It's a sign of pounding the rock, a sign of believing. Things did not go our way, we turned it over too many times today on offense to win but the defense played great football.
"I love the belief and the will to keep working to find a way to try to find a way to win at the end."
 
Four interceptions and a fumble hurt the Leathernecks, but despite the miscues, the defense found a way to keep the team in the contest, recording stop after stop along the way.
 
"Defensively I felt really great, it's not the outcome we wanted but we have to realize he have to come back to work on Tuesday, that's the only way we're going to get better and see a different outcome," said linebacker Juan De La Cruz, who led the team with 10 tackles. "The positives I take in this game is we came a lot closer as a defense. After suffering that huge loss against Minnesota we had to come to practice on Tuesday and say the only way we're going to get better is we have to get to work, and we did that, we shut down Southern Utah for most of the first half and second half, they only had two or three explosive plays but the goal is that to limit it to zero."
 
Western had one of its better performances on the ground this season, running for 119 yards with quarterback Clay Bruno coming off the bench to run 18 times for 70 yards. Bruno also completed 18-30 passes for 219 yards.
 
"Clay came in and did some good things, even though we did not put the ball in the endzone, "Hendrickson said. "It is frustrating, you look at the net yard (347-334 in Western's favor), we ran 20 more plays than them, we had more yards, but we turned the ball over offensively too much to win."
 
Naseim Brantley led the way for the receivers, hauling in eight passes for 116 yards. Jafar Armstrong added three catches for 33 yards.
 
On the defensive side, De La Cruz led the way with 10 tackles while Chase Graham added eight and Cole Watts and Anthony Quinney each had six.
 
"Our interior was a lot better this week, we interrupted them and shut down their run game with our front seven," DeLaCruz said.
 
Southern Utah started the scoring, getting a 27-yard field goal and five-yard run to go up 10-0 in the first quarter. Western would cut the deficit to 10-3 in the second quarter on Mason Laramie's 21-yard field goal.
 
After a scoreless third, Bruno capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with his seven-yard run.
 
The Leathernecks open Missouri Valley Football Conference play next Saturday, hosting Northern Iowa at 3 p.m.
 
"Thank you to Leatherneck Nation for coming out, I'm sorry we were not able to get the win, that falls on me as the head coach," Hendrickson said. "We felt the great support, the great crowd. Our players played their hearts out and we were on the wrong end of a close game."
Print Friendly Version