Southwest Missouri State shut out visiting Union
College, 45-0, to improve to 3-0 on the season and remain the only unbeaten team
in the Gateway Conference. Meanwhile, the league swept the Ohio Valley
Conference in three games to improve to 5-0 this season in the challenge series
between the two conferences.
In all, the league went 5-3 on Saturday, falling twice against top-25 teams. In
the losses, No. 7 UNI fell to No. 13 Stephen F. Austin, 24-21; Youngstown State
lost at No. 17 McNeese State, 24-20; and No. 15 Western Illinois lost at
Hampton, 40-20.
The wins featured the aforementioned SMS shutout of Union College; a No. 2
Southern Illinois 59-9 victory against William Penn; an Illinois State
come-from-behind win of 35-31 against Eastern Illinois; a 28-21 Indiana State
win past Murray State; and a 21-8 Western Kentucky humbling of Eastern Kentucky.
SMS 45, Union College 0
The SMS Bears jumped on top early with three touchdowns in the first half of
the first period and coasted to a 45-0 win over the Union College Bulldogs in
non-conference football action Saturday at Plaster Field.
The win pushed the Bears to 3-0 on the young season with one non-conference
game left, a date at Division I-A Tulsa next Saturday (Sept. 25, 6:00 p.m.). It
marks the first time the Bears have opened a season with three straight wins
since 1989, when SMS began that year with six wins.
TB Cody Pratt got SMS off and running as he scored on three short runs in the
first 16 minutes of the game as SMS was up 21-0 midway in the first period and
28-0 a minute into the second quarter.
S Jovon Lewis had two picks and returned his second interception 45 yards
into the end zone for the third SMS touchdown after Pratt got the first two
scores.
SMS had the ball just 22 minutes and ran off just 56 offensive plays in the
contest but outgained Union 343-211 in total yards. Union is a member of the
NAIA Mid-South Conference. Pratt finished with 97 yards on 17 carries for the
Bears and TB Brandon Taylor gained 44 yards on eight carries.
Indiana State 28, Murray State 21
School offensive records seemed poised to be broken for both Indiana State
(2-1) and Murray State (1-2) during a high-octane offensive first half which saw
each team pile up 21 points before the intermission.
Both defenses, however, took control in the second half as a Sycamores’
special teams score late in the third quarter proved to the be the only scoring
in the second half, and the difference in the game as ISU won for the third time
in a row versus MSU, 28-21.
With the score tied at 21, the ISU defense held the Racers to fourth-and-four
from their own 18-yard line with just over three minutes remaining in the third
quarter. Murray’s James Gaither was called on to punt, but junior LaDrelle
Bryant blocked the punt into the waiting arms of freshman Markus Naves in the
end zone to give the Sycamores a 28-21 advantage.
Sydney Montfort coupled three TD runs with 70 yards rushing to lead the ISU
ground attack. Ben Schmidt continued his impressive play in his first collegiate
start going 12 of 19 passing for 156 yards. Sophomore Sam Logan caught a
team-high six passes for 58 yards while Naves has two catches for 61 yards and
the recovery of the blocked punt for the go-ahead score.
No. 13 S.F. Austin 24, No. 7 UNI 21
The University of Northern Iowa football team fought back in the closing
five minutes before falling to the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin 24-21 in the
UNI-Dome.
In the fourth period the Lumberjacks lit a spark and scored 10 more points
off of a 41-yard field goal by kicker Ryan Rossner and an eight-yard touchdown
reception by Farmer. The Farmer touchdown was scored with a 5:45 left up on the
clock, but the Panthers fought back with an 80-yard drive up the field. On the
fifth play of the drive, QB Tom Petrie snuck into the end zone from one yard out
to put the Panthers down by just three after the extra point made by sophomore
kicker Brian Wingert with 4:20 left to go in the game, but that’s as close as
UNI would get.
Senior tailback Richard Carter led the Panthers in rushing with 50 total
yards. Junior tailback Terrance Freeney ) rushed for just 14 yards, playing on a
turned ankle suffered during the game. Leading the Panthers in receiving was
Justin Surrency with nine receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
No. 10 Western Ky. 21, Eastern Kentucky 8
The "Battle of the Bluegrass" lived up to its billing with a scoreless first
half in a rivalry game. Then the Western offense matched the defense’s
performance to lead the 10th-ranked Hilltoppers to their third consecutive win
over instate rival Eastern Kentucky.
Lerron Moore scored three times in the second half Saturday as WKU earned a
21-8 non-conference victory over the Colonels at Roy Kidd Stadium. He finished
with a season-high 113 yards on 26 carries after sitting out last week’s win
over Concord.
The Topper defense, led by Charles Thompson?s career-high 18 stops, held
Eastern to just 260 total yards – 146 before the final two drives – while
forcing seven Colonel turnovers.
Thompson had two-and-a-half tackles for loss and also broke up a pair of
passes. Getty Cavitt added 13 with three behind the line of scrimmage and an
interception, while Daniel Williams also accounted for three tackles for loss.
Hampton 40, No. 15 Western Illinois 20
Western Illinois fell in non-conference I-AA action at Hampton, 40-20.
The Leathernecks (1-2) got on the board first with a 27-yard field goal from
Justin Langan with 2:41 left in the quarter, but were dominated throughout the
remainder of the first half by the Pirates (3-0).
With 7:18 on the clock in the third quarter, Western’s Travis Glasford scored
the Leatherneck’s first TD of the game on an 11-yard run to cut Hampton’s lead
to 33-10. Nearly two minutes later, Langan put his foot to work again for his
second field goal of the game to give Western three more in the third. But
Hampton used a two-yard run to seal the win for the Pirates with 10:00 left in
the game
Glasford led Western’s running and receiving game with 98 yards rushing and
touchdown, on top of 73 yards receiving. Langan recorded two field goals and two
PATs.
No. 2 Southern Illinois 59, William Penn 9
Running backs Arkee Whitlock and Brandon Jacobs scored two touchdowns
apiece, in the first half, and Southern Illinois University devoured William
Penn 59-9 Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.
SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky was 8-of-10 with a touchdown pass, and an
interception before being replaced at halftime. The Salukis (2-1), ranked No. 2
in both Division I-AA polls, led 35-6 at the half, which featured a pair of
turnovers by each team.
Jacobs stiff-armed his way to the end zone from 23 yards out to put Southern
Illinois on top 14-0 with five minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The
game was never close as William Penn (1-2), of the NAIA, couldn’t muster any
kind of effective offense.
Illinois State 35, Eastern Illinois 31
Despite a fourth quarter deficit, the Illinois State football team came back
on two late touchdowns, which resulted in a 35-31 victory Saturday at Hancock
Stadium.
Illlinois State took a 14-7 lead after Yance Vaughan connected with Jason
Horton, but a Ben Brown interception on Vaughan late in the second quarter led
to an Adam Parsill touchdown catch, tying the game 14-14.
A third quarter touchdown and fourth quarter field goal put the Panthers up
24-21, and they were given some breathing room when Chad Cleveland forced a
LaShawn Bullock fumble at the Illinois State 30. The ball sailed into the hands
of Jamarr Day, who ran 30 yards down the sideline and into the end zone for a
30-21 lead.
However, the Redbirds gained the lead back on two touchdowns, one a 2-yard
run by Earl Newby, the other a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Vaughan, making the
score 35-31. The Vaughan touchdown was set up when Eastern Illinois fumbled a
kickoff at their own 22, which was recovered by Pierre Jackson.
No. 17 McNeese State 24, Youngstown State 20
Youngstown State rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit and took a 20-17
lead early in the fourth quarter, but McNeese State scored off a Penguin fumble
with 6:24 remaining for a 24-20 victory at Cowboy Stadium on Saturday night.
The Penguins trailed 17-3 with 12:29 remaining in the third quarter before
marching on two straight touchdown drives in 5 minutes, 57 seconds, but McNeese
forced seven turnovers, three of which were in the final seven minutes of the
contest, to sneak away with the win.
YSU tailback Monquante Gibson rushed for 168 yards on 23 carries, including
running for 100 in the third quarter, to lead all rushers. Aaron Marshall, who
came in on YSU’s first scoring drive of the second half, was 7-of-13 for 45
yards and a touchdown, but he threw two interceptions in the final 5:15. Tom
Zetts was 4-of-11 for 25 yards with one interception.
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