Western Illinois at Illinois State
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Western Illinois at Illinois State Saturday, March 20 | 11 a.m. (CT) 4 Normal, Ill. | Hancock Stadium BREAKDOwN 2020-21 SCHEDULE WESTERN ILLINOIS DATE OPPONENT TIME/RESULT SERIES HISTORY Record (MVFC) 0-3 F. 27 vs. Missouri State^ L, 24-30 MSU leads, 19-18-1 Last Game L, 21-38, vs. #3 North Dakota M. 6 at #8 South Dakota State^ L, 10-45 SDSU leads, 11-5 M. 13 vs. North Dakota^ L, 21-38 UND leads, 2-0 Head Coach Jared Elliott M. 20 at Illinois State^ 11 a.m. WIU leads, 51-48-3 WIU Record 6-20 (Third Season) M. 27 vs. Northern Iowa^ 7 p.m. UNI leads, 32-16 Career Record Same A. 3 vs. Youngstown State^ 7 p.m. YSU leads, 20-13 A. 10 at Southern Illinois^ 12 p.m. WIU leads, 37-24-4 ILLINOIS STATE A. 17 at South Dakota^ 1 p.m. WIU leads, 6-4 Record (MVFC) 0-3 Last Game L, 13-21, at North Dakota State ^ Missouri Valley Football Conference Head Coach Brock Spack Home Game UND Record 84-53 (12th Season) Career Record Same THE LAST GAME Western Illinois played its second ranked opponent of the season in No. 3 North Dakota and fell by a score of 38-21. - In his first career start, freshman Iosefa Pua’auli found the endzone twice on a pair of rushing touchdowns; he is the only Leatherneck to score two touch- COACH LOCATIONS downs in a game this season. PRESS BOX - Adam Fellner booted a 71-yard punt in the first quarter, the seventh-longest JP Boudreaux (Linebackers) in WIU history. Retired NFL veteran Mike Scifres was the last Leatherneck to Zach Grant (Running Backs) record a punt of 70-plus yards (75/72 vs. Southern Utah, 2002). David Rocco (Offensive Coord.) Jacques Washington (Cornerbacks) - Dallas Daniels scored a touchdown for the second time in as many games and leads WIU’s wide receiver corp with two. FIELD Jared Elliott (Head Coach) - Dennis Houston finished with 108 receiving yards on eight receptions, his Patrick Shepard (Asst. HC / Special Teams) third career game with 100-plus. Cam Clark (Defensive Coord. / Safeties) John Haneline (Defensive Run Game / DL) - Justin Nutof and Michael Lawson were the only athletes with 10-plus tack- Dyrell Roberts (Wide Receivers) les, recording 13 and 12, respectively; the total tied Nutof’s career-high and Doug Patterson (Offensive Line) also marked his fourth career game with 10 or more. STAy CONNECTED - Connor Sampson completed 33 passes, the third most in school history. He currently holds the top three single-game marks after posting 34 in the sea- TWITTER @WIUFootball son-opener against Missouri State and 34 at Illinois State a year ago. Samp- TELEVISION ESPN3 son finished Saturday’s game 33-for-47 with 336 yards. RADIO Mixlr (Dr. Tom Cody & RJ Larson) LIVE STATS GoRedbirds.com western illinois football (2020) Game Notes / Miscellaneous The Series | Saturday’s game between Western Illinois Recovery Mode | Greg Benton Jr. was electrifying in the and Illinois State will mark the 103rd all-time meeting in Leathernecks’ season-opener at Missouri State. The their storied rivalry. The series dates back to 1904 and junior linebacker recorded seven tackles (six solo), two the Leathernecks lead, 51-48-3. QB hurries, and a pass breakup in his first career start and had all of Hanson Field on its feet when he returned Catch Up | The Leathernecks hold three of the top four a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown. spots in the MVFC in receptions per game. Dennis Hous- ton leads the Valley and ranks third in the nation, with The return was the third-longest in program history. 8.7 catches, and is followed by teammates Tony Tate and Dallas Daniels. Longest Fumble Return 1. *90 yards, Cornell Middlebrook at UNI, 11/9/02 The rankings should come as no surprise, as Connor 2. *88 yards, Patrick Stoudamire vs. Missouri State, Sampson is averaging 32 completions per (second in the 10/17/09 NCAA) and 298.3 passing yards (sixth in the NCAA). 3. *75 yards, Greg Benton Jr. vs. Missouri State, 2/27/21 Receptions Per Game 2019 Nuggets | Western Illinois Dennis Houston (8.7 / 3rd in the NCAA / 1st in the MVFC) finished the 2019 season 1-11, with its lone win occur- Tony Tate (6.7 / 15th in the NCAA / 2nd in the MVFC) ring in a 38-34 decision over South Dakota. The Leather- Dallas Daniels (6.0 / 22nd in the NCAA / 4th in the MVFC) necks finished the slate ‘Top 40’ in the following national rankings: Receiving Yards Per Game Dennis Houston (84.3 / 24th in the NCAA / 3rd in the MVFC) • Completion Percentage (60.3 % / 36th in NCAA) Dallas Daniels (69.3 / 41st in the NCAA / 5th in the MVFC) • Net Punting (37.34 / 30th) Tony Tate (62 / 61st in the NCAA / 10th in the MVFC) • Combined Kick Returns - Justin Hall (706 yards / 20th) • Completions Per Game - Connor Sampson (19.25 / Youth Movement | Several true freshmen are receiving 33rd) substantial minutes in their first season of college foot- • Punting - Adam Fellner (42.5 / 18th) ball. Braylen Brooks and Matt Muetterties have started all three games this season, joining redshirt freshman The Captains | Connor Sampson enters the second year Ty O’Janovac who has lined up every game at center. of his captaincy. Eryk Preston and Tony Tate join him as team captains for the 2021 spring season. Braylen Brooks (CB) | 13 tackles (11 solo); 1 INT; 1 FF; 1 FR Ludovick Choquette (HB) | 2 rushes, 4 yards MVFC Preseason Accolades | Adam Fellner was named Juan DelaCruz (LB) | 1 solo tackle an MVFC preseason honorable mention. The Ozark, Mo., Matt Muetterties (OL) | 3 starts native finished the 2019 season 18th in the FCS and third Iosefa Pua’auli |71 rushing yards; 2 TDs in the Valley, averaging 42.5 yards per punt. He booted a punt a career-long 64 yards in the Leathernecks’ sea- Breakout Defender | Herschel Blankenship is having a son-finale at Northern Iowa, and on 194 career punts breakout season for the Leathernecks. In two games, - 31 traveled over 50 yards, 46 were downed inside the the third-year sophomore has already surpassed the 20-yard line, and 46 were called fair catches. number of solo tackles posted in his first two seasons combined. He currently leads Western’s defense with 22 which ties for sixth in the Valley. MEDIA REQUESTS To request an interview with head coach Jared Elliott, The One Zero and Only or any WIU student-athlete, please contact Monyae This season, the NCAA rules committee allowed college Williamson at 309-298-1133 or 904-755-3669. Please football players to wear No. 0, and Jalen Powe will go make all requests 24 hours in advance. The Athletic down in history as the first Leatherneck in the number. Communications department at Western Illinois will make every effort to arrange interviews with coaches and The senior defensive back is in his third season at West- student-athletes. Due to the team’s busy schedule, no ern Illinois, and his career numbers include 52 tackles interview requests on game days will be granted. Thank (third most amongst the active roster) and 4.5 tackles you in advance. for loss. Powe previously wore No. 26. western illinois football (2020) Game Notes / Miscellaneous KRs & Records | The yards Justin Hall put up in his rookie season (2019) placed him amongst some of the what is a LEATHERNECK best kick returners in WIU history. Western Illinois holds the distinction of being the only Kick Return Yards non-military institution to officially have its nickname de- 1. Todd Speight (1,047 / 2009) rived from a branch of the military service. The school be- 2. Larry Patterson (965 / 2011) gan use of the Marine Corps’ official nickname, “The Fight- 3. James Norris (789 / 2004) ing Leathernecks”, in 1927 when then-athletic director and 4. Reggie Gray (712 / 2003) head baseball, basketball and football coach Ray “Rock” 5. Justin Hall (660 / 2019) Hanson was granted permission by the U.S. Navy, based on his status as a Marine hero, to use the nickname. Kick Returns 1. Todd Speight (50 / 2009) 2. Larry Patterson (42 / 2011) 3. Justin Hall (32 / 2019) CAREER STARTS OFFENSE ................. ‘21 19 18 17 16 Total Streak Chasing Greats | Adam Fellner is chasing former NFL John Brunner, WR ........ -- 6 -- -- 6 -- punter Mike Scifres (1999-02) for the title of best punting Ludo Choquette, HB ....2 -- -- -- -- 2 -- average. Scifres holds Western’s career record at 43.5 Zach Henson, OL .........3 0 -- -- -- 3 3 yards per punt, and Fellner trails closely at second with Dennis Houston, WR ...3 6 -- -- -- 9 3 40.6. Jarren Jackson, RB .....3 0 0 -- -- 3 3 Brandon Malkow, OL .... 12 rs -- -- 12 -- Fellner is the first Leatherneck to crack the all-time list Matt Muetterties, OL ...3 -- -- -- -- 3 3 in this decade. Ty O’Janovac, OL .........3 0 -- -- -- 3 3 Iosefa Pua’auli, HB .....1 -- -- -- -- 1 1 Sampson Files | After earning the starting job a season Michael Ross, OL ........3 2 11 rs -- 16 3 ago, Connor Sampson enters his senior campaign with a Connor Sampson, QB ..3 11 0 0 rs 14 10 full year of experience and expectations. Mason Sikes, TE ..........3 -- -- -- -- 3 3 Tony Tate, WR ..............3 6 3 -- -- 12 3 2019 Notes (Sampson) Will Waddell, OL ..........3 -- -- -- -- 3 3 Jack Whyte, TE ............. 10 rs -- -- 10 -- • Completed 231 passes (second most in the MVFC) • Averaged 174.3 passing yards per game (fourth in the DEFENSE ................. ‘21 19 18 17 16 Total Streak MVFC) Greg Benton Jr., LB ....3 0 0 -- -- 3 3 • Recorded 13 touchdowns H.