MACOMB, Ill. -  Missouri State will serve as Western Illinois’ Homecoming guest for the second time in the history of the program as the Leathernecks celebrate their 87th Homecoming with kickoff set for 3:05 p.m. this Saturday at Hanson Field.

The Leathernecks hold a 47-21-5 overall record on Homecoming. Western Illinois hosted Indiana State in last year’s Homecoming game, which resulted in a 56-0 shutout over the Sycamores.

The theme for the 2009 Homecoming celebration is “All Around the World” and today’s game caps off a week of scheduled events and activities on and around the campus and community. Former Leatherneck football player and most recent Western Illinois graduate to join the NFL Jason Williams returns home to aid in the celebration. Williams served as the Grand Marshal in Western’s Homecoming Day Parade.   

On April 26, Williams became Western’s highest draft pick and the first FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) player taken in the 2009 NFL Draft when the Dallas Cowboys picked him with their first selection. Williams was the fifth player selected in the third round and the 69th pick overall.

A.L. “Buck” Knowles is the honorary referee for Saturday’s game. Knowles has served as a high school and college football official for 45 years (1949-94) and is a 1947 graduate of Western Illinois.

The Leatherneck Sports Network Broadcast

Web • GoLeathernecks.com
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Tape delayed wiutv3 broadcast (Free)
Live Stats (Free)
Live Rocky Vision Audio/Video Broadcast (subscription)

Television • wiutv3 (Ch. 3, Macomb) Tape Delayed
Kyle Schassburger, play by play
Julio Rausseo, color analyst

The Series
Series Record: Western Illinois leads, 15-12-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 4, 2008
    The Leathernecks defeated the Bears, 33-21, in Springfield.
Note: Western has won the last two games against Missouri State and have won the last three at home in the series.

Game Notes
Season-Ending Injury for Barr
Left-handed quarterback Matt Barr was forced to the sidelines during the second quarter in the game against Southern Illinois (10/3) due to a sprain to his throwing hand. Later, the X-Rays showed a chip in the bone, which Barr underwent surgery for Monday (10/12). The injury will most likely keep Barr off the field for the remainder of the season. The junior QB had eight consecutive starts under his belt with a continuation from last season and owns 24 career starts.

Taking on Barr’s role is redshirt-freshman Wil Lunt. Out of Rochester High School, Lunt ended his high school career (2007) as the No. 2 passer in the country with 3,383 yards and became the all-time leading passer in Illinois history with 8,393 yards.

Lunt underwent his first career start at Youngstown State and threw for 109 yards and two touchdowns, completing 9-of-19 with an interception. The longest completion thrown this year was a 30 yarder to Justin Rideau for a touchdown. He also saw playing time against both Northern and Southern. Lunt threw 4-for-8 for 24 yards against the Huskies. He completed 7-of-19 for 50 yards against the Salukis.

Another possibility at the QB position is redshirt freshman Cody Reardon, who was named Offensive Scout Team Co-Player of the Year last season.

A Game of Firsts at Youngstown State
Youngstown State held Western Illinois without a single score in the first half of the game, the first opponent to shut Western out in the first half. However, Western bounced back and held Youngstown State without a score in the second half, another first.

Junior defensive lineman Mike Stieren forced the first fumble of his career to open the fourth quarter and give the Leathernecks a possession that resulted in Western’s second scoring drive of the game.

Junior linebacker Brandon Kreczmer recovered Stieren’s forced fumble. It was the first fumble recovery of his career.
Stephen Moore grabbed Penguin quarterback Brandon Summers’ pass for the first interception of his career.

Lunt underwent his first career start and threw for 109 yards and two touchdowns, completing 9-of-19 with an interception.
Western Illinois acting head coach Mark Hendrickson was on the sidelines in a road game as the head role for the first time this season.

A Leading Rusher in Gibbs
Senior running back Dre Gibbs leads Western in the rushing game averaging 91.6 yards per game with 458 total yards on 102 carries and three touchdowns this season. His average (91.6) is the No. 22 rushing average in the nation. Gibbs has recorded two games with over 100 all-purpose yards and put up a season-best 155 yards rushing last game against Youngstown State. In the opening game of the season, Gibbs surpassed a career-best 22 carries in a game with 29 against Sam Houston State. Gibbs has recorded four 100-yard rushing games in his career with a career-best 173 yards last season against Quincy.

Kreczmer on Heels of Glazier Leading Leatherneck Defense
Last season’s tackle leader Kyle Glazier has been a defensive leader for the Leathernecks in all five games this season.  Averaging 9.4 tackles per game, Glazier sits tied in the Valley for the second-best average. He tallied a season-high 13 tackles against Stephen F. Austin to add to his season total of 47 tackles. However, on the heels of the junior linebacker is fellow linebacker Brandon Kreczmer, who led the Leathernecks in the tackle column last game as he tied a career-high 12 tackles for the second time this season. Kreczmer registered 2.5 tackles for loss last game and forced a fumble. He holds the most solo tackles of the Leathernecks with 18 and has totaled 47 tackles this season.

Scouting the Bears...
Missouri State head coach Terry Allen returns for his third season at the helm of the Bears’ program. Last season, Allen led Missouri State to a 4-7 overall record and 3-5 finish and a tie for sixth place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Bears opened the 2009 season the same as the Leathernecks opened last season, with a game at Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated the Bears, 48-10. Missouri State bounced back from the loss with a pair of victories in Springfield, Mo. The first was a 24-14 win over Tennessee-Martin and the second was a 35-10 win over Murray State.

In its third straight home game and league opener against No. 3 Northern Iowa, Missouri State dropped a 35-7 game to the Panthers in front of its ninth-largest home crowd ever. The Bears traveled to Youngstown State for their following game against Youngstown State, Oct. 3. MSU defeated the Penguins (17-7) in Stambaugh Stadium for the first time in the history of the program. The Bears held YSU scoreless in the second half, forcing four turnovers and throwing for 252 yards. Quarterback Cody Kirby (middle right) found Clay Harbor (top right) with a 52-yard touchdown pass for the Bears’ first score in the game.

Missouri State returned home last week against No. 19 South Dakota State and suffered a 24-17 loss. The Bears drove to the six-yard line before a key interception by the Jackrabbits in the end zone with 38 seconds to play gave SDSU the win.

Speight & Special Teams: Returns
Western Illinois wide receiver Todd Speight earned the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor after totaling 295 return yards (207 kickoff yards, 88 punt yards) in the game against  Stephen F. Austin. Speight returned both a kick and a punt for a touchdown, which is the first time in school history that a player returned both for a touchdown in a game.

Speight averages 22.00 yards per punt return, which is the second-best return average in the nation. He returns 1.20 punts per game and has totaled 132 yards on six returns. Western Illinois holds the best punt return average (22.20) in the league.

Forcing Fumbles
The Leatherneck defense have forced a fumble in all but one game this season. Western opened the season with three fumbles forced at Sam Houston State and the only game the Leathernecks were unable to knock the ball loose was against Stephen F. Austin. A different player forced the fumble each time, but when it comes to recovering fumbles Victor Visoky has recorded two for Western.

PAT GOOD!
True freshman kicker Brian Egan is 13-for-13 in PAT attempts this season. The most he had to hit in a game was in the season opener when he went 5-for-5. In addition making the PAT’s, the Prattville, Ala., native made a career-long 43-yard field goal against Stephen F. Austin.

October at Hanson Field
The Leathernecks opened the 2009 season on the road and only had one home game for the month of September. Western returns home in the month of October as it hosts three (of five total home games) games at Hanson Field. In search of a home victory, Western faces Missouri State tonight and North Dakota State to close out the month of October in Macomb. The only other home game Western will play this season is Nov. 21 as they host South Dakota State.