MACOMB, Ill. -  The Western Illinois Fighting Leatherneck football team will host No. 12 South Dakota State for a 1:05 p.m. kickoff at Hanson Field, Saturday, to close out the 2009 season.

The last two games between the Jackrabbits (7-3, 6-1 MVFC) and the Leathernecks (1-9, 0-7 MVFC) have been decided by a field goal or less. The last time the teams met, in Brookings, Western Illinois outscored South Dakota State 22-0 in the second half, but ran out of time in what was nearly the largest comeback in school history, falling 24-22.

In the previous season, Patrick Stoudamire intercepted the first and last pass attempts of the game, helping Western Illinois outlast #20 South Dakota State, 29-26, in four overtimes. Taylor Rowan converted his school-record fifth field goal of the game from 27 yards out in the fourth extra period, giving the Leathernecks a three-point lead and eventually their 31st consecutive home win over a non-conference opponent, the longest game in both schools’ histories.

Take a Kid to the Game
Entering its 15th year, the Take A Kid to the Game (TAKG) program provides NCAA® member institutions a national grassroots program that is easily implemented at NCAA Football and men’s and women’s basketball games. This nationally-recognized program encourages adults to take children to collegiate athletic contests. This promotion allows kids 12 and under to enter the game with free admission. Western Illinois is participating in the TAKG program as a part of today’s game.

The Leatherneck Sports Network Broadcast

Web • GoLeathernecks.com
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)
Tape delayed wiutv3 broadcast (Free)
Live Stats (Free)
Watch LIVE on Rocky Vision (subscription)

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

The Series
Series Record: Western Illinois leads, 4-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 13, 2008
    The Leathernecks fell to the Jackrabbits, 24-22, in Brookings.
Note: Western has won the last two games held at Hanson Field in the series (1981 & 2007).

Game Notes
In Western’s Last Game vs. Illinois State...
Gibbs & Glazier Surpass Milestones: In last weekend’s game at Northern Iowa, senior running back Dre Gibbs picked up enough rushing yards to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in  a season. Defensively, junior linebacker Kyle Glazier tallied enough total tackles to put him over 100 total tackles for the season as he leads for the second-consecutive year. Both players are captains this season and are reaching their respective milestones for the first time in each of their careers.

Fuchs increases punt average: Chris Fuchs averaged 45.2 yards per punt as he had eight punts for 362 yards, exceeding his previous game average (37.2). He had one punt inside the 20 and his long was 52 yards, also the longest this season.

Glazier Leads the Valley in Tackles
Surpassing the 100-tackle mark with 108 this season, Glazier averages 10.8 tackles per game, the best average in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Glazier leads Western’s total tackles for the second-consecutive season. He has registered the most total tackles of any Leatherneck player since the 2003 season when Lee Russell had 146.

Forcing Turnovers
The Leatherneck defense have recovered a fumble or has had an interception in all but  two games this season (not at Indiana State & Illinois State). In addition to forcing turnovers, Western has had at least one sack in every game, except for at Northern Illinois. Linebackers Buddy Duczak and Brandon Kreczmer lead Western’s efforts behind the line of scrimmage as each as had five sacks this season.

A Leading Rusher in Gibbs
Senior running back Dre Gibbs leads Western in the rushing game averaging 100.7  yards per game with 1,007 total yards on 226 carries and five touchdowns this season. Recording a 1,000-yard rushing season enters him into the Western Illinois record books for rushing yards in a season. He currently sits at No. 14 and needs only eight more yards to hold the No. 13 spot (1,015). His average is the third best in the Valley and 11th-best rushing average in the nation. Gibbs has recorded five games with over 100 rushing yards and has scored a rushing touchdown in four-straight games this season. He had a career-high 39 carries against Missouri State and came close with 33 at Indiana State. Gibbs has recorded seven 100-yard rushing games in his career with a career-best 173 yards last season against Quincy.

Senatus with the Catch
Lito Senatus averages 75.6 receiving yards per game, No. 34 in the nation and the best receiving yards average for a player at Western since the 2002 season. Averaging 5.8 receptions per game, Senatus holds the third-highest average in the league. His career-best 235 yards receiving on 11 catches came in the opening game of the season against Sam Houston State. Senatus had two touchdown receptions in that game and added one more against Youngstown State.

Lunt & Reardon at QB
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Wil Lunt took over for Matt Barr as he went out with injury in the fourth game of the season. Lunt threw for over 100 yards in five games with a career-high 188 yards at Illinois State. Behind Lunt in the depth chart, is redshirt-freshman Cody Reardon, who was named Offensive Scout Team Co-Player of the Year last season. Reardon made his debut as a Leatherneck for a few snaps last game.

Stoudamire Defends the Pass
Cornerback Patrick Stoudamire averages 1.89 passes defended per game with a career-best 17 so far this season. Stoudamire had registered nine PDs in each of the last two seasons and currently sits atop the Valley with 17. Against Indiana State, Stoudamire had a career-high four pass breakups to add to his season-total 16 PBUs.