New Mexico State wide receiver Jonathan Brady outruns several Western Illinois defenders Saturday night for an 80-yard touchdown in NMSU’s victory. (Photo by NMStateSports.com)
By Barry Bottino
Western Illinois trailed by six points at halftime against FBS foe New Mexico State in Las Cruces, N.M., Saturday night.
That momentum didn’t last, however.
New Mexico State (1-1) scored on four plays of 25 yards or longer in the second half to put away WIU, 58-21.
Western allowed 650 yards of total offense and gave up second-half touchdown passes of 75, 80 and 63 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Western trimmed the NMSU lead to 20-14 when running back Ludovick Choquette scored on a 21-yard run.
NMSU then scored the next 17 points to take a 37-14 lead.
New WIU quarterback Matt Morriseey, a Northern Iowa transfer, finished 16-for-30 for 215 yards. He threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Jaylin Jackson in the second quarter and a 26-yard TD pass to Donald McKinney in the third quarter.
Choquette led the Leathernecks in rushing (37 yards), while fellow running back Seth Glatz had a team-best 73 receiving yards.
Game changers
8:42, 2nd quarter: Jackson caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Morrissey for the Leathernecks’ first TD of the season.
0:05, 2nd quarter: Choquette scored his first touchdown since November 2021 on a 21-yard run.
2:38, 3rd quarter: A 6-foot-3 senior, McKinney caught his first TD in a Western uniform on a 26-yard pass from Morrissey.
What it means
The Leathernecks sustained their 14th loss in a row, stretching over the past three seasons, but picked up a $360,000 check for playing NMSU.
Nifty ‘Necks
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Western Illinois players in the game:
Morrissey, QB: The Elmhurst native’s first game at WIU featured 215 yards passing and two TDs.
Seth Glatz, RB: The redshirt freshman piled up 88 total yards, including 73 on three receptions.
Bradyn Smith, S: The senior set a new career high with his 14 total tackles.
What’s next?
Western opens the Missouri Valley Football Conference season with a 3 p.m. home game Sept. 9 against Illinois State.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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