Western Illinois wide receiver A.J. Coons hauls in a pass against Southern Illinois. Coons has 17 receptions and a touchdown this season. (Photos courtesy Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Barry Bottino
The scoreboard at Hanson Field brightly displayed the final score Saturday evening: Southern Illinois 63, Western Illinois 0.
In the final meeting between the two teams as Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals, the result was the largest margin in the history of their series, which started in 1933.
So where does WIU go from here?
“How we grow is that you’re staring adversity right in the face,” Western head coach Myers Hendrickson said. “It’s about how you show up and go to work every single day. There’s going to be times in life after football that it’s going to be really hard, and you’ve got to respond, and you’ve got to show up and be a leader.
“This is that opportunity for us. We’ve got to show up and have a great week of practice.”
Western (0-8 overall, 0-5 MVFC) has another opportunity this week in Cedar Falls, Iowa, against No. 18 Northern Iowa (5-3, 4-1).
Hendrickson, whose team has lost a school-record 21 games in a row dating back to a November 2021 win against Illinois State, said he plans to lead by getting out of bed and giving his best each day.
“I told the team that I love waking up and going to work with this group,” he said. “We’ve had good practices. It’s been frustrating in that three, three-and-a-half hours we get on Saturday. It hasn’t clicked.”
A Northern Iowa transfer, Matt Morrissey, has been a bright spot this season for Western’s offense.
The junior quarterback is completing 60% of his passes and has thrown 10 touchdowns, which have gone to five different receivers.
This week’s opponent
Northern Iowa moved up to No. 18 this week – and firmly in the FCS playoff conversation – with crucial back-to-back wins against fellow contenders North Dakota and Illinois State. … After starting 0-2 with losses to FBS Iowa State and then-No. 12 FCS foe Weber State, the Panthers have reeled off five wins in the last six games. The only loss was a 41-6 decision against No. 1 South Dakota State. … UNI’s All-American kicker, senior Matthew Cook, is three points away from passing running back David Johnson as the school’s all-time leading scorer. … Senior quarterback Theo Day now ranks fifth all-time in completions for the Panthers. After throwing five interceptions in the team’s two losses to start the season, he has thrown only four since then. Day has thrown 11 touchdowns and is completing 63% of his passes. … Northern Iowa is one of only four MVFC teams to allow less than 100 yards rushing per game.
Kickoff: 1 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Q981FM.com.
Key matchup to watch
UNI run game vs. WIU front seven: In his first two games of the season – wins against North Dakota and Illinois State the past two weeks – Kansas transfer Amauri Pesek-Hickson has two 100-yard games and three touchdowns. He is averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Western, meanwhile, has allowed an MVFC-high 30 rushing touchdowns and 238.3 yards per game on the ground.
What’s at stake?
Winless Western runs into a team that seems to be hitting its stride and needs a convincing win to continue their FCS playoff push.
Barry Botino 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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