Western Illinois cornerback Willie Jones (18) chases down Indiana State wide receiver Dakota Caton in the Sycamores’ 27-6 victory Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Barry Bottino
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Four drives into Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium, the Western Illinois defense had forced four punts.
But it was the first four drives of the second half that sent the Leathernecks to defeat, 27-6, in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game at Indiana State.
Western (0-10 overall, 0-7 MVFC) lost its 23rd consecutive game dating back to the 2021 season by giving up 20 points on Indiana State’s first four drives of the second half.
“We ran out of gas in the second half,” WIU head coach Myers Hendrickson said. “Our compete level was there. We put it all out there.”
After WIU kept an opponent scoreless in the first quarter for only the second time all season, quarterback Matt Morrissey hit wide receiver Donald McKinney with a deep pass early in the second quarter for a 79-yard touchdown strike and a 6-0 WIU lead.
The pass was the longest offensive play of the season for Western.
Nearly 7 minutes later, Justin Dinka broke off a 41-yard scoring run to give the Sycamores (1-9, 1-6) a 7-6 lead that stood at halftime.
“They found something with that, and they were able to go back to running the ball more in the third and fourth quarters,” Hendrickson said. “That ended up being the difference in the game.”
Of their 33 second-half offensive plays, the Sycamores rushed the ball 23 times for 114 yards. Their first four second-half drives resulted in a 37-yard TD pass from Cade Chambers to Harry Van Dyne, two Jake Andjelic field goals and Dinka’s second rushing touchdown of the day, a 2-yard score with 5:51 left in the game.
“It was the same run we had seen all year,” WIU linebacker Anthony Quinney said of Indiana State’s second-half success. “We had guys getting out of their gap and not doing their individual assignments, losing focus on their job and not doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Morrissey completed 18 of 29 passes for 177 yards, but he was sacked five times. For the season, WIU has allowed 46 sacks.
True freshman Dylan Van started at running back for Western and rushed for a season-high 57 yards on 19 carries.
“Getting a chance to start and show what I can do at the beginning of a game meant a lot to me,” Van said. “That’s all I wanted to do, go out and prove myself.”
Game changers
13:42, 2nd quarter: Donald McKinney caught a deep pass from QB Matt Morrissey and raced for a 79-yard touchdown for WIU.
7:02, 2nd quarter: After Western forced four Indiana State punts to start the game, ISU RB Justin Dinka scored on a 41-yard run to lift the Sycamores to a 7-6 lead.
5:51, 4th quarter: Dinka scored on a 2-yard run to give Indiana State four consecutive scoring drives to start the second half.
What it means
Western’s school-record losing streak increased to 23 games, dating back to the 2021 season.
Nifty ‘Necks
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Western Illinois players in the game:
McKinney, WR: The senior caught a deep ball from Morrissey and outran an Indiana State defender for the game’s first TD.
Juan DelaCruz, LB: The senior’s 10 total tackles led the team in defeat.
Van, RB: The true freshman from St. Louis rushed for a team-high 57 yards on 19 carries.
What’s next?
Western ends the 2023 season at home Nov. 18 with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Hanson Field against South Dakota.
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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