First-year Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis (hands on knees) and his Leathernecks defeated McKendree in the Sept. 27 home opener at Hanson Field. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Dan Verdun
Western Illinois head coach Joe Davis gave his team 24 hours to celebrate its first win of the season before moving on to preparation for Saturday’s Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Association opener at Charleston Southern.
It’s a league Davis is familiar with after spending the past two seasons as Eastern Illinois offensive coordinator.
The Leathernecks (1-3) broke their school-record 27-game losing streak with a 49-32 win against McKendree last weekend in Macomb. It was also the first win as a head coach for Davis.
“I’m very happy for our players and coaching staff,” Davis said.
But that was then, and this is now.
While he also expressed appreciation for the Macomb community, the first-year WIU leader said his program “got back to work Sunday night.”
Saturday’s game marks the first time since 1984 that Western Illinois will open play league play in a different conference than the Missouri Valley.
The Leathernecks were an original member of the Gateway Athletic Conference – which morphed into the MVFC in 2008.
WIU officially joined the Ohio Valley Conference for football this fall following a final MVFC season a year ago.
“We’re excited to get going and certainly have a lot of work ahead of us,” Davis said.
The opponent
Charleston Southern (1-3, 0-1) registered its lone win Sept. 7 at No. 15 Furman. The Buccaneers lost to The Citadel, Richmond and league member Tennessee State.
Charleston Southern runs the ball on 65 percent of its offensive plays. However, some of that figure is skewed as a result of playing in the rain last weekend in Nashville against Tennessee State.
Sophomore running back Autavious Ison is far and away the team rushing leader with 74 carries for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
“They’ve hung their hat on a very unique run game that has caused a lot of problems (for opponents) here early in the season,” Davis said.
Linebacker Steve Zayacgkowsky leads the team with 25 tackles, 18 of which have been solo. The sophomore also has two quarterback hurries and a sack.
“This is a team that stands out defensively. They’re long and physical. They present you with a multitude of looks,” Davis said.
Junior Gilbert Brown leads the FCS with a 50.36 punting average.
“He has a huge leg,” Davis said. “He’s flipped the field multiple times for them.”
Kickoff: 3 p.m.; TB: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Q981fm.com
Key matchup to watch
WIU run game vs. CSU defense: The Leathernecks have established an effective running game the last two weekends.
In the win against McKendree, WIU rushed for a season-high 273 yards, led by a career-high 199 yards by transfer Cameren Smith.
“It’s one of the pillars of our offense, and that’s No. 1. That we will establish a physical running game using all 11 players,” Davis said.
Charleston Southern head coach Gabe Giardina is familiar with Davis’ offense.
“It looks like he’s using that similar blueprint that was so successful at Eastern Illinois last year. There’s a reason he got the (WIU) job,” Giardina said.
What’s at stake?
WIU hopes to ride the momentum of last week’s victory into its inaugural game in the Big South-OVC Association.
Quick hits
Saturday will be the first ever meeting between Western Illinois and Charleston Southern. … The game is also CSU’s homecoming. … WIU was whistled for 12 penalties for 143 yards against McKendree. “Very disappointing to have 12 penalties in that football game, one of the longest football games I’ve been a part of,” Davis said. “I think we had six personal fouls. As a football program, that’s completely inexcusable.” … Last Saturday’s game lasted 3 hours, 44 minutes. … After giving up 10 sacks in the first three games, Western only surrendered one in the win against McKendree. …Charleston Southern lost, 13-9, on a rainy day at Tennessee State last weekend. … CSU has given up fourth-quarter leads the past two weeks. … Quarterback Nate Lamb leads WIU with four rushing touchdowns. … Western has four players with double-digit receptions: Matthew Henry and Eli Aragaon (13), Christian Anaya (12) and Deamari Davis (11). … The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that WIU legend Mike Wagner is one of 182 players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 in the Seniors category. … Wagner played for the Leathernecks from 1968 to 1970. As a defensive back, Wagner was an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American selection in 1969. … After being selected by Pittsburgh in the 1971 NFL Draft, he played 11 years with the Steelers. As a starting safety, Wagner played on all four Steelers Super Bowl championship teams. He was a two-time Pro Bowler (1975-76). … Wagner was inducted into the Leatherneck Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976. He remains the program record holder in interception return yardage (343) and single-season interceptions (nine) and is second in career interceptions (15).
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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