Charleston Southern quarterback Zolten Osborne threw four touchdowns Saturday to lead the Bucs to a 29-24 victory against Western Illinois in Macomb. (Photo by CSUSports.com)
By Dan Verdun
For the second week in a row, a double-digit Western Illinois lead wasn’t enough to deliver a much-need victory.
Seven days ago, the Leathernecks failed to hold an 11-point lead in a 32-31 loss to UT Martin. Saturday, WIU let a 10-point lead slip away as Charleston Southern rallied past the Leathernecks, 29-24, souring Western’s homecoming.
The loss dropped Western to 1-7 overall and 0-4 in the OVC-Big South. Charleston Southern improved to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the league.
“Our job as a team is to score one more point than our opponent. We didn’t do it,” WIU head Joe Davis said. “We didn’t play good enough in crucial moments.”
For the second week in a row, Western wasted a strong performance from quarterback Cason Carswell, who completed 34 of 51 passes for 375 yards and two touchdowns.
“Like Coach said, it’s tough,” Carswell said. “I threw a pick today. That can’t happen . . . We were driving the ball and couldn’t get in the end zone. That’s the bottom line. All that matters is the win.”
Running back Markell Holman caught 10 passes for 84 yards and added 71 rushing yards and a touchdown. Receiver Christian Anaya led WIU with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.
The Leatherneck offense totaled 463 yards and controlled possession for nearly 35 minutes, showing consistency through the air and on the ground.
“It told the team all week that it would come down to a one-score game and it did,” Davis said. “The execution, at times, was very good, but it wasn’t enough tonight to get the win.”
Charleston Southern quarterback Zolten Osborne threw four touchdown passes, two in the fourth quarter.
“When we start stopping the run, we’re going to start winning games,” WIU linebacker Justin Buckner said.
Game changers
11:16, 3rd quarter: Carswell’s 11-yard TD pass to Williams gave the Leathernecks a 24-14 lead.
12:57, 4th quarter: CSU’s Osborne threw his fourth TD pass – a 30-yarder to Jamil Bishop – and completed a two-point conversion pass to give his team a 29-24 lead.
1:22, 4th quarter: CSU’s defense stopped Holman for no gain on a fourth-and-one play at the Bucs’ 28-yard line to regain possession and run out the clock.
Nifty ‘Necks
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Western Illinois players in Saturday’s game:
Carswell, QB: The true freshman threw for a career-best 375 yards and tossed two TD passes among his 34 completions.
Holman, RB: The Saint Francis transfer piled up 71 rushing yards and a TD while catching 10 passes for 84 yards.
Anaya, WR: WIU’s leader in catches hauled in six passes for 98 yards and a score.
What it means
Western remains winless through four games in the OVC-Big South and is now on a five-game losing streak.
What’s next
The Leathernecks travel to Nashville Oct. 25 for a 1:30 p.m. OVC-Big South game against Tennessee 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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