North Alabama quarterback Destin Wade scores what turned out to be the winninq touchdown Saturday for the Lions in a 23-20 win against Western Illinois. (Photo by RoarLions.com)
By Barry Bottino
One yard. That’s the distance North Alabama was able to convert from in the final minute Saturday.
It was also the distance Western Illinois came from pulling off a victory.
After UNA from the 1 with 51 seconds remaining Saturday, a bad snap kept Western out of the end zone from the 1 in a 23-20 non-conference loss at North Alabama.
“Every detail matters. It comes down to attention to detail and accountability, from day to day and week to week,” WIU head coach Joe Davis said. “As I told the team, welcome to the rest of our season. This is going to be seven more weeks of one-score, tight ball games, and it’s a big opportunity for us to respond appropriately.”
Western (2-3) took a 17-16 lead with 4 minutes, 21 seconds to go when kicker Ronan Culkin connected on a 31-yard field goal. He added a 37-yard field goal — extending WIU’s lead to 20-16 — at the 1:51 mark of the fourth quarter.
Completions of 25, 18 and 16 yards from UNA quarterback Destin Wade helped the Lions advance the ball 75 yards in eight plays in a mere 1:02.
Wade scored on a 1-yard run before his counterpart — WIU quarterback Kennedy MCGill — drove the Leathernecks 42 yards to get to the UNA 1.
On first down with 12 seconds left, a low snap bounced the long ground before McGill picked up the ball and was quickly sacked as the clock ran out.
Western outgained the Lions, 354-247, but punted 10 times on the evening.
Tight end David Hargro caught two touchdowns from McGill, who had 266 passing yards.
Running back Ihson Jackson-Anderson had five catches for 117 yards, including a 62-yard pass play on the second WIU snap of the game.
Game changers
4:21, 4th quarter: Culkin’s 37-yard goal gave Western a 17-16 lead with just over 4 minutes to go.
0:51, 4th quarter: Wade runs in from 1 yard out to give North Alabama the lead.
0:12, 4th quarter: McGill was sacked for a 5-yard loss when — with no timeouts remaining — WIU committed a bad snap on the final play and the clock ran out.
What it means
The Leathernecks head into the conference season next week with a 2-3 record.
Nifty ‘Necks
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Western Illinois players in the game:
McGill, QB: He compiled 290 yards of total offense in the game, including 266 through the air. He threw two TDs.
Jackson-Anderson, RB: The Wofford transfer caught five passes for 117 yards and rushed for 34 yards.
Hargro, TE: WIU’s tight end caught a pair of TDs among his four receptions.
What’s next?
WIU opens Ohio Valley Conference play at home Oct. 3 against Tennessee State. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
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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