Saturday, November 3
Carbondale, Ill.
1:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
2-7 , 1-5
31
vs
34
Western Illinois
5-4 , 4-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Western Illinois
7
7
0
20
34
Southern Illinois
7
10
14
0
31
Football loses 34-31 heartbreaker to Western Illinois
11/03/2018 | 6:30:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Western Illinois scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including a 33-yard game-winning field goal by Sam Crosa with 13 seconds left, to hand Southern Illinois another heart-breaking loss, 34-31, on Saturday at Saluki Stadium.
The Salukis (2-7, 1-5) looked well on their way to their first two-game winning streak of the season after Raphael Leonard caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Matt DeSomer late in the third quarter to put SIU up, 31-14. The TD capped off 24-straight points for Southern during a span in which the defense held the Leathernecks (5-4, 4-2) scoreless for nearly 30 minutes of game clock.
Western finally put points on the board early in the fourth quarter with a Crosa 34-yard field goal to make it 31-17. Danger signs started flashing for Southern on its next drive, however, when Jonathan Mixon fumbled on first down, giving the Leathernecks a short field. Eight plays and 34 yards later, Steve McShane dove into the end zone from four yards out to cut the deficit to 31-24 with 10:50 to go.
The events of Western's game-tying drive were symbolic of what has been a frustrating, oh-so-close season for Southern.
After pinning the Leathernecks at their own 4 with 7:24 remaining, SIU was hit with two-straight pass interference penalties on deep downfield throws — one against linebacker Bryce Notree and the other on cornerback Madre Harper. Those flags bailed Western out of bad field position.
"You're in great coverage, the ball is throw short and inside, and the receiver gets to come back and make a play, and then you spin around and there's contact and it's a penalty," SIU head coach Nick Hill explained. "It wasn't undisciplined play (on our part)."
Two plays later, the defense appeared to come up with the game-winning turnover. Defensive end Anthony Knighton, who already had an interception earlier in the game, stripped the ball from McShane at Western's 35 yard line. The ball was recovered by safety Jeremy Chinn, but the play was nullified by a facemask penalty against Knighton. The replay showed his hand brush against McShane's helmet in the process of stripping the ball.
The play had a familiar feel for the Salukis, because It marked the third time this season the defense forced a turnover on the game's decisive drive, only to have it overturned by a penalty. The same thing also happened in losses to SEMO and Youngstown State.
Things took a wild and unfortunate turn for Southern after a pair of incomplete passes appeared to set up 3rd-and-10 at midfield. An SIU assistant coach was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for saying, "throw the flag, they're holding," according to Hill.
Aided by 60 yards of penalties, McGuire completed the scoring drive with a five-yard TD pass to Adam Conrady to tie the game, 31-31, with 3:27 on the clock.
"Those are tough to swallow," Hill said. "When you make those plays, you probably win the game."
SIU's offense had a chance to overcome its misfortune on its next drive, but DeSomer threw a pair of incomplete passes, then was sacked on third down, forcing a punt. Western took over with 1:57 to go and marched 58 yards in 11 plays for the game-winning field goal. The key play of the drive was a 26-yard completion to Isaiah Lesure on 3rd-and-3 at the SIU 40. Chinn had good coverage on the play, deflected the ball, but Lesure caught it on his way to the ground at SIU's 14.
Hill didn't blame bad breaks or officiating after the game, but instead accepted responsibility for the loss.
"Every minute that you sit there and complain about something, you're wasting time (that could be spent) trying to find the answers," he said
The loss overshadowed some impressive efforts by players such as Leonard, who caught six passes for 97 yards, and continues to lead the league in receiving. Chinn had his ninth career interception, plus eight tackles, and played the fourth quarter with a dislocated shoulder. Coming back from injury, safety Qua Brown was tough against the run with 10 tackles, as the Saluki run defense held Western to 3.9 yards per carry.
"There's going to be stuff on film that we're happy about — a lot of guys made some plays and played their butt off," Hill said. "Then there's going to be some things that hurt to watch and could've made a difference in that game."
"I truly believe that we're close to getting there," Hill continued. "We're not getting out-personneled. It's coming down to one or two plays that unfortunately this season they haven't went our way."
SIU closes out its home schedule next Saturday with a top 10 opponent in South Dakota State on Senior Day.
"All of our characters are really being tested," Hill said. "When things are going good, nobody is really watching (to see) if you're doing all the little things during the week — are you on-time to everything, are you sitting in the first three rows in class, are you coming through this hallway with good body language? When things are tough and you're 2-7 and you've lost a lot of close ones, you have to dig deep. That's what we all sign up for."
The Salukis (2-7, 1-5) looked well on their way to their first two-game winning streak of the season after Raphael Leonard caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from Matt DeSomer late in the third quarter to put SIU up, 31-14. The TD capped off 24-straight points for Southern during a span in which the defense held the Leathernecks (5-4, 4-2) scoreless for nearly 30 minutes of game clock.
Western finally put points on the board early in the fourth quarter with a Crosa 34-yard field goal to make it 31-17. Danger signs started flashing for Southern on its next drive, however, when Jonathan Mixon fumbled on first down, giving the Leathernecks a short field. Eight plays and 34 yards later, Steve McShane dove into the end zone from four yards out to cut the deficit to 31-24 with 10:50 to go.
The events of Western's game-tying drive were symbolic of what has been a frustrating, oh-so-close season for Southern.
After pinning the Leathernecks at their own 4 with 7:24 remaining, SIU was hit with two-straight pass interference penalties on deep downfield throws — one against linebacker Bryce Notree and the other on cornerback Madre Harper. Those flags bailed Western out of bad field position.
"You're in great coverage, the ball is throw short and inside, and the receiver gets to come back and make a play, and then you spin around and there's contact and it's a penalty," SIU head coach Nick Hill explained. "It wasn't undisciplined play (on our part)."
Two plays later, the defense appeared to come up with the game-winning turnover. Defensive end Anthony Knighton, who already had an interception earlier in the game, stripped the ball from McShane at Western's 35 yard line. The ball was recovered by safety Jeremy Chinn, but the play was nullified by a facemask penalty against Knighton. The replay showed his hand brush against McShane's helmet in the process of stripping the ball.
The play had a familiar feel for the Salukis, because It marked the third time this season the defense forced a turnover on the game's decisive drive, only to have it overturned by a penalty. The same thing also happened in losses to SEMO and Youngstown State.
Things took a wild and unfortunate turn for Southern after a pair of incomplete passes appeared to set up 3rd-and-10 at midfield. An SIU assistant coach was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for saying, "throw the flag, they're holding," according to Hill.
Aided by 60 yards of penalties, McGuire completed the scoring drive with a five-yard TD pass to Adam Conrady to tie the game, 31-31, with 3:27 on the clock.
"Those are tough to swallow," Hill said. "When you make those plays, you probably win the game."
SIU's offense had a chance to overcome its misfortune on its next drive, but DeSomer threw a pair of incomplete passes, then was sacked on third down, forcing a punt. Western took over with 1:57 to go and marched 58 yards in 11 plays for the game-winning field goal. The key play of the drive was a 26-yard completion to Isaiah Lesure on 3rd-and-3 at the SIU 40. Chinn had good coverage on the play, deflected the ball, but Lesure caught it on his way to the ground at SIU's 14.
Hill didn't blame bad breaks or officiating after the game, but instead accepted responsibility for the loss.
"Every minute that you sit there and complain about something, you're wasting time (that could be spent) trying to find the answers," he said
The loss overshadowed some impressive efforts by players such as Leonard, who caught six passes for 97 yards, and continues to lead the league in receiving. Chinn had his ninth career interception, plus eight tackles, and played the fourth quarter with a dislocated shoulder. Coming back from injury, safety Qua Brown was tough against the run with 10 tackles, as the Saluki run defense held Western to 3.9 yards per carry.
"There's going to be stuff on film that we're happy about — a lot of guys made some plays and played their butt off," Hill said. "Then there's going to be some things that hurt to watch and could've made a difference in that game."
"I truly believe that we're close to getting there," Hill continued. "We're not getting out-personneled. It's coming down to one or two plays that unfortunately this season they haven't went our way."
SIU closes out its home schedule next Saturday with a top 10 opponent in South Dakota State on Senior Day.
"All of our characters are really being tested," Hill said. "When things are going good, nobody is really watching (to see) if you're doing all the little things during the week — are you on-time to everything, are you sitting in the first three rows in class, are you coming through this hallway with good body language? When things are tough and you're 2-7 and you've lost a lot of close ones, you have to dig deep. That's what we all sign up for."
Team Stats
WIU
SIU
Total Yards
409
355
Pass Yards
283
208
Rushing Yards
126
147
Penalty Yards
89
111
1st Downs
22
22
3rd Downs
6
9
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
29:12
30:48
1st Quarter
WIU 0, SIU 7
SIU - Davis, D.J. 4 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:14
WIU 7, SIU 7
WIU - McShane, Steve 1 yd run (Crosa, Sam kick), 5 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:16
2nd Quarter
WIU 14, SIU 7
WIU - Ratkovich, C. 14 yd pass from McGuire, Sean (Crosa, Sam kick) 9 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:04
WIU 14, SIU 10
SIU - Cerra, Griffin 42 yd field goal 13 plays, 57 yards, TOP 6:19
WIU 14, SIU 17
SIU - Burton, JeQuan 20 yd pass from DeSomer, Matt (Cerra, Griffin kick) 5 plays, 39 yards, TOP 0:42
3rd Quarter
WIU 14, SIU 24
SIU - Mixon, Jonathan 2 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 12 plays, 98 yards, TOP 5:40
WIU 14, SIU 31
SIU - Leonard, Raphae 30 yd pass from DeSomer, Matt (Cerra, Griffin kick) 6 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:11
4th Quarter
WIU 17, SIU 31
WIU - Crosa, Sam 34 yd field goal 11 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:24
WIU 24, SIU 31
WIU - McShane, Steve 4 yd run (Crosa, Sam kick), 8 plays, 34 yards, TOP 2:37
WIU 31, SIU 31
WIU - Conrady, Adam 5 yd pass from McGuire, Sean (Crosa, Sam kick) 9 plays, 96 yards, TOP 3:20
WIU 34, SIU 31
WIU - Crosa, Sam 33 yd field goal 11 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:44
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
14
TD
2
YDS
208
INT
1
Players Mentioned
S
/ FootballQB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
OLB
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