'Necks host ISU on senior day
Ken Woods
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Sports
The Leathernecks football team is coming off two consecutive losses and will face the Redbirds of Illinois State on Saturday at Hanson Field.
Western Illinois (5-4, 3-3 in Missouri Valley) has had a bumpy road in recent weeks, giving up the big play and not getting out to the type of start they would have liked to.
"Getting out to a good start will be critical; that's been our problem the last few weeks is that we have been playing from behind," head coach Don Patterson said. "That's not the way to play winning football. Let's get a scoring margin early and let's feel good about being able to win it by getting out to a good start and defending."
The cause of the recent decline may be due to turnovers. The 'Necks dominated the turnover margin for most of the season, but they suffered key losses in the area to Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois.
Western has worked on securing the ball and winning the battle in preparation for the game against Illinois State (3-6, 2-4 in Missouri Valley).
"Well, we have emphasized it all over again, it's hard to win football games if you don't win the turnover margin," Patterson said. "We have emphasized it again whether it is defensive players or offensive players. I'd be disappointed if we don't win on turnovers on Saturday."
This game is special for the veterans on the 'Necks roster. Saturday will be senior day, and Western wants to pay homage to their upperclassmen in the right way.
"I hope everyone understands, as coaches and players, how strongly we feel about honoring our seniors," Patterson said. "These guys have given blood and guts for four or five years, in most cases, and some of them have had great careers; of course, it's really tragic if there are not a lot of people to honor them on Saturday."
With the 'Necks being eliminated from playoff contention, it makes it more critical for the graduating class to get a win at home.
"The guys are pretty resilient, but the thing I mentioned to them is we have to get this right for the seniors," Patterson said. "We can feel disappointed about last week but it's gone, so all we can do is win out the last two games and feel good about how we finished our season."
Western Illinois (5-4, 3-3 in Missouri Valley) has had a bumpy road in recent weeks, giving up the big play and not getting out to the type of start they would have liked to.
"Getting out to a good start will be critical; that's been our problem the last few weeks is that we have been playing from behind," head coach Don Patterson said. "That's not the way to play winning football. Let's get a scoring margin early and let's feel good about being able to win it by getting out to a good start and defending."
The cause of the recent decline may be due to turnovers. The 'Necks dominated the turnover margin for most of the season, but they suffered key losses in the area to Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois.
Western has worked on securing the ball and winning the battle in preparation for the game against Illinois State (3-6, 2-4 in Missouri Valley).
"Well, we have emphasized it all over again, it's hard to win football games if you don't win the turnover margin," Patterson said. "We have emphasized it again whether it is defensive players or offensive players. I'd be disappointed if we don't win on turnovers on Saturday."
This game is special for the veterans on the 'Necks roster. Saturday will be senior day, and Western wants to pay homage to their upperclassmen in the right way.
"I hope everyone understands, as coaches and players, how strongly we feel about honoring our seniors," Patterson said. "These guys have given blood and guts for four or five years, in most cases, and some of them have had great careers; of course, it's really tragic if there are not a lot of people to honor them on Saturday."
With the 'Necks being eliminated from playoff contention, it makes it more critical for the graduating class to get a win at home.
"The guys are pretty resilient, but the thing I mentioned to them is we have to get this right for the seniors," Patterson said. "We can feel disappointed about last week but it's gone, so all we can do is win out the last two games and feel good about how we finished our season."
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