Local Sports

Eastern, Western Illinois Win; Illinois, ISU Lose

>>Purdue Clips Illinois in OT
 
Purdue came to Illinois Saturday reeling from a 43-point loss at Maryland and living with growing pressure on its coach, Darrel Hazell, to win.
 
The Boilermakers got just what they needed from a freshman kicker who had missed more field goals this season than he had made and a freshman running back starting his first game, knocking off the Illini in overtime, 34-31.
 
The running back, Brian Lankford-Johnson, carried the ball 18 times for 127 yards and a touchdown.
 
The kicker, J.D. Dellinger, had missed three of his five field goals on the season. But he hit from 28 yards on the game's final play, and set off a wild celebration.
 
The Boilermakers (3-2, 2-1 Big Ten) rushed for the Illinois sideline, mistakenly thinking they would find the Cannon trophy the teams play for there, before finally mobbing their band in the south end zone.
 
Chayce Crouch, a sophomore, carried the ball 17 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Wes Lunt was knocked out of the game in the second quarter on a big hit by linebacker Danny Ezechukwu, who was flagged for roughing the passer. Smith said immediately after the game that he only knows Lunt's injury is a concern.
 
The Illini make their first trip to Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten and just the third meeting between the schools. The last game, in New Jersey, was a 33-0 Rutgers win in 2006.
 
>>Eastern Holds On To Edge Tennessee State
 
Mitch Kimble threw two touchdown passes to Devin Church who also ran for a score as Eastern Illinois handed Tennessee State its first loss, 35-34, Saturday night.
 
Kimble had 180 yards passing for the Panthers (4-2, 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference). He also ran for a 9-yard touchdown early in the first quarter. Church finished with 94 yards rushing.
 
After the Panthers fell behind 34-28 early in the fourth quarter, Kimble capped an 80-yard drive with a 4-yard scoring pass to Church to regain the lead, 35-34, with 9:00 remaining.
 
Tennessee State ate up the next 5:56 on the ensuing drive but Lane Clark missed a 46-yard field goal try with 3:00 to play and the Panthers held on to win.
 
Eastern Illinois scored on its first two possessions and led 21-13 at halftime.
 
Ronald Butler threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score for the Tigers (4-1, 1-1).
 
>>Western Illinois Beats Indiana State
 
Sean McGuire threw for a career-high 363 yards and three touchdowns and Western Illinois erased an 8-point 4th quarter deficit to beat Indiana State 36-35 on Saturday.
 
McGuire's favorite target was Senior Lance Lenoir, who caught 11 passes for 204 yards and two scores.
The Leathernecks (4-1, 1-1 Missouri Valley) trailed 35-27 entering the fourth and quickly cut their deficit to 35-33 on 9-yard TD pass from McGuire to Jamie Gilmore. A two-point conversion failed. On its next possession, Western Illinois seized the lead for good on a 41-yard Nathan Knuffman field goal, capping a 6-play 37-yard drive.
 
Indiana State (3-3, 1-2) had three opportunities to answer, but were forced to punt twice and stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Leathernecks 29 with 44 seconds left.
 
Isaac Harker threw for 241 yards and a touchdown and Roland Genesy added 78 yards and a score on the ground for the Sycamores.
 
>>Youngstown State Tops Illinois State
 
Ricky Davis threw a touchdown pass and Tevin McCaster ran for another score in the fourth quarter as Youngstown State beat Illinois State 20-6 on Saturday.
 
The Penguins (4-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley) won for the first time in 10 seasons at Illinois State (2-4, 0-3). The Redbirds have lost four straight, their longest streak since 2008.
Sean Slattery kicked field goals of 20 and 27 yards in the third quarter to give Illinois State a 6-3 lead. Davis led a 91-yard drive, capped by a 20-yard scoring throw to Alvin Bailey. On its next series, Davis threw an interception to DraShane Glass at the Redbirds 49, but Illinois State punted six plays later. Kenny Bishop sacked Jake Kolbe for a 9-yard loss to help stall the drive.
 
McCaster ran for 56 yards on a second-and-4, and then capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run with about five minutes left.
 
James Robinson ran for a career-best 103 yards for Illinois State.

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