Oct 20, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - They're "special" teams for a reason. In a game dominated by the defense, Western Kentucky University used two key special teams plays to earn its biggest win of the 2001 season.
Mel Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown Saturday, and Corey Shaw recovered a fumble on a punt return that led to another seven points in the first quarter to help lead the 10th-ranked Hilltoppers to a 21-0 shutout of No. 11 McNeese State on Homecoming at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field.
WKU (5-2) won its season-high third straight game, while it was the first time in 160 games that the Cowboys (4-3) have been shutout -- the last team to accomplish the feat was North Texas in 1988. WKU has won five of its last six Homecoming contests, and is 47-22-3 all-time on the day.
"First of all, I was thankful that our program was able to be competitive," said Hilltopper head coach Jack Harbaugh. "This was an outstanding team effort. To come out today and shutout a great team like McNeese State is unbelievable. This was a great team victory -- to put together all phases for a full game was outstanding.
"So far this has been the defining moment of the 2001 season."
" They've got a good team, and when they get a lead, they're awful hard to beat," Cowboy head coach Tommy Tate said. "My hat is off to them, they have one of the quality I-AA teams in the nation."
Mitchell's return was his second for a touchdown in as many seasons as well as the longest of his career. He fielded the ball on the right side of the field and made his way left behind the Hilltoppers' wedge. Mitchell cut right to get past MSU kicker Charlie Hebert, then made another quick cut to the right to get past the last defender.
"That sent a tremendous message early," Harbaugh said. "Mel made some people miss around the 50 yard line. It was a great individual play, and great blocking by our special teams."
"We got into a hole early with our special teams," said Tate. "They ran the opening kickoff back and then we lost the punt. I don't know exactly what happened on the kickoff return, but that gave them a big boost early in the game."
After trading possessions, the Toppers were attempting to pin the Cowboys deep in their own end when Aaron Pierce dropped Brian Claybourn's punt at the 13 yard line. Shaw recovered, and Western scored five plays later on a 1-yard run by Curtis Hamilton to take a 14-0 lead with 5:02 left in the first quarter.
Shannon Hayes recovered a fumble by Keith Brooks in the end zone on the Hilltoppers' opening drive of the second half for the final points of the contest.
McNeese had opportunities to score, reaching the red zone once in each half. The Cowboys crossed midfield for the first time on their final drive of the first half, setting up a 1st-and-goal at the WKU-7 with half a minute remaining after Scott Pendarvis hit B.J. Sams on a 31-yard pass with MSU facing 4th-and-17. Pendarvis spiked the ball to stop the clock and followed with two incompletions. Hebert came on and missed a 25-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 11 seconds to go in the half.
Early in the fourth Pendarvis led MSU to the Western-7 with the aid of a 40-yard completion to Jermaine Martin, but threw incompletions on third and fourth down to give the ball back to Western.
Hayes Thomas made nine stops to pace the Western defense, which held the Cowboys 176 yards below their season average entering the contest. Sherrod Coates had six tackles with three behind the line of scrimmage, including two sacks, with Mitchell and Kyle Moffatt also adding six stops apiece. Coates has 12 tackles for loss in the last three games, while Moffatt added an interception, his team-best third of the year -- he's accounted for 75 percent of Western's pick-offs this year. The Toppers also tied a season high with five sacks by four individuals: Coates, Thomas, Arthur Wilson and Rufus Sanders (the first of his career).
"I have to give a lot of credit to (defensive coordinator) David Elson and his staff," said Harbaugh. "They put together, and followed through, on a great game plan. We were able to put tremendous pressure on their passer early, and it changed the complexion of the game in our favor."
The Hilltoppers collected 241 yards of total offense, with 227 coming on the ground. Brooks rushed for a game-high 142, giving him the first back-to-back 100-yard games of his career. He needed 22 carries to accomplish the feat, averaging 6.5 yards per rush. DeWayne Gallishaw added 52 yards on 11 attempts and Hamilton added 12 carries for 30 yards.
Donte Pimpleton completed 2-of-6 passes for 14 yards, all in the first half , with Hamilton and Jon Frazier grabbing their first receptions of the season.
Arthur Goodly made a game-high 13 stops with a forced fumble to lead the Cowboys defensively. Ryan Garrison and Joe Judge each made 10 tackles, with Judge collecting two stops for loss and two pass break ups.
Pendarvis was 14-of-34 passing for 176 yards in his second collegiate start, completing four passes each to Sams (88 yards) and Britt Brodhead (33 yards). Pierce had 42 yards on 10 carries, but McNeese became the third straight Western opponent to fail to rush for 100 yards, netting 32 yards on 29 attempts.
WKU closes out the regular season with four consecutive Gateway Football Conference games, beginning next week when the Toppers visit No. 5 Youngstown State -- kickoff is set for noon (CDT).
-- WKU --
