Oct 19, 2002
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - All season Western Kentucky University football head coach has been waiting for his offense to develop a personality. Thanks to quarterback Jason Michael, it appears to be taking on the efficiency of military unit.
Michael accounted for three touchdowns and 184 yards of total offense Saturday to lead No. 25 Western to a 31-7 Gateway Conference victory over Southwest Missouri State at Plaster Field.
It was the fourth consecutive victory in the series for WKU (5-3, 3-1 Gateway), which has won the last two meetings in Springfield. The Bears (3-5, 0-4 GFC) fell for the fourth consecutive week.
"I think we've found some things we can do on offense," Hilltopper head coach Jack Harbaugh said. "There are plays that Jeremi Johnson can help us with, and Jon Frazier has run very physical inside, but he's got enough speed and quickness to hurt a team outside. But, we're still a work in progress."
Michael led the offense to a total of 404 yards, including 312 on the ground. He had 12 carries for 92 yards and two scores while going 5-of-10 for 92 yards and another touchdown.
Frazier led the Hilltoppers in rushing for the fifth straight week after posting a career-best 172 yards on 31 attempts. It marked the second consecutive week that he rushed for a personal-best total, and his fourth 100-yard game of the season.
Michael scored Western's first two touchdowns with a pair of 14-yard runs, with the second giving the Toppers the lead for good, 14-7, at 9:40 of the second quarter.
After a Peter Martinez field goal gave WKU three more points on its first possession of the second half, Michael put the game away with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Reaves on the first play of Western's next drive.
Reaves -- who became the first Hilltopper to record a touchdown catch in back-to-back games for the first time since the last two contests of 1999 -- led WKU with two receptions for 51 yards.
Frazier closed out the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run at 12:17 of the final quarter, capping a 12-play, 67-yard march.
The defense made the lead stand up, surrendering 225 yards -- including only 34 rushing -- and 11 first downs. Charles Thompson led the group with 10 tackles, including four for loss with a pair of sacks, to go along with a pass defensed. Karl Maslowski added seven stops in his first collegiate start, forcing and recovering a Michael White fumble with a sack to end the Bears' opening possession of the second half. Sherrod Coates and Patrick Reynolds both added two tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including a sack.
And, Jeremy Chandler intercepted his fifth pass of the season in the second quarter, matching last year's team-leading total.
"I thought the defense played well the entire day," said Harbaugh. "Coach (David) Elson kept them off balance with blitzes. That interception in the first quarter took the shutout away from them."
SMS scored the first points of the day by taking advantage of Western's only turnover, when Michael's first pass attempt was deflected by Casey Rooney into the hands of Darryl Warren at the WKU-42. On the next play, White hit Tony Hill for 40 yards to give the Bears 1st-and-goal, with Eddie Linscomb reaching the end zone on second down from 1 yard out.
White finished 15-of-34 with 191 yards, though 92 of those came in the final quarter with the game out of reach. Hill led all receivers with four catches for seven yards, while Mark Marcos and James White each grabbed three balls.
Linscomb had 60 yards on 16 attempts, but White was sacked five times for a loss of 48 yards.
"I told the players before the game that there was a very simple recipe," Harbaugh said. "Both teams would try and run the ball this afternoon, whichever team could stop the run would have an advantage.
"They have a good program and some excellent players, but they have had a run of bad luck. They were tremendous competitors and well-prepared for this game."
WKU will next play host to Indiana State Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (CST) as a part of Homecoming on the Hill.
-- WKU --
