Dec 7, 2002
MACOMB, Ill. - After missing two field goals earlier in the game Saturday, the only thing Western Kentucky University placekicker Peter Martinez could look for was a chance at redemption. When the Hilltopper offense drove 39 yards in 10 plays as time wound down, he got it.
The result -- a 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining -- lifted No. 15 WKU to a 31-28 NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinal victory over No. 2 Western Illinois at Hanson Field, giving the Hilltoppers a spot in the semifinals for the first time in school history.
The Hilltoppers played in the 1973 and '75 NCAA Division II championship game, but had not advanced past the quarterfinals of the I-AA playoffs in five previous attempts.
WKU (10-3) earned its first victory over the Leathernecks (11-2) since joining the Gateway Football Conference prior to the 2001 season, snapping a two-game losing series streak, while it also gave the Hilltoppers their sixth 10-win season. The Toppers lead the all-time series, 5-3.
"You're only as good as your last kick," Martinez said. "It felt good to produce at the end of the game. I was worried all day about aiming the ball instead of kicking it."
"This was a tremendous opportunity for Western Kentucky University, the football program and me personally to be involved in a great game like this between two incredible I-AA programs," said WKU head coach Jack Harbaugh. "There were competitive youngsters on both sides of the ball emptying their bucket on every play. You're never too old to enjoy a game like this. I'm just proud to be on the right side of the scoreboard in the end."
Martinez' kick capped a game that saw four ties and a pair of lead changes. Wendell Davidson had tied the score, 28-28, with 5:22 to go on a 1-yard run, capping a drive that was keyed by Russ Michna's 72-yard pass to Reggie Gray on 3rd-and-10 from the WIU-20.
The game was a defensive battle through the first half, but the floodgates opened beginning with Jason Michael's 3-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes to go in the third quarter to tie the game, 14-14. WIU needed less than four minutes to regain the lead before the end of the quarter, as Michna scored from 6 yards out to end an eight-play, 89 yards march.
The Hilltoppers responded with a touchdown on their next drive, going 80 yards in five plays and tying the score, 21-21, when Michael connected with Shannon Hayes on a 44-yard scoring play at 14:03 of the final stanza. WKU had a chance to take the lead almost immediately after when Andrew Glover forced Gray to fumble on the kick return and Darius McCrimon recovered for the Hilltoppers. But unable to pick up a first down, Martinez sailed a 32-yard field goal attempt wide right.
The teams traded possessions, with the Leathernecks reaching just shy of midfield on a 28-yard reverse by Gray. But, after an incompletion Sherrod Coates sacked Michna, forcing a fumble that Carl Birts recovered and returned 48 yards for a touchdown that gave WKU a 28-21 lead with 7:11 to go.
Western controlled the opening quarter -- the defense allowed only three yards and no first downs -- to set up Maurice Bradley's 1-yard touchdown run at 12:40 of the second quarter, the first points of the game. The Hilltoppers' first three possessions all began in 'Neck territory after Antonio Veals returned two punts for 35 yards and Antonio Thomas blocked a Mike Scifres punt that ended on the WIU-33.
After another 3-and-out, the Leathernecks finally got on the scoreboard on their fifth drive. Michna found Stacy Coleman for a 75-yard touchdown pass to knot the score, 7-7. It looked like that would be the case at the end of the half, but a Scifres punt that Coates partially blocked rolled and hit Birts in the heel at the WKU-38, where it was recovered by WIU's Charles Hayden. Michna led a five-play drive in 1:44, giving WIU a 14-7 advantage with 43 seconds to go until the break.
Jon Frazier had a game-high 128 yards on 30 carries to lead WKU in rushing for the 10th time this season. Jeremi Johnson added 43 as the Hilltoppers collected 204 yards on the ground.
Michael completed 6-of-14 passes for 139 yards -- his first 100-yard game since Oct. 5 -- and Casey Rooney led the receiving corps with 76 yards on three catches.
Michna was 17-of-33 for 347 yards, but the Hilltoppers sacked him four times. Coleman had a WIU playoff record eight catches for 142 yards, and Terrence Hall added four receptions for 89 yards. But, the Leathernecks could only manage 65 yards rushing on 31 attempts.
Coates, Karl Maslowski and Charles Thompson each had seven tackles to lead the WKU defense.
WIU's Jason McWilliams and Cornell Middlebrook made 12 stops apiece to lead all players, with Lee Russell adding 10.
The Hilltoppers will travel to face No. 3 seed Georgia Southern Saturday in Statesboro, Ga., with the time to be determined no later than Monday afternoon.
-- WKU --
