The Toppers accomplished the feat when Justin Haddix led them on an eight-play, 75-yard drive in the final minutes — his 14-yard scoring pass to Jake Gaebler with 35 seconds to go gave WKU its only lead of the night in a 38-35 win over WIU at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field.
The Hilltoppers (2-2, 1-0 Gateway) took over on their own 25-yard line with just under three-and-a-half minutes remaining after Taylor Rowan’s 42-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left. It was the last snap in a 16-play drive for the Leathernecks (3-2, 0-1 GFC), whose only failed third-down conversion in the game came when Travis Watters broke up Steve LaFalce’s pass to Marco Thomas in the end zone the play before the failed kick.
Lerron Moore opened up the Toppers’ final possession with a 21-yard gain before Haddix hit Curtis Hamilton for 17 yards down the right sideline. Moore carried on the next four plays, collecting a first down when he rushed for 11 yards on 3rd-and-2 from the WIU-29 to get WKU to the 15-yard line. After a false start penalty on the Hilltoppers, Haddix found Gaebler for a 6-yard completion — he got out of bounds on the play — to give WKU 3rd-and-6 at the WIU-14. On the Toppers’ next play, Haddix stepped up in the pocket due to pressure from the Leatherneck defensive line, then hit Gaebler across the middle 4 yards from the end zone — the redshirt freshman would make a defensive back miss a tackle en route to the first touchdown of his career.
The game ended when Dusty Bear sacked LaFalce for a loss of 15 yards as time expired. The Hilltoppers will next take on nationally-ranked Illinois State Saturday at 6 p.m. (CDT) in the last of three straight home games.
“As a head coach I feel great, but as the guy who runs the defense I don’t feel so good,” said Topper head coach David Elson. “When the defense is struggling the offense has to step up, and they did just that. Coach [T.J.] Weist and his guys did a great job.”
In all, the two teams combined to record 892 yards of total offense in the contest with no turnovers and no punts. WKU collected a season-high 469 yards, averaging 8.4 yards per play. Moore rushed for 163 yards and three scores on 23 carries, and Hamilton ended up with eight receptions for a career-best 166 yards and a touchdown. Gaebler recorded career highs with five catches for 64 yards as Haddix completed 16-of-20 pass attempts for 267 yards and two touchdowns, adding 30 yards on the ground.
LaFalce also was 16-of-20 passing for 200 yards and a touchdown, while the Leathernecks ground game also was able to move the ball. Herb Donaldson carried 21 times for 144 yards and three scores, with Alex Douglas collecting 87 yards on 16 attempts. Carl Sims matched Hamilton for game-high honors with eight catches for 83 yards, and Thomas posted 97 yards — including a 47-yard touchdown catch that gave the Leathernecks a 35-24 advantage with just under 14 minutes remaining in the game — on six receptions.
WIU, which controlled the ball for more than 33 minutes, converted 11-of-12 first downs until the incomplete pass to Thomas. The Hilltoppers moved the chains on 7-of-9 third-down opportunities.
“Western Illinois adjusted well and kept us off balance,” said Elson. “They weren’t going to let us get after the quarterback like we did at their place last year. It seemed like we never stopped them, but I guess they didn’t stop us either. I told the defense, get us one stop and we can win this game — sure enough, they did that just when we needed it most.”
After Thomas’ touchdown catch, which came with the Leathernecks facing 2nd-and-9, WKU needed just two plays to make it a one-possession game again after Haddix found Hamilton for a 59-yard touchdown pass — when Hamilton was stopped short of the goal line on the two-point conversion attempt, the score was 35-30 with 12:29 left.
It was the third time in the second half that the Toppers drew to within four points of WIU. Moore’s 8-yard touchdown run just over five minutes into the third quarter capped a 10-play, 76-yard march that made the score 21-17, and he again reached the end zone from 12 yards out with 2:32 to go to pull WKU within four points, 28-24. In between, Donaldson answered on the other end with a 15-yard scoring dash that rebuilt the WIU advantage back to 11 points with 5:33 left in the period.
Marion Rumph led all players with a career-best 16 tackles and Andre Lewis added a 12 for the Hilltoppers. Bear’s sack on the final play of the game gave him a career-best seven stops as well. Jerome Bennett, Fu’ad Khaleel and Trokon Tompo paced the Leathernecks with eight tackles each.
WIU took more than six minutes off the clock after receiving opening kickoff before LaFalce’s 1-yard run on 3rd-and-goal gave the Leathernecks a 7-0 edge with 8:49 to go in the opening quarter. In marching 80 yards in 12 plays, WIU picked up five first downs on the drive with Donaldson collecting 57 yards on eight carries and LaFalce completing all four pass attempts.
With the game tied 7-7 after a WKU touchdown, the Leathernecks needed almost six minutes to regain a seven-point advantage. A 13-play, 85-yard march culminated with a Donaldson 2-yard scoring run with just under 11 minutes remaining the in half. WIU then held Moore to no gain on 4th-and-1 at the WKU-45 on the Hilltoppers’ ensuing possession, building a 21-7 lead with 5:14 to go after Donaldson’s 15-yard touchdown run.
The Toppers tied the score 7-7 less than seven minutes after WIU’s opening possession when Moore capped a 15-play drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-goal. Haddix completed a 20-yard pass to Gaebler on 3rd-and-10 from the WKU-41, and converted a pair of third downs rushing to keep the drive alive. He posted 33 yards through the air on the possession, while Moore rushed for 32 on five attempts.
Chris James closed out the scoring in the first half with a 25-yard field goal 45 seconds before the break. The Toppers drove 74 yards in 10 plays and four minutes, 20 seconds as Haddix hit Hamilton three times for 65 yards, including a 32-yard gain that put WKU inside the WIU-10 yard line.
