By Travis Akin 20

The SIUC football team played a close conference game once again, but a string of dropped passes, fumbles and missed opportunities prevented SIUC from upsetting Western Illinois University Saturday.

The No. 2 Leathernecks extended their winning streak to 14 games by beating the Salukis 31-26 in Macomb. All 14 losses for the Salukis in the series have been by 10 points or less.

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WIU is now 8-1 and 4-0 in the Gateway Football Conference, while the Salukis move to 3-6 and 1-4.

Saturday’s game was not decided until late in the fourth quarter when WIU recovered the ball on a Saluki onside kick attempt that followed an SIUC touchdown with 1 minute and 43 seconds left. The Leathernecks let the clock expire to win the game.

WIU tailback Aaron Stecker exploited an already-weak SIUC defense. Stecker now holds the single-season rushing record in the Gateway Football Conference with 1,584 yards. He also has the single-game record, which Illinois State University’s Toby Davis set in 1991, by rushing for 289 yards.

The Salukis had several opportunities to take the lead in the game, but fell short.

Wide receiver Jeraldo Henry dropped a pass in the end zone. Running back Karlton Carpenter fumbled the ball in the third quarter, which led to a WIU field goal. Fullback Bryan Nolbertowicz was called for a fumble on the WIU 10-yard line, although he apparently had a knee down on the play before the fumble.

For the second week in a row, the Salukis had a touchdown erased because of a holding call. It also was the second week in a row that the Salukis allowed a single player to rush for 289 yards. In a 35-21 loss to Western Kentucky University Oct. 25, Hilltopper quarterback Willie Taggart rushed for 289 yards.

The Leathernecks added to the Salukis’ woes by completing eight third-down conversions in 12 attempts. They had scoring drives of 68, 91 and 98 yards, and they took 6:29 off the clock on one drive in the fourth quarter.

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SIUC football coach Jan Quarless said the Leathernecks did everything right when they had to perform, which hurt the Salukis.

You’ve got to give them all of the credit in the world, Quarless said on his post-game radio show. I think they did execute their offense when they had to, and they exhibited it on that drive (the 6:29 drive in the fourth quarter).

The Salukis may have had some frustrations to contend with, but Quarless said he was pleased with the way the team stuck with the game and played all four quarters.

I am very happy with this football team, Quarless said. I thought they played hard. You’ve got to give these guys a lot of credit. That is not too many points in (terms) of the losses we have had.

Despite some of the frustrations, the Salukis put up solid offensive numbers. The team got two touchdown runs from Carpenter, while quarterback Kent Skornia also ran a touchdown in during the opening minute of the fourth quarter. On the day, Skornia completed 15 of 30 passes for 226 yards.

Quarless said he likes what he is seeing in Skornia.

Kent is being so poised back there, Quarless said. He doesn’t get rattled, and he does a nice job. He has really matured, and he knows what he wants to do, which is a big-time plus.

The Salukis also received solid performances from their wide receivers. Cornell Craig caught a touchdown pass in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, and Reggie Fowler broke the SIUC record for career receptions with his 124th catch.

Fowler reset Billy Swain’s record, and he ended the day with a career total of 125 receptions.

Although the offense made a good effort, Quarless said it was not enough to overcome some of the mistakes in the game.

In a ball game like this one, you just can’t have turnovers, Quarless said. You got to make plays and unfortunately, offensively, we just couldn’t do that.

But Quarless said WIU should be prepared for the Salukis next season.

Give me time, Quarless said. I feel much better today. Just give me time.

The Salukis play Youngstown State University at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.