1997 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Gateway champion
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 2
Record11–2 (6–0 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanson Field
1997 Gateway Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
No. 2 Western Illinois $^  6 –0   11 –2  
Northern Iowa  5 –1   7 –4  
No. 4 Youngstown State ^  4 –2   13 –2  
Southwest Missouri State  3 –3   5 –6  
Indiana State  2 –4   3 –8  
Southern Illinois  1 –5   3 –8  
Illinois State  0 –6   2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1997 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by eighth-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–2 record overall and a 6–0 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Jackson State before losing to McNeese State in the quarterfinals.[1]

Running back Aaron Stecker, a transfer from Wisconsin, finished the year with 1,957 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns, which ranked second and first in Division I-AA respectively. Stecker was named the Gateway Conference's offensive player of the year.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 28No. 6 Eastern Illinois*No. 9
W 41–0[3]
September 6Truman State*No. 5
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 45–18[4]
September 13at Alcorn State*No. 5
W 31–174,121[5]
September 20at Marshall*No. 4
L 7–4826,724[6]
October 4at Southern Utah*No. 9
W 45–64,445[7]
October 11No. 17 Northern IowaNo. 5
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 29–22 2OT13,446[8]
October 18at Indiana StateNo. 5
W 37–32,381[9]
October 25Southwest Missouri StateNo. 3
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 37–710,874[10]
November 1Southern IllinoisNo. 2
  • Hanson Field
  • Macomb, IL
W 31–265,241[11]
November 8at Illinois StateNo. 2
W 37–236,512[12]
November 22at No. 4 Youngstown StateNo. 2
W 24–2112,134[13]
November 29No. 14 Jackson State*No. 2
W 31–248,980[14]
December 6No. 7 McNeese State*No. 2
L 12–145,000[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 72. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  2. ↑ Bryant, C.B. (November 28, 1997). "Leathernecks charge up hill behind Stecker". Clarion-Ledger. p. 1C. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Western Illinois tops Eastern in opener". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. August 29, 1997. p. B4. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Leathernecks rout Truman State 45-18". Belleville News-Democrat. Associated Press. September 7, 1997. p. 2D. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Record-setting Stecker runs over Alcorn". The Clarion-Ledger. Associated Press. September 14, 1997. p. 5D. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Marshall easily pins first loss on Western Illinois". Herald and Review. Associated Press. September 21, 1997. p. C5. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Western Illinois 45, Southern Utah 6". Quad-City Times. October 5, 1997. p. 3F. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "2 OTs: UNI stumbles". Des Moines Register. Associated Press. October 12, 1997. p. 6D. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Western Illinois 37, Indiana State 3". Quad-City Times. Associated Press. October 19, 1997. p. 2F. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Scranton, Lyndal (October 26, 1997). "Stecker, W. Illinois stun SMS". Springfield News-Leader. p. 1C. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Hardwig, Greg (November 2, 1997). "Stecker sticks it to SIU". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Reinhardt, Randy (November 9, 1997). "Redbirds go out with a bang, loss". The Pantagraph. p. F1. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Leathernecks capture Gateway championship". The Southern Illinoisan. Associated Press. November 23, 1997. p. 3C. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Cooper, Craig (November 30, 1997). "WIU wins a wild one". Quad-City Times. p. 10S. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Western Illinois falls to McNeese State in quarters". The Pantagraph. Associated Press. December 7, 1997. p. F3. Retrieved November 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.


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