HANSON FIELD - Western Illinois University Athletics

LEATHERNECKS
CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS 10
Jeff Hecklinski’s senior season in 1998 ended
as the then-highest scoring season and the
most successful rushing season in Leatherneck
Football history.
1988 (10-2)
1997 (11-2)
1998 (11-3)
Coach Bruce Craddock
Gateway Champions (6-0)
Coach Randy Ball
Gateway Champions (6-0)
Coach Randy Ball
Gateway Champions (5-1)
*Southern Illinois W 17-13
Grand Valley State W 55-0
*at Missouri State W 35-31
*at Indiana State W 24-21
*at UNI W 28-27
Northwest Missouri State W 63-3
*Eastern Illinois W 45-8
at Liberty W 36-35
*Illinois State W 13-10
at Northern Illinois L 6-16
at Delaware State W 22-13
NCAA I-AA Playoffs
Western Kentucky L 32-35
The 1988 squad set six offensive school records,
produced the third-highest scoring team in school
history, and recorded the eighth-best total defense
mark. The offense averaged 388 yards per game,
while the defense allowed just over 290. The recordbreaking
Gateway Conference champions concluded
the season as the third-ranked I-AA team in the nation
after having been ranked as high as number two for
the previous four weeks.
Seven players were selected to all-America teams,
as senior quarterback Paul Singer concluded his
career as the school’s all-time signal caller. The
6-3, 195-pounder, who was an eight-time Gateway
Conference Player of the Week during his tenure,
not only set 17 school records, but was named the
league’s Offensive Player of the Year. He passed for
8,257 career yards and 62 touchdowns. The strongarmed
Singer was picked for six all-America teams
and was a runner-up in the Coach’s Choice Player
of the Year Award.
Head coach Bruce Craddock, who won his second
consecutive Gateway Conference Coach of the
Year honor and was named the 1988 Kodak I-AA
Regional Coach of the Year, led the Leathernecks
to an undefeated 6-0 league record.
*Eastern Illinois W 41-0
Truman State W 45-18
at Alcorn State W 31-17
at Marshall L 7-48
at Southern Utah W 45-6
*UNI W (OT) 29-22
*at Indiana State W 37-3
*Missouri State W 37-7
*Southern Illinois W 31-26
*at Illinois State W 37-23
*at Youngstown State W 24-21
NCAA I-AA Playoffs
Jackson State W 31-24
McNeese State L 12-14
Capturing Western Illinois’ first-ever I-AA postseason
victory, the 1997 Leathernecks became the first
squad to win 11 games, after matching the record
for most wins in a regular season. Junior running
back Aaron Stecker helped establish the highestscoring
offense and most successful rushing team
in Western’s Division I history. Stecker rushed for
2,293 yards in 13 games, led the nation in scoring
and rewrote the record books on his way to numerous
player of the year and all-America honors. He finished
second on the Walter Payton Award ballot.
Gateway Coach of the Year Randy Ball led the
Leathernecks to just the second outright Gateway
title in school history (also 1988) with a spotless 6-0
league record. The season’s only loss came to I-A
Marshall as the Leathernecks climbed as high as No.
2 in the national polls.
A defense that allowed just 17.3 points per game
throughout the regular season was in top form for the
postseason. Despite not giving up a touchdown to the
McNeese State offense, the Leathernecks’ hopes of
advancing to the national semifinals were cut short
with a two-point loss to the Cowboys.
St. Cloud State W 23-7
at Central Michigan L 14-35
at Elon College W 17-7
Southern Utah W 31-3
*Youngstown State W 14-0
*at Missouri State W 20-13
*at Southern Illinois W 13-3
*Illinois State W 37-10
at Buffalo W 41-6
*Indiana State W 26-9
*at UNI L 6-10
NCAA I-AA Playoffs
Montana W 52-9
Florida A&M W 24-21
at Georgia Southern L 14-42
With back-to-back Gateway titles behind them, the
1998 Leathernecks advanced to the semifinals for
the first time in school history. The defense paved
the way, allowing a nation-best 9.4 points per game
during the regular season. Central Michigan (I-A) was
the only opponent to score more than one touchdown
while Western held eight opponents to under 10
points, while the 12.5 points allowed per game overall
was the best school mark since 1959. Linebacker
James Milton became the first Leatherneck to win
the Buck Buchanan Award, and defensive lineman
David Bowens was named the league’s Newcomer
of the Year.
Western climbed to as high as No. 2 in the national
polls and finished the season at No. 4. After a rout of
Montana and a 3-point win over Florida A&M in the
first two rounds of the I-AA playoffs, the Leathernecks
suffered a semifinal loss at Georgia Southern.
Head coach Randy Ball, who was named the
American Football Coaches Association Regional
Coach of the Year, ended his nine-year Leatherneck
career with a record of 63-40-1, including a 35-18
mark against Gateway Conference competition.
www.GoLeathernecks.com
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