GATEWAY CONFERENCE Salukis rally to beat WKU and stay perfect

Southern Illinois overcame a 24-13 deficit to win, 28-24, for a 9-0 record.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Joel Sambursky threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brent Little with 55 seconds remaining as Southern Illinois rallied to beat Western Kentucky 28-24 on Saturday.
The Salukis (9-0, 5-0 Gateway Conference), ranked No. 3 in Division I-AA, trailed the seventh-ranked Hilltoppers 24-13 with 8:42 to play.
Antonio Veals fumbled the kickoff that followed Little's catch and Southern Illinois recovered to preserve the victory.
Western Kentucky's Lerron Moore opened the scoring with a 91-yard touchdown run 4:37 into the game. Matt Lange added a 25-yard field goal with 8:23 remaining in the third quarter for a 10-0 Hilltoppers' edge.
A pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Tom Koutsos put Southern Illinois up 13-10, but Ronnie Lilly had a 14-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left in the third quarter to put Western back on top.
Justin Haddix threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Matt Rogers with 8:42 left in the game before the Salukis started their comeback.
Mo Abdulqaadir had a short TD run with 3:44 left to draw the Salukis within three. Sambursky's game-winning pass capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive.
Southern Illinois won despite rushing for only 95 yards.
W. Illinois 24, Illinois St. 20
NORMAL, Ill. -- Russ Michna's 1-yard run with 57 seconds remaining gave Western Illinois the win.
Western Illinois (6-3, 3-2 Gateway Conference) led 10-0 after the first quarter on a 19-yard field goal by kicker Justin Langan, who also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Chad Daun.
Illinois State (4-6, 1-4) scored all 20 of its points in the second quarter. Stephen Carroll had a 20-yard field goal and Sha-Ron Edwards scored on a 3-yard run. Quarterback Mike Souza hit Dwayne Smith with a 32-yard TD pass with three minutes left in the half and Carroll added a 20-yard field goal with one second left in the half.
The Leathernecks controlled the line of scrimmage, rushing for 252 yards on 48 carries. Travis Glasford had 160 yards on 26 carries.
SW Missouri St. 45, Indiana St. 10
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Cody Pratt rushed for 123 yards and three touchdowns as Southwest Missouri State beat Indiana State.
Pratt scored on a 21-yard run with 54 seconds remaining in the half to give Southwest Missouri (4-5, 1-4 Gateway) its first lead at 14-10.
Indiana State (3-7, 0-5) surged to a 10-0 lead on a 39-yard field goal by Kyle Hooper and a touchdown by Ben Tompkins, who recovered the ball in the end zone after the Bears fumbled a punt return.
A.J. Porter took over for Mike Radon at quarterback on the series and led the Bears to their first score on a 15-yard pass to Kaya Farris.
Southwest Missouri went up for good on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Pratt's 21-yard scoring run. Pratt's 123 yards gave him his sixth 100-yard rushing game.
Southwest Missouri's defense shut down Indiana State in the second half, holding the Sycamores to just three first downs, minus 28 yards rushing and one pass completion for 8 yards.
Pratt scored twice more on runs of 3 and 9 yards. Brandon Taylor scored on a 16-yard run and Preston Portee scored on a 2-yard run.
Andre Forte led Indiana State with 51 yards rushing before leaving in the second half with an injury.