GATEWAY Northern Iowa builds lead, holds off Western Illinois

Western Kentucky routed Indiana State, 59-14.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MACOMB, Ill. -- Tom Petrie threw four touchdown passes and Terrance Freeney ran for 123 yards Saturday as Northern Iowa built a big lead and held on for a 38-30 win over Western Illinois.
Northern Iowa (7-1, 4-0 Gateway Conference) went ahead 31-7 with 19 seconds to go in the third quarter when Petrie hit Curt Bradley on an 18-yard scoring pass.
After Russ Michna threw a 20-yard TD pass to Reggie Gray and then ran 11 yards for a score to get the Leathernecks within 31-20, Petrie found Marlus Mays for a 46-yard scoring pass to make it 38-20 with 9:25 to go.
Michna, who hit 20-of-38 passes for 321 yards, found Travis Glasford for a 2-yard TD with 6:10 left and Western scored one last time on Justin Langan's 25-yard field goal with 1:35 to play.
Western Illinois (5-3, 2-2) fell behind 17-0 but got a big lift just before halftime when Gray returned a kickoff 99 yards with five seconds to go in the second quarter.
But Petrie, who finished 14-of-22 for 194 yards, quickly got the momentum back, throwing third-quarter scores of 28 yards to Mays and the 18-yarder to Bradley.
W. Kentucky 59, Indiana St. 14
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Tony West rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown, and Lerron Moore added 148 yards and a score to lead Western Kentucky to a win over Indiana State.
The Hilltoppers (6-2, 3-1 Gateway Conference) racked up 443 yards rushing and scored on all six first-half possessions.
Quarterback Justin Haddix had three rushing touchdowns -- all in the first half -- as Western Kentucky built a 42-0 halftime lead over the Sycamores (3-6, 0-4).
The Hilltoppers' defense was equally impressive against three Indiana State quarterbacks. Western Kentucky intercepted three passes and had five sacks on the day.
Moore opened the scoring with a 4-yard run three minutes into the first quarter, and it was all downhill for Indiana State from there. Haddix had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs and an 18-yarder, and Ronnie Lilly added two TD runs in the second quarter to build the lead.
Phillip Johnson scored both touchdowns for the Sycamores, a 1-yarder in the third quarter and a 20-yarder in the fourth.