Hilltoppers win on punt return

Dennis Mitchell's 68-yard punt return sank Northern Iowa.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Dennis Mitchell returned a punt 68 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave Western Kentucky a 17-10 victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday.
Mitchell's return thwarted Northern Iowa's comeback from a 10-0 deficit and Western Kentucky (4-1, 2-0 Gateway) stopped the Panthers (1-4, 0-2) at the end by intercepting a pass at the goal line on the final play.
Western Kentucky took a 10-0 halftime lead on Brian Porter's 2-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left in the half. The Hilltoppers drove 80 yards in seven plays for that score, helped by Justin Haddix's 62-yard pass to Maurice Perkins.
Perkins finished with seven catches for 141 yards.
Northern Iowa tied it in the third quarter on Eric Sanders' 1-yard touchdown pass to Ben Spellman and Brian Wingert's 20-yard field goal.
Sanders, a redshirt freshman making his first start, drove Northern Iowa to the Western Kentucky 14 in the final seconds. After two incompletions and a sack, Charles Thompson picked off Sanders' pass toward the end zone as time expired.
W. Illinois 29, Indiana St. 27
MACOMB, Ill. -- Michael Woods intercepted a fourth-down pass on Indiana State's final possession.
Indiana State (4-2, 1-1 Gateway) scored the first 14 points and the final 13 points of the game, but couldn't capitalize late. After Indiana State quarterback Phillip Johnson scored on a 1-yard run with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Leatherneck defense batted down the conversion pass attempt to preserve the 29-27 lead.
Travis Glasford led the Leathernecks (3-3, 1-1) with 254 all-purpose yards. It was Glasford's second straight week with more than 200 total yards. Steve LaFalce added 206 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Jake Shields ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries for the Sycamores.
Illinois St. 34, SW Missouri St. 31
NORMAL, Ill. -- Stephen Carroll drilled a 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the game.
The game-winner was Carroll's second field goal of the game. Carroll connected on a 38-yard kick in the second quarter.
The Redbirds (3-2, 1-1 Gateway) amassed 475 yards of total offense. They were led by quarterback Yance Vaughan, who completed 22 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown.
Illinois State also had a big game on the ground, getting more than one hundred yards from two different running backs. Brian Thompson rushed for 151 yards on 22 carries while Demetrus Johnson ran for 129 yards on 23 carries. Thompson and Johnson each scored one touchdown.
Southwest Missouri State (4-2, 1-1 Gateway) took a 31-17 lead early in the second half but couldn't hold the Redbird offense. A.J. Porter was 13-21 for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears' loss.
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