The Leathernecks beat Southwest Missouri State 63-42 last year, and the way Steve LaFalce has been passing to James Norris and Reggie Gray and Alex Douglas has been running, Western might average more than a point a minute against SWMS again this time.
LaFalce completed his first eight passes and went 18 of 29 for 315 yards when Western beat Quincy 38-31 Saturday. Norris and Gray shared 13 catches for 236 yards. True freshman Douglas rushed 29 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns. . . .
Kris Coffee from Downers Grove South was named Gateway special teams player of the week for averaging 40.3 yards on four punts. None of the kicks was returned. Two were downed inside the 20-yard line and one inside the 10. . . .
The Leathernecks lead the series 12-10-1 and have a 7-3-1 edge in games played at their Gateway foe’s stadium.
