MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois worked around a weather delay on Thursday (Aug. 16) as the football team is now down to two days until the end of fall camp. The Leathernecks are two weeks away from the 2012 opening kickoff against Butler at Hanson Field (Aug. 30).
"We've had 17 workouts and taken a step in the right direction with each of those practices. I'm confident in the staff and players alike both really believe that, and that's a good feeling. We still have a long way to go though before that opening kickoff," said head coach Mark Hendrickson. "It's a good feeling that we are where we expected to be at this time, and we know we have to work very hard to be where we want to be two weeks from tonight."
Western will go through its final two-a-day on Friday then close camp on Saturday morning. Later that day, the team will help fellow students move into the residence halls.
"It (camp) has gone by fast. We have our last two-a-day tomorrow... the guys talked about it after our practice today after they got their break, to be locked in and focused for that last two-a-day. We'll get a workout in on Saturday then classes begin on Monday. "It has been productive, the players have made the most of every rep."
WEATHER FORCES DELAY: For the first time in fall camp, the Leathernecks were forced to change their schedule. With the storms that rolled through the area on Thursday morning, Western flipped its schedule and practiced in the afternoon.
LEATHERNECKS ON COMMERCIAL TV: Western Illinois will have at least five games on live commercial television in 2012, three of which through Mediacom. The Leathernecks play host to Illinois State for Homecoming, and that Missouri Valley Football Conference game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Leathernecks' game at South Dakota (Oct. 6) will be televised on Midco Sports Net. Western's road games at South Dakota State (Oct. 13) and Missouri State (Oct. 27) in addition to the November 3rd home game against Northern Iowa will air on Mediacom as part of the MVFC television package.
Mediacom reaches 700,000 homes in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, South Dakota, Indiana and Kansas.
"Getting a chance to play on television is great exposure for our football program and entire university. Our players enjoy the atmosphere and the fact that not only fans in the stadium are watching the game but around the entire Midwest. It adds to the atmosphere, it adds to the excitement and enthusiasm. Our players always look forward to those games," said Hendrickson.
Every home game can be seen on a tape delay basis on wiu-TV3. All six home games can be purchased for viewing on-line through Rocky Vision, fans can click on www.GoLeathernecks.com for subscription information.
TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED: Head coach Mark Hendrickson announced the 2012 team captains, and all five are seniors. Offensive linemen Max Dancer (Quincy/Notre Dame) and Andrew Robiskie (Ft. Lauderdale, FL/Chagrin Falls {OH}), defensive lineman Dwight Harris (Aurora/Waubonsie Valley) and defensive backs Chris Boone (Chicago/Fenger) and Kieron James (Bradenton, FL/Southeast) were voted captain by their teammates.
"The team selected five outstanding young men - all seniors. On the defensive side of the ball they selected three, and that's simply because that is how close the vote was. They selected defensive end Dwight Harris and two cornerbacks in Kieron James and Chris Boone... three outstanding defensive players who have been leaders here for a number of years," stated Hendrickson. "The offensive unit selected two linemen, that says a lot about those men up front. They selected Andrew Robiskie, our offensive center, and right guard Max Dancer... Five excellent leaders, five great role models. On another positive note, we've got a lot of outstanding seniors other than those captains that would be leaders as well. We also have some outstanding underclassmen, they'll step up and be very good leaders".
TICKETS ON SALE: With two weeks remaining until the 2012 season kicks off, both season and single-game tickets are currently on sale. Fans can call (309) 298-1190 or go online at www.GoLeathernecks.com to purchase tickets.
FALL CAMP DAY/TIME
Friday, August 17: 8:30-11 am and 5:45-7:35 pm
Saturday, August 18: 9-11 am (end of fall camp)
Monday, August 20: First day of classes
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