Southern Illinois University
3-1
Delaware St.
0-4
Football Blanks Delware State, 49-0
09/25/2004 | 12:00:00 | Football
Sept. 25, 2004
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
DOVER, Del. - The atmosphere didn't compare with the last time Southern Illinois made a trip to Delaware, and fortunately for SIU, the scoreboard didn't either. The #1-ranked Salukis dismantled an overmatched Delaware State squad, 49-0, before a crowd of 1,734 at Alumni Stadium.
Last year, SIU was soundly beaten by Delaware in the first round of the I-AA playoffs in front of a packed house. It was quickly apparent on Saturday, however, that the Hornets (0-4) have little in common with last year's defending champion Blue Hens, aside from geography.
Coach Kill conceded that his team didn't play with much emotion, but they didn't need to. All it took to beat Delaware State was focus and execution.
"It was kind of a business-like approach - get the job done, win and go home," Kill said. "I knew there wasn't going to be much emotion. It was very similar to playing at Indiana State last year."
The Salukis (3-1) scored touchdowns on all five possessions in the first half and rolled out to a 35-0 lead at intermission. Yet there was hardly any celebration after each score.
Quarterback Joel Sambursky put SIU's first points on the board as he ran the bootleg around the right side to score from two yards out. The nearest Hornet defender was at least 10 yards away when Sambursky strolled across the goalline and calmly handed the ball to the official.
Delaware State's offense went three-and-out on its next three possessions, and the Salukis put together scoring drives of 55, 57 and 60 yards, using a balanced mix of run and pass.
SIU's running game piled up 230 yards on the afternoon, and Terry Jackson led all rushers with 93 yards on 12 carries. Arkee Whitlock added 64 yards and two TDs on nine attempts. Tailback Brandon Jacobs scored one TD, but carried only five times in the game due to muscle tightness, Kill said.
In all, the Salukis used eight, different ball carriers, as Jackson, Whitlock and Jacobs rested most of the second half.
"I don't ever worry about distributing carries," Kill said, "I just worry about winning games and play the backs that are available and healthy."
After missing last week's game with a hip pointer, Jackson looked fully recovered.
"Terry did a great job and hit the hole really hard and made some great plays when we needed them," Sambursky said.
"I had fun today," Jackson said. "That's what it's about. I felt better than I did last week."
Sambursky turned in another near-flawless performance, completing 8-of-15 passes for 142 yards in two quarters of play. His favorite targets were tight end Micah Turner, who caught a career-high five passes, and wideout Quorey Payne, who had four grabs for 90 yards and a score.
"Coach Kill gave us some goals, and I believe we accomplished every one of them," Sambursky said. "We didn't turn the ball over, and we had good communication."
The defense was relentless in its pressure, picking up six sacks and numerous quarterback hurries. Tackle Mark Philipp set the tone with a first-quarter bull rush in which he slammed DSU quarterback Andre Smith to the turf. It was Philipp's first sack of the season.
"I got my beak wet, now I'm thirsty for more," Philipp said.
"We got much better pressure on the quarterback than we have the previous three games," Kill said. "I thought we played under control on the blitz. As long as our defensive line stays healthy and plays hard, I think we have a chance to be very good on defense."
One stat in particular summed up the defense's domination. SIU held the Hornets to just 21 yards rushing for an average of 0.7 yards per carry.
At halftime, Kill decided to rest his starters, and the reserves picked up where the first team left off.
Jon Cairns looked particularly sharp at quarterback, completing 6-of-9 passes for 101 yards and one TD. He also rushed for one score.
"Our kids played as hard as they could under the circumstances," Kill said. "It's not easy when you don't have 30,000 fans in the stands, but we know we won't have to worry about that next week (against Northern Iowa).
Team Stats
SIU 7, DSU 0
SIU - Joel Sambursky 2 yd run (Craig Coffin kick), 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 4:25
SIU 14, DSU 0
SIU - Brandon Jacobs 1 yd run (Craig Coffin kick), 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:40
SIU 21, DSU 0
SIU - Arkee Whitlock 2 yd run (Craig Coffin kick), 6 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:23
SIU 28, DSU 0
SIU - Terry Jackson 6 yd run (Craig Coffin kick), 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 4:10
SIU 35, DSU 0
SIU - Arkee Whitlock 2 yd run (Craig Coffin kick), 4 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:29
SIU 42, DSU 0
SIU - Jon Cairns 11 yd run (Craig Coffin kick), 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 5:37
SIU 49, DSU 0
SIU - Quorey Payne 57 yd pass from Jon Cairns (Craig Coffin kick) 1 plays, 57 yards, TOP 0:12