Football runs by Lock Haven, 49-0

Thursday, August 31

Carbondale, Ill.

7:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

1-0

Lock Haven University

0-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Lock Haven	0	0	0	0	0
Southern Illinois	14	3	15	17	49

08/31/2006 | 12:00:00 | Football

Box Score

Box Score -- Photo Gallery/Post-game Podcasts

By Jeff Honza
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Nick Hill and Arkee Whitlock became the first quarterback/running back combination to rush for over 100 yards in four years, as 17th-ranked Southern Illinois University shutout Lock Haven, 49-0, earlier tonight in its season-opener at McAndrew Stadium.

Whitlock piled up 134 yards on 15 carries, while Hill followed with 107 yards on 11 attempts. They are the first to accomplish the feat since Joel Sambursky (129) and Muhammad Abdulqaadir (312) combined for 441 yards at I-A Eastern Michigan on Sept. 28, 2002.

The Saluki running game took control behind Whitlock and Hill, accounting for 357 of SIU's 500 yards of total offense. SIU also scored on all but two of its possessions, with four of its six touchdowns coming on the ground.

On SIU's first two possessions, Whitlock and Hill set the tone by breaking free for touchdown runs of 34 or more yards.

On a 4th-and-3, Whitlock went untouched for a 34-yard score on SIU's sixth play from scrimmage to give the Dawgs a 7-0 lead not even five minutes into the game.

After LHU was forced to punt on its opening drive, SIU took over on its own 31-yard line. Five plays later, Hill turned a broken play into a 40-yard touchdown to push the lead to 14-0.

Craig Coffin's 34-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the second quarter gave SIU a 17-0 lead at intermission.

SIU began the second half much like it did the first.

Nearby Herrin, Ill., native, Kyle Walker, scored his first touchdown as a Saluki on a 16-yard reverse 4:58 into the third quarter.

Then, the DuQuoin product, Hill, extended SIU's lead to 32-0 on a 12-yard scamper.

Saluki head coach Jerry Kill praised his local talent after the game.

"We've got a lot of good local football players on this team who were productive tonight," said Kill. "That's special for the people of southern Illinois."

SIU added 17 more points in the fourth quarter to finish off the shutout.

Jon Cairns hooked up with Alan Turner for a 52-yard strike (9:36) and later completed a six-yard pass to Rick Burgess for the final score of the game.

Hill also had 85 passing yards to go along with his first career 100-yard rushing performance.

"It was the first game, a couple things broke down and I had to make a couple gains with my feet," said Hill. "I had fun out there and this is what I've been waiting for, for a long time. It's been four years since I've been a starting quarterback."

Whitlock also chimed in his thoughts about Hill.

"Nick brings a lot of excitement to the offense and he really opened things up with his versatility tonight," he said.

Another Saluki running back who shined in the backfield was University of Kansas transfer John Randle. Randle had 66 yards on 10 carries in his Saluki debut.

"People label him as my backup, but he's not, because the most of time we're in the game, we are in at the same time," said Whitlock. "He's always focused, doesn't make many mistakes and works hard."

Defensively, SIU held LHU to just 92 yards. Weithley Leonard and Clayton Johnson each led the Salukis with eight tackles on the night.

The Salukis will return to action on Sept. 16 when they travel to Big Ten Conference foe Indiana.

From the Lock Haven locker room

Head Coach John Klacik on SIU
"They're a very well coached team with a lot of talent and they did a great job. They're going to be a good football team."

"They're just so good at the fundamentals, they don't make many mistakes. Even when the ball doesn't bounce their way they're good enough to make something happen and that's what good teams do when they don't get the breaks. They drop the ball and they pick it up and score. That's a good football team."

Klacik on Coach Kill
"I coached at Youngstown State for 15 years and I am so impressed with what he has built here. He just does a great job."

Klacik's general statement about his team
"I'm really proud of our guys. They played hard. We came in here with 48 guys and we're leaving excited about what we have coming up. This is a great learning experience for us."

Game Notes:Arkee Whitlock posted his 11th career 100-yard rushing game...he is now tied for third with both Amos Bullocks (1958-61) and Burnell Quinn (1976-79) for most 100-yard rushing games at SIU...Craig Coffin became the Gateway Conference's all-time career leader in extra points kicked...he now has 179 in his SIU career...SIU moved to a perfect 7-0 against NAIA and NCAA Division II institutions since 2002...the Salukis have outscored those foes, 479-51, and three of those games were shutouts...the Dawgs won their fourth-straight season-opener and moved to 5-1 in season-opening games under head coach Jerry Kill...SIU played in front of a crowd of 9,636 for Campbell Harley Davidson's third annual Hawgs and Dawgs event...approximately 100 motorcyclists were on hand to rev up their bikes and cheer on the Salukis.