Football rolls over Missouri State for MVFC title

Saturday, November 14

Carbondale, Ill.

2:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

9-1 , 8-0

Missouri St.

6-5 , 4-4

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Missouri State	7	0	3	14	24
Southern Illinois	21	13	7	3	44

11/14/2009 | 12:00:00 | Football

Box Score

Nov. 14, 2009

Final Stats | Notes | PHOTO GALLERY

Season Stats

By Jason Clay
www.SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - No. 1 Southern Illinois defeated Missouri State, 44-24, Saturday to set a new Missouri Valley Football Conference record with its 14th-straight league victory in the final regular season game ever at McAndrew Stadium.

The victory secures the outright MVFC Championship for SIU. This is the second time that Southern has won the conference outright and the fifth time it has shared at least part of the title since 2003.

The Salukis (9-1) have now won nine-straight games and finished the conference slate of their schedule with a perfect 8-0 record. Missouri State ends its season with a 6-5 record and a 4-4 mark in Valley play.

Head coach Dale Lennon said that he is very proud of his team for winning the outright conference championship.

"That was something on the minds of our players and our senior class emphasized winning the outright championship," Lennon said. "I was concerned coming into the game that we had to much on our plate. You could pile it as high as you wanted to for the significance of the game and our players were ready and excited to play. The whole key was the offense coming back with a touchdown to make it 7-7 and it allowed us to settle in."

The Saluki defense created five turnovers on the day and returned two interceptions for touchdowns. Mike McElroy's 80-yard interception return for a TD in the third quarter is the fourth longest in school history.

Seniors Brandin Jordan and Marty Rodgers led the defense with seven tackles each and Kyle Russo added two sacks.

Walter Payton Award candidate and senior running back Deji Karim rushed for three touchdowns and had his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season. Karim totaled 160 all-purpose yards and 117 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Quarterback Paul McIntosh threw for 150 yards with one 27-yard touchdown pass to Marc Cheatham. He completed 8-of-12 passes and led the Saluki offense to 358 yards of total offense.

Chris Douglas rushed for 106 yards with one touchdown and Cody Kirby threw for 180 yards to lead the Bears.

Southern Illinois scored four touchdowns over a seven-minute span between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second to take a commanding lead. Karim had two of his three touchdown runs in that span, including a 73-yarder, and Brandon Williams returned an interception 34-yards to the house.

SIU held a 34-7 lead at halftime and ended up scoring 41 unanswered points up until the five-minute mark of the third quarter to seal the deal. Missouri State threw the first punch in the game, a s they scored on a 65-yard Douglas rush on its fourth play from scrimmage.

The Salukis countered the quick Bear strike with one of their own. Karim scored on a seven-yard run at 11:30 after a six-play, 76-yard drive . McIntosh's 56-yard completion on a third-and-nine to Joe Allaria set the Dawgs up in the red zone and Karim followed a wall created by the offensive line to walk across the goal line.

After the Salukis forced a pair of fumbles, the second of which was forced by Connor James on a punt return, Karim's second his rushing touchdown of the first quarter. His three-yard TD run ended a five-play, 39-yard drive to give the Salukis a 14-7 lead.

Williams gave the Dawgs a 14-point cushion before the end of the first quarter, as he returned an interception 34-yards for a touchdown. It was his second interception return for a TD this year and the third of his career.

Southern Illinois continued on with its barrage of points early in the second quarter. The Salukis scored two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the period to extend its lead to 34-7. McIntosh hit Cheatham for a 27-yard touchdown pass and Karim broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run.

The Saluki offense cooled down and did not score again before halftime, but neither did the Bears and SIU held a 34-7 lead at the half.

Seven minutes into the third quarter, McElroy picked off Kirby and returned it 80-yards for a touchdown. That interception gave the SIU 21 on the season, which ties the 2007 squad for the second most in program history.

After 41-unanswered points, Missouri State kicker Matt Hottelman hit a 40-yard field goal to end the bleeding for the Bears. Miguel Warren added a seven-yard rushing touchdown with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Kyle Dougherty added a 31-yard field goal for the Salukis and MSU got a late touchdown pass before the final bell rung for the last time in a regular season game at McAndrew Stadium.