Saluki Stadium open for final Football scrimmage Thursday

Aug. 24, 2010

By Jason Clay
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois football fans can catch the 2010 Salukis for the first time in the new Saluki Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 26, when the team holds its final scrimmage before the season opener.

The scrimmage, which begins at 7 p.m., is free and open to the public. The Saluki Sports Network is broadcasting the event on WVZA-FM 105.1 in Carbondale from 7-8 p.m. Fans can also listen on the internet for free at SIUSalukis.com, under Saluki All-Access.

"Voice of the Salukis" Mike Reis along with Gene Green and Joel Sambursky will call the action and have live interviews with players and coaches.

Preceding the scrimmage, the SIU Football program is hosting a fish fry and silent auction from 5-6:30 p.m. on the north side of the west concourse inside Saluki Stadium. Gates will open right at 5 p.m.

SIU's final scrimmage is an important one as there are several starting positions up for grabs. Most notably is the battle for the No. 1 running back, where head coach Dale Lennon fells that he has four or five guys that can get the job done.

Seniors Lucien Walker and Richard White, junior Shariff Harris and sophomore Steve Strother are all battling for playing time in the backfield. There are also several battles taking place on the defensive side of the ball.

The Salukis will work on various game situations in the scrimmage, such as special teams, clock management and third down plays. The first and second team offense is expected to have a couple of drives against the defense in addition to running their two-minute offense. The scrimmage is expected to run until 8:30 p.m.