Defense stuffs the run in Football's second spring scrimmage

04/16/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football

April 16, 2011

By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com

CARBONDALE, Ill. - After surrendering more than five yards per carry in last week's scrimmage, the Saluki defense stood up like a brick wall on Saturday, repeatedly stuffing the running game during a 103-play scrimmage at Saluki Stadium.

The Southern Illinois offense ran wild for 183 yards on the ground a week ago, but netted just 31 yards today on 37 carries -- an average of less than a yard per attempt.

"I'm really happy with the defense's aggression, and I thought we got better from last week," said head coach Dale Lennon. "(Our offense) struggled to run the football, and that's a sign that we're doing things right with our front seven (on defense)."

Fifteen offensive plays were stopped for either a loss or no gain. During one stretch, the offense was given three possessions at the defense's 20-yardline and one possession at the three, and could not crack the end zone.

Inside linebacker Bryan Presume, a transfer from Coffeyville Community College, made a strong impression with three stops behind the line, including a sack.

"Our defense is very complex and not easy to come in and play right away," Lennon said. "Bryan is more confident and not thinking as much and starting to make plays."

The defense blitzed with abandon, attacking the offense from every conceivable angle. Also recording sacks were Dathan Deisher, Juan Avila and Blair Lane. Linebacker Houston Walker pitched in a couple of tackles for loss and Courtney Richmond added an interception for good measure.

The offense had reasonable success through the air. Starting quarterback Paul McIntosh completed 14-of-27 passes for 170 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He was especially effective late in the scrimmage in the two-minute offense, when he completed seven passes in two different series, including a 16-yard TD strike to John Lantz on the final play. Lantz led all receivers with five catches for 88 yards.

Second-team quarterback Kory Faulkner had another solid performance with 118 yards on 12-of-19 passing. He threw a five-yard touchdown to tight end MyCole Pruitt, who tip-toed both feet in bounds in the corner of the end zone. Pruitt had four catches for 45 yards on the day.

"(Kory) really took a step forward, and you can see confidence building in him," Lennon said. "In the beginning of spring ball, he struggled a little bit, then he had a good scrimmage last week and built upon that. He's making confident throws and he has a lot of talent."

A.J. Hill guided the third team to a pair of touchdowns, and though he was only 5-of-15 passing, he was also the victim of several dropped passes. For the third time in two weeks, Hill connected with wideout Alex Martin for a big play -- an 80-yard touchdown on a seam route.

"We needed a little spark on the offensive side, and the sideline pretty much cleared to celebrate with Alex in the endzone," Lennon noted.

The Salukis will wrap up the spring season with the annual Spring Game next Friday at 7 p.m.

"We're still doing individual evaluations, trying to see who can do what and set the depth chart," Lennon said. "We're also evaluating schemes, to see what we do well, what we don't do well, and try to establish our identity. "

STARTING OFFENSE

QB: Paul McIntosh
RB: Steve Strother
WR: Cam Fuller
WR: John Lantz
LT: David Pickard
LG: Terrence Isaiah
C: Bryan Boemer
RG: George Danilkowicz
RT: Richard Wilson
TE: MyCole Pruitt
FB: Ray Agnew