Southern Illinoise University Athletics
No. 17 SIU Football Team takes on SEMO on Saturday
08/29/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 29, 2011
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
Game 1
No. 17 Southern Illinois (0-0, 0-0 MVFC) at SE Missouri State (0-0, 0-0 OVC)Sept. 3, 2011 / Houck Stadium (10,000) - Cape Girardeau, Mo. / 6 p.m. CT
Radio: Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green and Joel Sambursky on WVZA 105.1-FM in Carbondale.
Internet Audio & Live Stats: SIUSalukis.com
Video Streaming: KFVS12.com
TV: The Heartland's CW (WQWQ-TV) with Todd Richards (play-by-play).
The Southern Illinois football team opens up the 2011 campaign on the road as the Salukis travel to regional rival Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 3 in a 6 p.m. game from Houck Stadium...Fans can listen to the game on the Saluki Sports Network with the call of Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Reis, who will be joined once again by Gene Green and Joel Sambursky. Tune into WVZA 105.1 in Carbondale to hear Reis' call...Free video streaming of Saturday's season opener is being provided by KFVS12.com...The 2011 season marks the 99th year of football at Southern Illinois and the 96th season fielding a team (SIU had no teams in 1918, 1920 and 1943 because of the respective World Wars)...The program is ranked for the eighth consecutive preseason...Last year's SEMO win snapped SIU's four-game winning streak against the Redhawks...Head coach Dale Lennon has a 12-2 record in openers. He is 2-1 at SIU...The Salukis have won eight of their last nine season openers...Last year's 5-6 record was Lennon's third losing season in 14 years as a head coach. The year following each of his first two losing seasons, Lennon guided his teams at North Dakota to conference titles.
Saluki Headlines
• Junior Paul McIntosh was named the starting quarterback after battling with A.J. Hill and Kory Faulkner for most of fall camp.
• The Salukis were picked to finish third in the MVFC, receiving one first-place vote.
• Three Salukis--David Pickard, Bryan Boemer and Mike McElroy--were preseason first-team All-Conference selections. All three were also named to a preseason All-America team as well.
Scouting the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks
Southeast Missouri State is coming off its first NCAA playoff appearance in the 104-year history of the program. After winning no more than four games in each of the first four seasons under head coach Tony Samuel, the Redhawk coach turned the program around in year five by leading SEMO to the Ohio Valley Conference championship and a 9-3 overall record. Samuel was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year for the turnaround. Southeast lost 14 starters off the 2010 team, but returns starting quarterback Matt Scheible and preseason All-American Tylor Brock, who is on the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award. SEMO plays four of its first six games of the season on the road.
SIU vs. SEMO - The Series
Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri State will meet for the 77th time Saturday night. The Salukis have played more games against the Redhawks than any other school they've faced. SEMO leads the all-time series, 37-31-8. Last year, the Redhawks upset the fifth-ranked Salukis in Saluki Stadium by scoring 18 unanswered second half points to erase a 21-3 deficit and win 24-21. That snapped SIU's four-game winning streak over the Redhawks. The Salukis are 16-18-4 when playing at SEMO and have won three-straight at Houck Stadium by an average margin 25 points. In 2009 meeting at Cape, Deji Karim and Paul McIntosh both ran for over 100 yards and combined for five rushing touchdowns. SIU had 475 yards of total offense in that game, but SEMO got 344 total yards and Matt Scheible threw for 155 yards and two TDs. Last year, SEMO outgained the Salukis 391-255 in Carbondale. The Redhawks ran for 228 yards, with Henry Harris racking up 142 yards and two touchdowns to lead Southeast.
Season Openers
Southern Illinois has won eight of its last nine season openers. The one loss in that time was in 2009 at Marshall. The Salukis fell, 31-28, to the Thundering Herd on the road. The Salukis are 42-50-3 all-time in 95 season openers. There was no football played in the 1918, 1920 and 1943 seasons because of the respective World Wars. Southern Illinois defeated Quincy, 70-7, in the first game of the 2010 season, which is the second-most points ever scored in a season-opening game.
Lennon in Season Openers
Head coach Dale Lennon has a 12-2 record in season openers in his 14 year coaching career. The 2009 loss at Marshall ended an 11-game winning streak for the coach in his first game of a season. His streak started back in 1988 when he was the head coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Lennon did not lose a season opening game in his nine years as head coach at North Dakota, where he is the schools winningest coach of all-time.
Salukis Picked to Finish third in MVFC
Southern Illinois was voted third in the preseason MVFC poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. The Salukis received one first-place vote and finished behind North Dakota State and league favorite Northern Iowa. This is the first time that the Salukis have ever been picked to finish third in the MVFC Preseason Poll, which started in 1986. SIU, which owns a 19-5 MVFC record over the past three seasons, has been voted as the preseason favorite three times (2004, 2005, 2010) and was picked second in the preseason poll twice (1987 and 2009). Southern Illinois won the league outright in 2004 and 2009 and shared the conference championship in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Seniors Bryan Boemer (center), Mike McElroy (strong safety) and David Pickard (left tackle) were selected to the Preseason MVFC team while Chance Coda made the honorable mention list.
SIU Starts Season on the Road
SIU plays three of its first four games on the road this season. The last time that happened was in 1999 under head coach Jan Quarless. SIU won its first three, but ended up winning just two games the rest of the season to finish 5-6. That 1999 team opened up the season with a 43-25 win at Southeast Missouri State, the same school SIU opens up with this year on the road. Southern Illinois last opened a season on the road in 2009, when the Dawgs fell 31-28 at Marshall. In 2005, 2001 and 1999, the Salukis opened the year at SEMO. SIU won, 58-23 in 2005, won 43-25 in 1999, but fell 24-5 in 2001. The Salukis have a 6-8 all-time record against SEMO when playing them in a season opener, but are 5-1 since 1995 (including a 4-1 mark in season openers at Hauck Stadium).
McElroy Returns
Mike McElroy was granted a fifth season by the NCAA when it granted him a medical redshirt for the 2010 season. McElroy suffered a severe ankle injury in the second game of the season at Illinois and missed the rest of the year. His return to the Saluki `D' is a huge boost for the team. McElroy was a first team All-MVFC selection in 2009 after leading the league and ranking fourth in the nation with seven interceptions. Entering the 2010 season, the strong safety was on the watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award that honors the most outstanding defensive player in the FCS. McElroy played right away as a true freshman for SIU in 2007 and he has since appeared in 41 games and made 29 starts. The quarterback of the defense, McElroy is in charge of lining up the secondary. He enters the 2011 season with 174 tackles and 11 interceptions, which is tied for the sixth most in school history.
Experienced in the Trenches
Southern Illinois returns nine letterwinners from the 2010 team. The nine letterwinners have combined to start in 88 games over their careers with 81 of those starts coming from the returning starters. The group is led by preseason All-Americans Bryan Boemer (center) and David Pickard (left tackle). Both players have started in every game over the past two seasons and were All-Conference selections each year. Southern Illinois averaged 189.5 rushing yards per game in 2010, but the group has made it a goal to average over 200 yards this season. The depth has already proved valuable. Guard and returning starter George Danilkowicz will miss 4-6 weeks with an injury.
Players Rake in Preseason Honors
Several Salukis earned preseason hype from several publications. Three players received preseason All-American selections, and two other joined them on preseason All-MVFC teams.
Bryan Boemer • Sr. • C
- Rated as one of the Top 10 offensive lineman in the nation by The Sports Network.
- Second team Preseason All-American (The Sports Network)
- Third team Preseason All-American (Phil Steele)
- Rated as the third-best center in the FCS by Phil Steele.
- Preseason All-MVFC first team (Phil Steele)
- 2011 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Team
Chance Coda • Sr. • DE
- Preseason All-MVFC second team (Phil Steele)
- Rated as the 29th-best defensive end in the FCS by Phil Steele.
- 2011 Missouri Valley Football Preseason honorable mention.
Jayson DiManche • Jr. • OLB
- Preseason All-MVFC second team (Phil Steele)
- Rated as the 16th-best outside linebacker in the FCS by Phil Steele
Mike McElroy • RSr. • S
- Nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
- Ranked as the fourth-best strong safety in the FCS by Phil Steele.
- Rated as one of the top 10 defensive backs in the nation by The Sports Network.
- Second team Preseason All-American (The Sports Network)
- Preseason All-MVFC
- Preseason All-MVFC first team (Phil Steele)
- 2011 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Team
David Pickard • Sr. • OT
- Second team Preseason All-American (Phil Steele)
- Third team Preseason All-American (The Sports Network)
- Rated as the fourth-best offensive tackle in the FCS by Phil Steele.
- Preseason All-MVFC first team (Phil Steele)
- 2011 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Team
Austin Pucylowski • So. • P
- On CFPA 2011 Punter Award Watch List
McElroy named Good Works Nominee
Fifth-year senior safety Mike McElroy was named a 2011 Allstate American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team nominee. In addition to spearheading the effort for the Black Out Cancer game, McElroy helps kids that come from underprivileged families through the Saluki Head Start program, reads to children at local hospitals, leads a Vine Small Group at his local church in Carbondale and does speaking engagements for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
McElroy was one of 132 athletes from both the FBS and BCS were nominated. Two 11-person teams, one FBS team and one FCS team, will be announced in late September.
