Salukis play inspired football in 49-35 win over Missouri State

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Southern Illinois snapped a six-game losing streak with an inspired performance in a 49-35 win over Missouri State on Saturday afternoon at Plaster Stadium.

In a season filled with frustratingly close losses, the Salukis (2-6, 1-4) showed remarkable resilience today. After falling behind, 21-14, in the second quarter, Southern scored four unanswered touchdowns to seize control of the game and post the team's first win since Week 1.

The comeback started in the waning seconds of the first half, when quarterback Matt DeSomer hit 6-foot-8 tight end Nigel Kilby over the middle for a four-yard TD pass to tie the game, 21-21. The Salukis were out of timeouts and pushed across the critical touchdown with just 11 seconds remaining on the clock.

Southern carried that momentum into the second half, marching 73 yards in four plays as DeSomer hit Landon Lenoir down the left sideline for a 30-yard TD strike to put SIU ahead, 28-21. Next, D.J. Davis capped off a 72-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard TD scamper to make it 35-21. Then, redshirt freshman safety Michael Elbert made the game's biggest defensive play, stepping in front of a Peyton Huslig pass and racing 55 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead to 42-21.

"There's a process to winning and a very small margin between winning and losing," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "We couldn't finish and win (the last six games) and the guys kept battling. They could have easily shut it down. They didn't. It's a testament to those guys and the coaches and their attitudes each week."

No one sparked the team more today than gritty quarterback Matt DeSomer, a fifth-year senior who made just his fourth-career start at QB. After bouncing from wide receiver, to safety, to return man, back to quarterback, he had easily his best game under center. DeSomer completed 19-of-24 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 92 yards on the ground. He tossed two TD passes to Kilby and completed eight passes for 103 yards to Raphael Leonard.

"Matt DeSomer is a warrior, a guy you'll take in the foxhole," Hill said. "His attitude, his commitment to his teammates, after all his position changes. Then to say five games into your senior year, here's the keys and you gotta go. Being ready for that moment — that's a long five years. A lot of people move on. He's a heckuva player and teammate."

Southern's run defense played its best game since the opening-week win over Murray State. SIU held the Bears (4-4, 2-3) to 63 yards rushing and produced two big turnovers — the interception by Elbert and another interception in the fourth quarter by linebacker Bryce Notree at the MSU 13. That pick led to a Jonathan Mixon five-yard TD run that put Southern up, 49-28, with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Hill said the Southern's young defense, which had four sacks and numerous QB hurries, is making steady improvement.

"In this league it starts and finishes with if you can control the line of scrimmage and I felt like we did that tonight," Hill said. "It's also little things. (Anthony) Knighton getting there a tick sooner so the ball is tipped and we get a pick-six."

The Salukis gave up 404 yards through the air, but that wasn't a surprise, considering the team's top-four cornerbacks were out. The Salukis played the entire game with safety Jeremy Chinn at one corner and Terrance Henley at the other.

"When we started training camp, (Henley) was sixth on the depth chart," Hill noted.

"There wasn't a point in time we didn't believe," added Chinn. "We didn't change anything we've been doing. We kept trusting the process and eventually it paid off."

Hill said he was especially proud of senior quarterback Sam Straub, who lost his starting job to DeSomer, but was on the headset helping call plays during the game.

"He was acting like an assistant coach," Hill said. "He has great ideas. Two of those touchdowns were his down in the red zone. His legacy, his teammates, everyone will remember how he acts down the stretch."

The win came as a relief for a program that has endured an inordinate amount of injuries and hard-luck losses.

"Sometimes, you have a vision and it doesn't go the way you have it drawn up," Hill said. "I tell the team — that's the way life is sometimes. There's been a lot of teaching moments the last six weeks. It's been tough on all of us. I tell them each week, you can't feel sorry for yourself, you have to keep working, keep coming back, the process is never going to change."

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