Southern Illinois University
1-0 , 0-0
Austin Peay
0-1 , 0-0
Salukis rout Austin Peay, 49-23, in season-opening win
09/02/2023 | 9:49:00 | Football
Southern's defense was dominant in the first half, holding the Governors without a first down until less than four minutes remained in the second quarter.
The defense made big plays — linebacker Dune Smith intercepted a Mike DiLiello pass and returned it 26-yards for a touchdown, and defensive end Devin Cowan had a strip sack that SIU recovered and led to a Justin Strong touchdown run four plays later.
"For us to put together a game like that to start the season, I'm proud of them," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "Our defense just didn't allow them to do anything, and then we were going on long drives."
In the postgame locker room, Hill gave defensive coordinator Antonio James a game ball. James was named the DC on the day before camp started, after DJ Vokolek abruptly left for Northwestern.
"Antonio is just a really good person, a really humble, confident guy," Hill said. "He takes time to really build relationships. I named him the assistant head coach in the off-season, and this year in training camp, I took a full day off for him to be the head coach. I just told him, 'you're the head coach, you run the staff meetings, I'll just be an assistant for the day.' He has the trust of the guys."
"We just believe in Coach James and believed the game plan and executed our jobs," added SIU cornerback DJ Johnson, who had six tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception. "This is a special group at every position. We love each other, we're brothers."
Southern defense allowed just 253 total yards and the bulk of those came after the game was out of hand.
"(APSU) scored three times when we had our backups in, but giving (young players) those opportunities — four true freshman played back-to-back series, I think there was a lot of good that came out of tonight," Hill noted.
SIU quarterback Nic Baker completed 16-of-23 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns. He also became the school's career leader in completions, surpassing Hall of Fame quarterback Joel Sambursky, whose son, Teddy, was the ceremonial coin-toss captain before the game.
"(The record) is not something I'm thinking about right now, but I'm definitely going to look back on it and be proud of it for sure," said Baker, who won his 17th game as the team's starting QB.
The Salukis piled up 432 yards of offense and spread the ball around to a plethora of weapons. Twelve different players had carries during the game, led by Romeir Elliott (39 yards 1 TD) and Justin Strong (38 yards, 1 TD). Nine different players caught passes, led by Izaiah Hartrup (5 catches, 1 TD) and Jaelin Benefield (3 catches, 1 TD).
Defensively, the Salukis had four sacks, 10 tackles for loss, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
"All the defense put that chip on our shoulder," said Smith. "Last year, we didn't finish games, or gave up a lot in the run game or pass game. Everyone just came dialed in together and went out and played hard. I thank my brothers for that."
SIU plays at FBS foe Northern Illinois next Saturday.
Team Stats
APS 0, SIU 7
SIU - Strong,Justin 5 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 13 plays, 61 yards, TOP 06:31
APS 0, SIU 14
SIU - Elliott,Ro 1 yd run (Baumgarte,Jake kick), 14 plays, 65 yards, TOP 06:17
APS 0, SIU 21
SIU - Strong,Justin 1 yd run (Baumgarte,Jake kick), 3 plays, 21 yards, TOP 01:34
APS 0, SIU 28
SIU - Smith,Dune 26 yd interception (Baumgarte,Jake kick)
APS 0, SIU 35
SIU - Benefield,Jaelin 54 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 03:15
APS 3, SIU 35
APS - Trujillo,Maddux 29 yd field goal 14 plays, 63 yards, TOP 05:14
APS 3, SIU 42
SIU - Hartrup,Izaiah 31 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:45
APS 9, SIU 42
APS - Thomas,Kam 41 yd pass from DiLiello,Mike () 4 plays, 65 yards, TOP 01:00
APS 16, SIU 42
APS - Evans Jr.,CJ 6 yd run (Trujillo,Maddux kick), 7 plays, 63 yards, TOP 02:19
APS 16, SIU 49
SIU - Wagner,Kaleb 3 yd run (Baumgarte,Jake kick), 8 plays, 46 yards, TOP 04:43
APS 23, SIU 49
APS - Odom,Kenny 44 yd pass from DiLiello,Mike (Trujillo,Maddux kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:57
