Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki Football throttles Missouri State, 73-26
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
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CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois football team set Saluki Stadium records for points and total offense in a 73-26 rout over Missouri State on Saturday night. Mark Iannotti scored on the second play of the game, jump-starting a game in which the Salukis scored 10 touchdowns.
"When the focus is genuine--where they know what to do and what to expect--our level of play is pretty impressive," head coach Dale Lennon said. "We saw it against Liberty; we saw it again today."
SIU (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) had 15 possessions and scored touchdowns on 10 of them and a field goal on another. The Salukis scored touchdowns on all five second-half possessions. Meanwhile, the Saluki defense forced seven 3-and-outs--nearly doubling the total number of 3-and-outs in the first four games combined.
With both sides of the ball dominant, the Salukis more than doubled-up the Bears (1-4, 0-2 MVFC) in points, total yards (673-301) and rushing yards (416-167). In all three categories, SIU set Saluki Stadium records. Southern's 673 yards were third-most all-time, edging out the 659 SIU put up on Indiana earlier this season.
Fittingly, the offense scored just 31 seconds into the first half on a 61-yard Mark Iannotti run, and the defense scored just 48 seconds into the second half when Chase Allen ran in a fumble forced by Leonard Garron on a strip-sack.
"We made it very clear to the guys that we had to keep the focus on us and our level of play," Lennon said. "I was very pleased with how we came out of the gate. We were right where we needed to be early in the game. We got the separation that we needed."
By halftime, SIU already had 408 yards of offense, nearly evenly split between passing (218 yards on 21 attempts) and rushing (190 yards on 23 attempts). After SIU's defensive score extended SIU's lead to 45-16 just a minute into the second half, SIU only passed four times total in the second half.
Missouri State couldn't stop SIU's running attack, though, and SIU rushed for 226 second-half yards while scoring on all five possessions. True freshman Chris Perkins ended up leading the team in rushing with 116 yards on just six carries (19.3 yards per rush) after breaking off several long runs in the second half.
"We know we can be this good," Iannotti said. "We know we can do this to teams. We know we can come out and be successful, and it's all in our preparation. Each week is a new season. We have to take it week-by-week."
Of the six games remaining on SIU's schedule, five come against top-20 teams, and four of those are top-10 teams. SIU starts the stretch with a trip to Terre Haute, Ind., next weekend for a matchup with nationally ranked Indiana State.
"I'm excited about the potential of this team," Lennon said. "We understand, too, that it is going to get a lot more challenging here as we start playing the ranked teams. But right now, it's a good feeling."