Salukis among I-AA best

Southern Illinois will be home against the Penguins on Saturday.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Southern Illinois football team has been ranked in the I-AA polls Top 10 for 32 consecutive weeks.
But it wasn't until last week's 31-20 upset victory over then No. 1-ranked Western Kentucky that the Salukis really showed their wares this season.
The Salukis (6-2, 4-1 Gateway Conference) could take a big step toward winning their third straight conference title on Saturday when they play host to Youngstown State (7-2, 4-1 Gateway).
SIU's coach Jerry Kill was impressed by his team's win over Western Kentucky last Thursday.
"It was a huge win for us out on the road," Kill said. "The win gets us right back in the race and we are back into controlling some things.
"I said early in the year that this team would not peak too early," Kill said. "We are getting better and we got a lot better last week than we did all year, but we got better as a team."
Struggled in playoffs
The Salukis have been to the playoffs the past two years, but haven't had a lot of success there losing to Delaware in 2003 in the opening round 48-7 and last year dropped an opening round contest to Eastern Washington 35-31 at home.
Offensively, the Salukis are among the best in all of I-AA. They rank No. 1 in scoring offense averaging 42.5 points a game and are No. 11 in the country in total offense averaging 440 yards per game.
But as good as they've been offensively, they have struggled twice as much on defense where they rank 87th in total defense and 73rd in scoring defense.
The offense is led by fifth-year senior quarterback Joel Sambursky, who holds almost all of the Salukis passing records and for the second straight season is on the Walter Payton Award watch list. He finished eighth a year ago.
In eight games, Sambursky has passed or 1,663 yards on 119 of 188 attempts with just seven interceptions. He has thrown for 15 touchdowns.
He's thrown to 15 different receivers over the year, but senior split end Brent Little leads the way with 30 catches and five touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Kellen Allen has 24 catches and six touchdowns.
Top running back
When Sambursky isn't throwing the football he is handing off to junior tailback Arkee Whitlock. The 5-10, 200 pounder last week rushed for more than 200 yards against Western Kentucky and was named the I-AA national offensive player of the week.
On the season, Whitlock has gained 865 yards in seven games on 152 carries and nine touchdowns. He's also caught 13 passes.
And most of this offense has been behind a young offensive line that includes a freshman and two sophomores.
The Salukis start eight seniors on defense, but their leading tackler is junior free safety Marlon Heaston with 59 stops.
Senior safety Jamarquis Jordan and junior defensive end Lorenzo Wims lead the team in tackles for losses with seven each, while five of Wims were quarterback sacks.
Junior Craig Coffin is the veteran placekicker and has hit on 5-of-7 field goal attempts this year with his longest being 43 yards. He has made 41 of 45 point after touchdowns.
Expect tough game
Kill knows the Salukis will have all they can handle this week against the Penguins.
"This league is so tough this year and any week anybody is capable of pulling out a victory," Kill said. "We expect Youngstown State to be every bit as tough as they've been all season on Saturday. We'll need another all-out effort against them."
The Salukis have beaten the Penguins two straight years in a row, including a hard-fought 24-17 win in Carbondale in 2003.
mollica@vindy.com