Youngstown State faces tough task at SIU

Southern Illinois is 5-1, in first place in the MVFC, and ranked No. 3 in the country.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — Southern Illinois has had many up and down stretches in football over the last three decades and presently the Salukis are in one of those up stretches.

The Salukis won a national championship back in 1983 and then went through a long drought where they were everybody’s pasty until Jerry Kill arrived on campus and rebuilt the program.

Kill took over the program in 2001 and after two rebuilding years took the Salukis to their first Missouri Valley Football Conference championship. The team hasn’t been out of the playoffs since.

Kill left the Salukis after the 2007 season, replaced by Dale Lennon, and last year he took the team to a share of the conference title and their sixth straight postseason playoff berth.

Lennon and the Salukis haven’t let up this season as they are 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the MVFC heading into Saturday’s home matchup with Youngstown State (4-2, 2-1). Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Ill.

The Salukis, who were 1-5 against the Penguins in YSU’s first six seasons in the conference, have now won five of the last six meetings, including a 33-0 romp a year ago at Stambaugh Stadium.

Southern Illinois is coming off a big victory last Saturday when they defeated No. 2-ranked Northern Iowa 27-20 at the UNIDome and snapped an 11-year losing streak in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

That win propelled the Salukis into the No. 3 spot in this week’s SportsNetwork Poll.

For Lennon and the Salukis that win was also the 10th straight in conference play.

“I told the kids after the game in the locker room that it was just game No. 6, but it was a heck of a game No. 6,” said Lennon. “We had a great defensive effort and we’ve got to give our players credit for keeping their focus and the guys did well and were able to get the job done.

“I also told them that the season was still a long way from being over and that we still have five tough games ahead of us beginning this week with Youngstown State,” Lennon added.

“[The Penguins] are going to be coming in here well-rested after a week off and we expect to have a battle on our hands Saturday,” he said.

“Youngstown State is a team that really hasn’t put it all together yet this season and when they do you had better be ready for a battle,” he said. “They have outstanding talent and they are well coached and if we’re not ready for them we could be in for a long afternoon.”

Last week the Salukis scored twice in the final five minutes to put away the Panthers. One was set up by a fumbled punt recovery and the other was a pass interception returned for a touchdown.

Offensively the Salukis are led by senior tailback Deji Karim (5-foot-11, 200 pounds), who had his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season last week when he gained 125 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. On the season he has 959 yards on 119 carries and nine touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Chris Dieker (6-5, 227) gives the Salukis another weapon as he has connected on 91 of 156 passes for 1,237 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted four times.

Dieker’s top receiver is junior wide receiver Joe Allaria (6-2, 195) who has caught 30 passes for 401 yards and two touchdowns. Dieker has spread his 10 TD passes around to six different receivers.

Defensively the team leader is senior linebacker Brandin Jordan (5-11, 230) who has 39 tackles, three for losses and one sack, while junior safety Mike McElroy and junior cornerback Korey Lindsey have nine of the team’s 12 pass interceptions between them with McElroy getting five.

Junior kicker Kyle Dougherty has been very consistent, connecting on 10 of 11 field goals attempts, the longest 45 yards, and 25 of 26 extra points. Senior punter Scott Ravanesi is averaging 44.4 yards on 25 punts.

mollica@vindy.com