| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast Missouri | 14 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 48 |
| Southern Illinois | 10 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 44 |
Game Recap: Football | 09/15/2018 | 11:36:00 | By Tom Weber, SIUSalukis.com
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CARBONDALE, Ill. — In a game that featured 10 lead changes, tight end Austin Crump caught a throwback pass from Daniel Santacaterina and rumbled 14 yards for the game-winning touchdown to lift SEMO to a 48-44 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday night at Saluki Stadium.
The Redhawks (2-1) converted the touchdown on a 3rd-and-5 play with 25 seconds left in the contest. On the first play of the 75-yard scoring drive, SIU appeared headed for victory when linebacker Luke Gieglingintercepted Santacaterina and returned the ball to the SEMO 15. The play was nullified, however, by a roughing the passer penalty against Malik Haynes.
Just minutes earlier, the Salukis (1-2) had completed a thrilling 75-yard scoring drive of their own, in which quarterback Sam Straub found Raphael Leonard in the corner of the end zone for an 8-yard pass to put SIU ahead, 44-41, with 1:52 to go. The Straub-to-Leonard combo was spectacular all night with the senior wideout catching a career-high 11 passes for 124 yards and two TDs. Leonard also drew multiple pass interference penalties against the defense.
On Southern’s last-gasp drive in the final 25 seconds, the offense advanced 34 yards to the SEMO 38 with five seconds left, but Straub’s Hail Mary pass fell incomplete on the game’s final play.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but tomorrow is a work day for us and we have to be men about it and find a way to get better,” said SIU head coach Nick Hill. “We have a long season ahead of us.”
In the 86th meeting between two schools that are separated by just 45 miles, the teams combined for 92 points — the most in the history of the series — plus 1,078 yards and 63 first downs.
While there was little either team could do to stop the other, both teams had self-inflicted wounds.
On SIU’s side, it started with a roughing-the-punter penalty in the first quarter that extended a SEMO drive when the Salukis were ahead, 10-0, and led to a Redhawks’ touchdown.
“That just took some momentum out of our sideline,” Hill acknowledged. “We score twice, get a stop 3-and-out, they’re backed up and we’re going to get good field position, and we just blatantly rough the kicker, which is an undisciplined thing.”
Straub passed for 338 yards — his seventh-career 300-yard passing game — but he also threw three first-half interceptions. James Ceasar fumbled the opening kickoff to add to SIU’s woes. By comparison, SEMO made fewer mistakes, but its 16 penalties for 165 yards were also costly.
The single-biggest difference maker in the game was SEMO running back Marquis Terry who set a school record with 311 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 30 carries. He had 190 yards in the first half alone, including a 74-yard TD run.
“Obviously, they game-planned us and saw some things they could take advantage of, and we didn’t have an answer the entire night,” Hill said.
Southern’s ground game was nearly as strong with D.J. Davis netting 172 yards on 35 carries with two touchdowns. He has rushed for 100 yards in all three games this year.
Despite putting 85 points on the scoreboard the last two games, SIU has come up short both times.
“If the game calls for us to have 50, then we need to have 50,” Hill said. “That’s our job as an offense. If you get in a shoot-out, you gotta close ’em.”
Hill didn’t point fingers at the defense, though.
“I’ve got confidence,” he said. “It might sound silly, last week we gave up a bunch of yards, a bunch of points — same thing this week. I love those guys over on D. We have to figure out a way to get together and figure out what’s going wrong.”
Southern has a bye week before returning to action on Sept. 29 versus South Dakota on Family Weekend.
“We’ve got to trust each other when times are tough, when everybody is going to be questioning you,” Hill said. “Times like this are what makes you strong. Nobody is going to hang their head, including me. We’re going to get back to work — that’s all we know.”
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