Defensive tackle Peyton Reeves (90) celebrated his sack, along with teammate Dune Smith, in Saturday’s 63-0 shutout of Western Illinois. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
MACOMB – Southern Illinois turned up its defense and turned back the clock 90 years. Only the venue had changed.
In-state rivals Southern Illinois and Western Illinois first met on the football field in 1933. That inaugural meeting took place in Carbondale where McAndrew Stadium, a Depression-era WPA project that the Salukis called home until 2010, was still five years away from opening.
Those nine decades ago, Southern shut out Western, 45-0, on a mid-October afternoon.
On Saturday, SIU had a repeat performance of sorts, blanking the Leathernecks, 63-0, at Western Illinois University’s Hanson Field.
Adding to the historical symmetry, the game marked the final time the two foes will meet as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Western will join the Ohio Valley Conference next season.
History aside, this year’s version of the Salukis is concerned with the here and now. Its most recent victory puts SIU at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the MVFC. Western (0-8, 0-5) has lost a school-record 21 straight games.
“We wanted to make a statement saying that we don’t take any teams lightly. We’re here to play. We’re going to go as hard as we can the entire 60 minutes that we’re out there,” linebacker Ben Bogle said after SIU’s win.
Southern had not held an opponent scoreless in nine years. It had been 11 seasons since the Salukis had shut out a league foe.
“It’s hard to shut somebody out,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “It’s a credit to those guys. Like I say every week, they play with a ton of passion.”
And a ton of talent. According to the official NCAA statistics, the Salukis rank seventh nationally in total defense. SIU is tied for second in tackles for loss, third in team sacks and in the top 20 in a handful of other categories.
“I feel like we all have the capability to make a huge play,” Bogle said, “and when the play is coming a particular group’s way, I feel like the play will be made.”
The Salukis made plenty of plays Saturday against Western.
SIU built a 35-0 halftime lead. The Salukis allowed only four WIU first downs and 65 total yards in that two-quarter span. Southern held Western to a 1-for-10 third-down conversion rate.
By game’s end, Western had 16 offensive possessions. The average length of those drives was 2 minutes, 7 seconds.
Hill and his staff freely substituted for the top defenders after halftime. Nearly all the starters spent the second half standing on the sideline watching their teammates keep the shutout intact.
“It’s huge. Some of those (backup) guys might be called to action next week or the week after,” Hill said. “You keep playing a lot of games, and this is a physical sport … those (game experiences) are so valuable for everyone on our team.”
Bogle is certainly a player who benefitted. Listed as the backup to starting outside linebacker Branson Combs, Bogle racked up a team-leading eight tackles against Western. That total – which included a sack – accounts for nearly 40 percent of his season’s tackles.
“We knew the result that would happen if we branched off and tried to do our own thing,” said Bogle, a redshirt freshman. “This is a team sport. You have to work together. If you don’t, it’s probably not going to go your way.”
Things definitely went the Salukis’ way against Western.
The final SIU points were delivered by defensive back Desman Hearns, who scooped up a WIU fumble and returned it 43 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
While he was assuredly thrilled with his team’s Saturday showing, Hill was ready to move forward shortly before boarding the bus back to Carbondale where SIU will host nationally ranked South Dakota (6-2, 4-1) next weekend.
“I tell our guys, these are just one-game seasons,” Hill said. “We’ve got to put all of our focus on South Dakota. If you start thinking about other things or what these rankings are or anything (else), you’ve got to stay focused on what you need to do and do your best.”
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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