Southern Illinois wide receiver Keontez Lewis runs toward the end zone Saturday for a 44-yard TD reception in the Salukis’ loss. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Barry Bottino
In his team’s second consecutive loss, Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill identified a laundry list of potential corrections.
“Teams are running the football on us, throwing the football on us,” Hill said Saturday after the No. 17 Salukis’ 42-13 loss at No. 5 South Dakota. “We’re not sacking the quarterback. We’re not putting them in third-and-long situations. We’re not taking the ball away. We’re not getting a spark from our kicking game.”
In the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both schools, SIU (2-3 overall, 0-1 MVFC) sputtered early and often, falling behind 28-0 in the second quarter and allowing 549 total yards, including 302 on the ground.
“When you get beat like that, nothing was good enough,” Hill said. “It starts with me. We’re not going to win many games if we score 13 points.”
Less than 20 minutes into the game, South Dakota (3-1, 1-0) had raced to a 28-0 lead.
The Coyotes leaned heavily on their run game as the duo of Travis Theis (147 yards) and Charles Pierre Jr. (124) combined for four touchdowns and helped South Dakota average 6.4 yards a carry.
SIU, meanwhile, managed only 60 total rushing yards and 2.4 yards a carry.
One offensive highlight was quarterback Hunter Simmons. In his second career start, the Marion native passed for 306 yards – with TD passes to Keontez Lewis and Colton Hoag – with no interceptions.
Game changers
10:07, 2nd quarter: Charles Pierre Jr. rushed for a 24-yard score to give the Coyotes a 28-0 lead.
1:46, 2nd quarter: SIU WR Keontez Lewis scored his second TD of the season.
0:59, 2nd quarter: Only 47 seconds after SIU scored, South Dakota’s Quaron Adams scored on a 61-yard TD catch.
What it means
Southern lost its second game in a row, its MVFC opener and gave up 38 or more points for the third time this season.
Top Dawgs
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Southern Illinois players in the game:
Iverson Brown, S: Brown piled up 14 total tackles to lead all players in the game.
Simmons, QB: In his second career start, Simmons passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Hoag, TE: The senior had a career-high six receptions for 52 yards and his first career TD.
What’s next?
SIU hosts an important MVFC game Oct. 5 against rival Illinois State.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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