Southern Illinois linebacker Shug Walker (left) and cornerback Jeremiah McClendon (right) team up for a stop during the Salukis’ 55-27 win against Indiana State Saturday at Saluki Stadium. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Dan Verdun
A year ago, injuries decimated the Southern Illinois football season. In Saturday’s Missouri Valley Football Conference opener against Indiana State, the Salukis shook off losses to key players.
Those “next man up” contributions played important roles as SIU posted a 55-27 win before a large Family Weekend crowd at Saluki Stadium.
“When you get to this point in the season, after your bye week, you get into eight straight Missouri Valley games,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “There’s going to be a position you think you’re going in as the No. 3 guy and (next thing you know) you’re going to have to take 40 reps in this game to help win.”
The Salukis lost starting running back Lashaun Lester to injury after the senior began the team’s first drive with a 60-yard run.
Transfers Chandler Chapman and Edward Robinson stepped in and picked up the slack.
“It’s just great being around a bunch of guys you trust and you know at any moment they could make a big play or pick up where you lack,” said Chapman, who rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
Robinson, a sophomore, led the Salukis with 124 yards on nine attempts. The Duquesne transfer broke off an 81-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, starting linebackers Andrew Behm and Colin Bohanek – SIU’s top two tacklers on the season – left Saturday’s game with injuries.
That opened the door for senior Shug Walker and sophomore Ben Fiegel to shine.
“Last year was some bad times,” Walker said. “That was bad luck, but we put in the work in the offseason, did a lot of rehab.”
Walker, from downstate Bethalto, registered a team-high 12 tackles, two of which were for loss. He added two pass breakups, one of which fell into the hands of defensive lineman Donnie Wingate for an interception.
Walker, who began his career at Murray State, was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week Monday.
Fiegel, who played at suburban Batavia, matched Walker’s 12 tackles.
“With Behm going out, Ben Fiegel did a helluva job coming in and taking those reps at Mike (middle) linebacker,” Hill said.
With the win against Indiana State, the Salukis improved their record to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the MVFC. SIU moved up two spots in both major FCS polls. Southern is ranked No. 8 in the Stats Perform Top 25 media poll and No. 9 in the American Football Coaches Association rankings.
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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