Salukis improve to 1-2 overall; Host SEMO Saturday September 21 at Saluki Stadium at 6 P.M.
BY JIM BEERS
CARBONDALE – The Southern Illinois University Saluki Football Team hosted the University of Incarnate Word (UIW) Saturday September 14 at Saluki Stadium. It was the home opener for the Salukis and a crowd of 7, 879 was on hand to watch as the Dawgs held on to defeat the Cardinals.
The game was a matchup of two teams ranked in the Week 3 Top-25 FCS Football Poll. SIU was ranked No. 8 and UIW was ranked No. 12. UIW is a private Catholic University located in San Antonio, Texas.
Both teams came into the game with identical, 1-1 records. SIU left the game with a 2-1 record while UIW took limped back to Texas at 1-2. Both of the Cardinal’s losses came from Missouri Valley Football Conference teams, South Dakota State University, 45-24, last week and SIU, 35-28, on Saturday September 14.
Coach Nick Hill said, “I think our depth got tested tonight. Our guys are resilient. I feel like we’ve built some competitive depth and it showed tonight!”
The Salukis scored their first TD at the 7:30 mark on a Keontez Lewis 37-yard TD pass from SIU quarterback, DJ Williams. Paul Geelen kicked the extra-point and
SIU led, 7-0, and never looked back the rest of the game. The possession took 3:07 and covered 85 yards on 8 plays.
The Cardinals answered the Saluki score with a touchdown of their own at the 4:19 mark with a 1-yard touchdown pass from cracker-jack quarterback, Zach Calzada. Brack Peacock kicked the extra-point and the game was briefly tied, 7-7. Their possession took 6:25 and covered 75 yards on 13 plays.
Two minutes later (2:37) the Salukis scored again on a 10-yard run by Shaun Lester, Jr. Paul Geelen kicked the extra-point. The Dawgs extended their lead to 14-7. The possession lasted 1:34 and covered 63 yards on 3 plays. At the end of the first quarter, the score was SIU 14- Incarnate Word 7.
The Salukis hit hard and quickly (11:56) to start the second quarter with a 28-yard touchdown run by quarterback DJ Williams. Paul Geelen kicked the extra-point and SIU extended its lead to, 21-7. The possession took 1:14 on 6 plays and covered 63 yards.
UIW quarterback worked his magic again to answer the Saluki TD with a 40-yasrd touchdown pass to Jalen Walthall at the 8:21 mark. Brack Peacock kicked the extra-point and the Cardinals were back within one touchdown, 21-14. The possession took just 34-seconds and happened on the first play from scrimmage.
SIU got back on track on its next possession and scored a quick touchdown at the 5:22 mark on a Keontez Lewis 57-yard touchdown run. Paul Geelen kicked the extra-point and the Salukis extended their lead to 28-14. The possession took 1:38 and covered 79 yards on 6 plays.
With only 8-seconds remaining in the first half, the Dawgs struck again with their 5th touchdown of the first half. This time, quarterback DJ Williams hit Ryan Schwenderman with a 1-yard pass to score. Paul Geelen kicked his 5th extra-point of the evening to give SIU a 35-14 halftime lead. The possession took just 44-seconds.
The Salukis controlled the entire first half, leading 35-14 after two quarters of play. The Saluki defense made big plays the entire opening 30 minutes and held the Cardinals in check.
The third quarter was a defensive lockdown with neither team able to get a score. Each team had three possessions apiece, but were unable to score against each other’s tough defenses.
The Salukis turned the ball over twice on downs and were intercepted to end one possession. The Cardinals were forced to punt on their first possession, turned the ball over on downs on the second possession and had a 1st down at the end of the third quarter as the horn sounded to end the period. SIU led, 35-14.
UIW had the ball to start the 4th quarter 1st-and-10. On the Cardinal’s second play from scrimmage QB Zach Calzada ran for a 23-yard touchdown at the 14:44 mark. Brack Peacock kicked the extra-point and UIW was within two touchdowns of SIU, 35-21.
The Saluki stalled offense continued in the 4th quarter. On the third play from scrimmage, SIU quarterback DJ Williams injured his finger and had to come out of the game. Backup QB, Hunter Simmons from Marion, Illinois came into the game replacing Williams.
Simmons guided the Salukis to three first downs but couldn’t get the fourth and had to turn the ball over on downs to end the 13-play SIU drive with 7:56 left in the game.
Throughout the entire 4th quarter UIW quarterback Zach Calzada used a no-huddle offense from a shotgun position to hurry the action and come-from-behind to try to catch the Salukis.
On their second possession the Cardinals used seven first downs and 8 plays to orchestrate a fourth touchdown. From the SIU 25-yard line Calzada hit Jalen Walthall for the TD. Peacock hit the extra-point kick and the Cardinals were knocking on the Saluki’s door, 35-28, with 5:05 remaining in the game.
The final five minutes of the game was tense and packed with excitement and drama. The Salukis continued to struggle on offense. On their next possession Simmons used a no-huddle, shotgun attack, but was not able to achieve a score to put the game away.
On the first play from scrimmage, the Dawgs rushed for no yards. The second play was an incomplete pass. Facing 3-and 10, Simmons was sacked for a 4-yard loss and fumbled the ball, but SIU’s Willtrell Hartson recovered the loose ball. The Dawgs punted on the next play to end the possession at the 3:35 mark.
With SIU stalled, the Cardinals were fired up and determined to take the game from the home town favorites. The tension inside Saluki Stadium could be cut with a knife as the Cardinals began a 13-play drive which killed all but 32-seconds of the clock.
On that drive, UIW accomplished six first downs on completed passes by Calzada who was still using a no-huddle, shotgun attack.
The Cardinals made it to the SIU 16-yard line when on the next play, UIW’s Calzada was sacked by SIU’s Louis Wilbert for an 11-yard loss. Calzada was called for an intentional grounding penalty which took the ball back to the SIU 27 yard line with 1:33 to play.
Facing 2-and-16, Calzada rolled out to attempt another no-huddle pass. This time, SIU’s tough guy on defense, Ben Bogle, sacked Calzada for a 19-yard loss. Calzada was called AGAIN for intentional grounding when he threw the ball over his head backwards as he was being tackled. The SIU defense had the Cardinals terrified and out of control.
With the ball at the SIU 46-yard line and UIW facing 3rd-and- 35, Calzada completed a pass to Roy Alexander who was quickly brought down by SIU defenders Isaiah Bigby and Ben Bogle.
UIW was at the SIU 34 yard line facing 4th-and-23 with 42-seconds on the clock. This was the last opportunity that UIW had to catch the Salukis. Once again using a no-huddle offense, Calzada threw a long desperation pass which was INTERCEPTED by SIU sophomore Vinny Pierre in the end zone for a touchback. The UIW drive was over!
Southern took the ball on the 20-yard line. The final 32-seconds was full of drama and suspense. The Cardinals hoped for an SIU turnover, especially after the Salukis were called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the first play from scrimmage. That put the ball at the SIU 10-yard line.
SIU now faced 1st-and-20 from the 10 yard line. The next five plays consisted of SIU kneel; UIW time out; SIU kneel; UIW time out; and SIU kneel.
On the 6th play, facing 4th-and-23, Incarnate Word was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
On the next very short play, the clock ran out and the No. 8 SIU Salukis had held on for the 35-28 win over No. 12 University of Incarnate Word Cardinals.
Until he was injured SIU quarterback DJ Williams was quite impressive with his performance. He passed for 301 yards and ran for 79 yards on his own. He completed 19-of-27 passes (70%) including two touchdown passes, one to Keontez Lewis and the other to Ryan Schwendeman.
Lewis recorded 148 rushing yards including a 57-yard touchdown, while Nah’shawn Hezekiah ran for 118 yards in the win. Both are new Salukis as Lewis came from Wisconsin and Hezekiah was a transfer from Howard. Both made a huge debut in their first appearance at Saluki Stadium.
After controlling the first half, the Salukis were scoreless in the second half. Coach Nick Hill said, “We found a way to close it out. I’m super proud of the defense. We got back on our heels a bit and UIW had the momentum going. The defense found a way to close out the win!”
Including the UIW game, the Salukis have 4-of-5 games at home. This Saturday September 21 the Dawgs will host SEMO in the annual “War for the Wheel”. SIU has now moved up to a No. 7 ranking in the nation in FCS and SEMO is now ranked at No. 21. Any time these two players go against each other it is a “knock down drag out affair”!
This week two SIU players earned MVC honors. Quarterback DJ Williams earned Co-Offensive Player of the Week with his 301 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. He also ran for 79 yards. He completed 19-of-27 passes (70%) and added a 28-yard touchdown run and a 50-yard run that set up an SIU TD.
SIU wide receiver Keontez Lewis was the MVC Newcomer of the Week. He led SIU’s high-powered offense that recorded a total of 547 total yards. He caught 8 passes for 148 yards, one of which was a 37-yard TD. He also scored a 57-yard touchdown run putting him over the 200-yard total offense mark in the victory over UIW. Last week he had 205 offensive yards which ranked him 2nd in the Missouri Valley Conference.
SIU wide receiver Nah’shawn Hezekiah, a 6’2, 210 lb. wide receiver, reaches for a pass early in the first quarter of the SIU vs UIW game Saturday September 14 at Saluki Stadium. For the game, Hezekiah accumulated a total of 118 receiving yards. He is a Howard transfer and was playing his first game in front of a Saluki fan base (7,879). He made a great first impression for Saluki coaches, fellow players and fans! Jim Beers Photo
Saluki defensive end, Louis Wilbert (22), a 6’2″, 240 Lb. threat to opposing quarterbacks, almost sacked UIW quarterback, Zach Calzada (10) on this play. Wilbert made it this far numerous times throughout the entire game, but was frequently stopped by Cardinal 6’7″, 320 lb. offensive lineman, Rasheed Jackson, . Saluki fans were constantly yelling for referees to call holding on Jackson who repeatedly appeared to hold numerous Saluki players the entire night! Following the conclusion of the 35-28 Saluki victory, Jackson was the ONLY Cardinal player from Incarnate Word that did not leave the bench and meet SIU mid-field for customary post-game congratulations. Ironic!? Jim Beers Photo
SIU’s No.1 kicker and punter, Paul Geelen (97) , a 6’6″, 205 Lb. kicking expert from Utrecht, Netherlands, kicks one of his five extra-points in the 35-28 win over the Incarnate Word Cardinals. Geelen has been very dependable in the early season in both rolls as kicker and punter. Jim Beers Photo
SIU star quarterback DJ Williams (2) , who transferred to SIU this year from Murray State, has been fantastic so far this year as the No. 1 starting quarterback. Against University of Incarnate Word (UIW) Williams completed 19-of-27 passes (70%) for 301 yards. He also ran for 79 more yards. Williams threw touchdown passes to Koentez Lewis (37 yards) and Ryan Schwendeman (1-yard). Finally Williams scored on a 28-yard touchdown run on his own. Williams came out of the game at the 14:11 mark of the 4th quarter. For his efforts against UIW, Williams earned Co-Offensive Player of the Week in the Missouri Valley Conference (No.1 FCS Conference in the country). Jim Beers Photo
Koentez Lewis (1) scores the first of five Saluki touchdowns in the, 35-28, win over No. 12 Incarnate Word Saturday September 14 at Saluki Stadium. He scored on a 37-yard pass from DJ Williams just minutes into the game. Lewis, a 6’2″ 190 Lb. wide receiver, also ran for a 57-yard touchdown at the 2:06 mark of the second quarter for SIU’s 4th touchdown to give the Dawgs a 28-14 lead over UIW. Lewis is a 2024 transfer from Wisconsin. He caught 8 passes for 148 yards against UIW. For his efforts he earned “Newcomer of the Week” for the Missouri Valley Conference. Jim Beers Photo
SIU’s Shaun Lester, Jr., a 5’11”, 210 Lb. Saluki running back, bulldozes his way into the end zone at the 2:37 mark of the first quarter for SIU’s second touchdown and a 14-7 Saluki lead. His run was a 10-yard effort on a 3-play, 63-yard drive that took a total of 1:34 of Dawg possession. Jim Beers Photo