Salukis roll into Southern Utah

September 14, 2007

Carbondale, IL (CSTV U-WIRE) -- After the SIU football team scored the go-ahead touchdown to take a 34-31 lead against Northern Illinois last week, all Saluki left tackle Darren Marquez could do was shrug as he lined up for the extra point.

Marquez, a senior, said he shrugged at the Northern Illinois' line because the Huskies seemed confident the game was already finished before the stunning Saluki comeback in which the offense scored two touchdowns in the final 61 seconds of the game.

Marquez will soon be looking at Southern Utah, which hosts SIU for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

"They thought they had the game in the bag," Marquez said of NIU. "I was just telling them, in my mind, just mentally saying, 'Don't sleep on us, don't sleep on us.'"

Senior quarterback Nick Hill said the team has put last week's defeat of the only Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, team they will face this season in the rearview.

"That's just another win," Hill said. "We want to win a lot of games this year, and if we want to do that we got to stay focused."

Marquez said SIU (2-0) now has bigger things to look forward to, namely the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds, whose schedule features seven opponents currently in the Top 25, have lost both their games this season to No. 2 Montana and North Dakota, which is ranked second in Division II.

SIU head coach Jerry Kill said Southern Utah played Montana well, still having a chance for a win in the fourth quarter.

Kill also said he saw a lot of missed assignments against Northern Illinois, something he wants to improve every week.

"We're making too many mental errors, and we can't afford to do that," Kill said.

Two senior SIU starters - running back John Randle and right tackle Andrew Kernes - are both battling injuries.

Kernes missed all of the game at Northern Illinois with an arthritic hip, while Randle exited in the first quarter with a high ankle sprain.

Kill said he is unsure about both playing Saturday, but Randle said he would be ready.

"This is another week for us, it's another important week," Randle said. "That's all it is to us."

Southern Utah quarterback Wes Marshall has recorded 347 passing yards this season and also leads the Thunderbirds (0-2) with 25 rushing attempts and 83 yards.

SIU junior defensive end James Cloud said his job is to stop Marshall from running the ball, and the job for the entire defensive line is to wreak havoc in the backfield.

"We're not as big as we have been in the past, but we're more athletic, we're more fast, and so due to that, we get to the quarterback a lot," Cloud said.

Cloud hurried and hit Huskies quarterback Dan Nicholson on the play when defensive tackle Larry Luster had an interception, which he returned 55 yards for a touchdown.

Cloud said the coaches moved him around and put him in position to make the hit on Nicholson, and he's happy it was Luster scoring the touchdown.

"Big guys like Larry Luster, they don't get a chance often to get into the end zone," Cloud said.

Hill said the way the Salukis beat Northern Illinois - scoring 13 points in the final 61 seconds in the comeback win - proved to them they could win those kinds of games.

Hill said every player on the SIU squad has to remember what he has learned from other teams and apply that to the opponent in order to be successful.

"That's why veteran players are usually better, because they've been through those experiences," Hill said.

The Salukis beat Southern Utah 59-0 in the final game of the regular season last year.

In that matchup, SIU was fighting for a playoff spot, but the Thunderbirds were 3-7 at the time with no postseason hopes.

Three of Hill's seven completions that game went for touchdowns, but he said he's expecting a completely different team this year - one looking for its first win.

"It's a whole new year," Hill said. "They're hungry to have a good season."

(C) 2007 Daily Egyptian via CSTV U-WIRE