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September 30,
2006 SYCAMORES DROP CONFERENCE OPENER AGAINST SOUTHERN ILLINOIS CARBONDALE, Ill. — Indiana State remained winless on the season as they fell at Southern Illinois by a score of 55-3 in the conference opening contest for both schools. ISU fell to 0-5, 0-1 Gateway while the Salukis are now a perfect 4-0, 1-0 Gateway. Southern Illinois entered the contest ranked as high as No. 9 in the nation by the College Sporting News Coaches Poll. The Sycamores moved the ball with relative ease on the game’s opening drive after winning the coin toss. Indiana State put together a nine-play, 38-yard drive that ended with a 47-yard field goal for Kyle Hooper, which tied his career-longest from last year’s contest at Memorial Stadium versus the Salukis. With ISU up 3-0 just under four minutes into the game, the Salukis marched down the field as well on the ground with a 12-play drive of their own that ended with a TD by John Randel from one-yard out to give Southern a 7-3 advantage. Southern Illinois went on to add six more touchdowns as well as a pair of Craig Coffin field goals for the 55-3 victory. The Salukis were up 24-3 at intermission. Offensively, ISU was paced byn the play of junior tailback Tony West who raced for 110 yards on the ground, and caught three passes for 28 yards. Carl Berman continued his strong season with eight catches for 91 yards. Quarterback Reilly Murphy was 17-of-35 passing for 166 yards and one tip-drill interception. Punter Chris Johannsen punted four times for a 43.5 yard average, including a career-long boot of 51 yards. He did post his first touchback of the season. Hooper connected on a career-long tying 47-yard field goal, but missed a 37-yard attempt midway through the game’s third quarter. “We continue to beat our ourselves out on the field,” head coach Lou West said. “We make critical mistakes at times that we can’t afford to make them. Southern Illinois is a tremendous team, and right now they don’t make those mistakes. We are going to continue to work as hard as we can to get this thing turned around.” Indiana State has now dropped a school-record 22 games, dating back to a victory in fifth game of the 2004 season. It is the current longest streak in NCAA Division I. The Sycamores get their next chance to get the monkey off their back at Youngstown State on Saturday, October 7. Kickoff from Stambaugh Stadium is set for 4:00 p.m. (EST). YSU defeated Missouri State by a score of 37-10 this evening, and are 4-1 on the season.
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