Football's season ends with 38-24 loss to Appalachian State
Dec. 3, 2005
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By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State delivered an early knockout punch to Southern Illinois and cruised to a 38-24 win in the quarterfinals of the I-AA Playoffs Saturday.
The #4-ranked Mountaineers (10-3), who extended their home winning streak to 17 games, jumped out to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Spreading the field with four wide receivers, ASU quarterback Richie Williams executed a short-passing attack to perfection, completing 12-of-15 passes for 214 yards in the first half alone. He finished with 367 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.
"(The Mountaineers) do an excellent job with the scheme they use, and they have an excellent trigger man," Saluki head coach Jerry Kill said.
Appalachian State's quarterback was clearly the difference-maker in the game.
Saluki cornerback Brad Brachear said Williams, who also ran for 36 yards and a touchdown, was especially tough to defend because of his scrambing ability.
"He would scramble around a lot, and it made it hard to cover receivers for that long," said Brachear. "They have a lot of team speed, and (their receivers) just got open."
The Salukis (9-4) looked shell-shocked in falling behind by 24 points, but they did regroup.
SIU closed the deficit to 24-10 on a field goal by Craig Coffin just before halftime and a 93-yard kickoff return by Craig Turner to start the second half.
But the three-time Gateway Conference champions never came closer than two touchdowns thereafter.
Besides not being able to stop Williams, the Salukis stopped themselves on two early drives.
Quarterback Joel Sambursky was intercepted twice in the first half, ending promising drives at the Appalachian State 25 and 29 yardlines. The second interception was returned 78 yards by Justin Woazeah and set up an easy 11-yard scoring drive for Appalachian State.
Sambursky was under constant pressure from an undersized, but speedy Appalachian State defense. Playing in his final game as a Saluki, he was sacked four times and frequently hit just after releasing the ball.
"We haven't faced any team in our conference this year that has the team speed they have on defense -- certainly in the secondary," Kill said. "And we turned the ball over at times, and that hurt us."
The playing conditions for the game were less than ideal and deteriorated throughout the afternoon. By the fourth quarter, a steady rain had turned to freezing rain.
The Salukis scored their only offensive touchdowns of the game in the final three minutes, as Sambursky hit Kellen Allen on TD passes of four and eight yards.
Sambursky reflected on his five-year career at Southern that saw the program's fortunes make a dramatic turn for the better.
In 2001, SIU finished 1-10, yet in the past three seasons, Southern is a combined 28-8.
"We have done a lot of great things that people didn't think were possible," Sambursky said. "I can reflect upon that the rest of my life."
"I recruited these guys on chasing a dream to try and get to this level one day and compete for a national championship," Kill said. "They bought in, and they gave me everything they have. I respect them and will have them in my thoughts the rest of my life."