CARBONDALE, Ill. - Illinois State wide receiver Eyad Salem turned in another school-record tying performance with 14 catches but his effort was trumped by a career day from Southern Illinois running back Deji Karim as the No. 6 Salukis dashed to a 43-23 win at McAndrew Stadium Saturday.
For the second consecutive week, Salem hauled in 14 passes to tie former Redbirds Laurent Robinson and Dwayne Smith for the most catches in a single game, but it was Karim's own career-best 273 yards that propelled the Salukis (4-1, 3-0 MVFC) to the Missouri Valley Conference and homecoming day win. Karim's tally, which included a 93-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, was the third-most in a single game by any SIU player. Karim also scored from 31 and 21 yards out.
Salem finished with 114 yards and caught half of Illinois State (2-4, 1-2 MVFC) quarterback Matt Brown's 28 completions. Brown, a native of nearby Marion, Ill., threw for a career-best 321 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. ISU freshman receiver Tyrone Walker caught four passes and also surpassed the century mark with 112 yards. The Redbirds had 428 yards of total offense but were gashed for 613 by the Salukis.
Karim scored twice in the first quarter and helped Southern Illinois to an early 16-3 lead. Illinois State answered with its own long play, an 81-yard strike from Brown to Walker. The Redbirds added a field goal by Zach Kutch, the second of three he hit in the game, to cut the SIU lead to three, and both teams traded touchdowns in the final minute of the first half en route to a 23-20 score at the break.
Illinois State turned in its best defensive performance in the third quarter when the Redbirds held the Salukis to 68 yards and tied the game after a 33-yard field goal by Kutch with 9:52 left in the quarter. Southern Illinois answered with a field goal of their own at the 7:12 mark and proved too much to contain while rolling up 17 more points in the fourth frame.
Southern Illinois' Chris Dieker completed 15-of-26 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns to keep the Salukis undefeated in conference play. He threw an interception to Redbird safety Kelvyn Hemphill on a desperation toss as time expired in the first half. Hemphill led all defenders with nine tackles.
The Redbirds return to Hancock Stadium and continue Missouri Valley Football Conference play next Saturday (Oct. 17) for the annual homecoming game against Indiana State at 2 p.m.
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