TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State football dropped its home matchup to Southern Illinois, 23-14, Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The Salukis now own a 29-28 all-time lead in the series following the victory.
 
Dominique Dafney made his debut in the wildcat with 54 rushing yards, accounting for both of the Sycamore scores. Peterson Kerlegrand added a team high 59 yards on the ground while Michael Haupert rushed for 46 yards.
 
As a team, Indiana State (3-6, 1-4 MVFC) rushed for 141 yards, but the Salukis rushed for 265 yards on 50 attempts. D.J. Davis led the way for SIU, eclipsing the 150-yard mark while his teammate Javon Williams Jr. rushed for two touchdowns and 84 yards out of the wildcat.
 
The Salukis (5-4, 3-2 MVFC) jumped out to an early lead after Williams Jr. busted off a 54-yard rushing score on the Salukis second possession of the game, capping off a two-play, 70-yard scoring drive.
 
Dafney would tie the game early in the second quarter with his first score of the day – a four-yard rushing touchdown.
 
The Salukis would go on to pound the ball on the ground, facing three fourth-and-goal opportunities and the Sycamores would make the goal line stand on two of the opportunities. The Salukis would go ahead with 3:37 left before halftime when Williams recorded his second rushing touchdown of the day on a two-yard score.
 
SIU backup kicker Nico Gualdoni would make it a 10-point lead for the visitors when he hit a 24-yard field goal with just eight seconds left in the first half as the Salukis went into the locker room with a 17-7 lead. Gualdoni picked up his second of three total field goals six minutes into the third when the SIU drive stalled, forcing the kicker to hit a 36-yard attempts.
 
Dafney pulled the Sycamores within six points late in the third with a three-yard score – his second of the day.
 
Gualdoni would later kick his third field goal of the day to make it a 23-14 in favor of the Salukis.
 
With under eight minutes left to play, the Sycamores moved into SIU territory looking to put up points. Haupert's number was called in the wildcat, but this time to throw for the first time this season. Haupert threw the ball to Matae Thomas in the end zone but was intercepted by Qua Brown.
 
Michael Thomas and Denzel Bonner led ISU with six tackles each while Bonner added a forced fumble. The Sycamore defense recorded nine tackles-for-loss led by Kaleb Brewer with 2.5 for six yards. Isaac Fotu had 1.5 sacks for 15 yards.
 
SIU's Bryson Strong led all players with 8.5 tackles, including a forced fumble.
 
The Sycamores travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa next weekend to face Northern Iowa. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET from the UNI Dome.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.