TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State was unable to slow down a high-powered Southern Illinois offensive attack as the Sycamores fell to the visiting #16/15 Salukis in Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, 47-21.
 
Southern Illinois (7-3, 5-2 MVFC) scored on each of their first three offensive possessions and added four touchdown drives midway through the game in securing the conference win. The Sycamores (4-6, 2-5 MVFC) battled through 12 penalties in the contest as Indiana State was unable to sustain momentum through the contest despite another standout performance from Dante Hendrix in the loss.
 
Hendrix continued to pace the Indiana State offensive efforts with his second double-digit catch performance of the season. The redshirt junior wide receiver hauled in 10 catches for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Indiana State's final home game of the 2021 season.
 
Anthony Thompson went 21-of-33 through the air for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Kurtis Wilderman added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass late in the contest. Phazione McClurge added six catches for 51 yards, while Rontrez Morgan added a three-catch, 32-yard game with his first touchdown catch of the season. Peterson Kerlegrand paced the ISU rushing efforts with 56 yards on 18 carries.
 
SIU quarterback Nic Baker teamed up with Avante Cox for a pair of touchdown passes to highlight his 17-of-26 performance for 233 yards through the air. Cox hauled in four catches for 48 yards, while Izaiah Hartrup 66 yards) and Tyce Daniel (65 yards) added three catches apiece in a balanced Saluki passing attack.
 
Southern Illinois also had nine players in the rushing column with Javon Williams Jr. pacing the way with a 10-carry, 79-yard effort with a pair of touchdown runs. Overall, SIU posted 282 rushing yards on 48 carries in the win.
 
Geoffrey Brown led the Sycamores defense with a team-high nine tackles, while Mekhi Ware and JJ Henderson combined for four pass breakups on the defensive side. Brown also paced the Sycamores efforts with 1.5 tackles for loss, while Rylan Cole and Ethan Hoover added seven tackles apiece.
 
PJ Jules was the Salukis team leader with nine tackles and a tackle for loss. David Miller added a pair of key interceptions for Southern Illinois as SIU won the turnover battle (3-0) in the Missouri Valley Football matchup.
 
How They Scored

• Southern Illinois took advantage of an early Indiana State interception to capitalize with a 23-yard Nico Gualdoni field goal to cap a 13-play, 43-yard drive and give the Salukis the early 3-0 lead.
• The Salukis went up 10-0 following the seven-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a Nic Baker 31-yard touchdown pass to Avante Cox with 3:24 remaining in the first quarter.
• A Sycamore goal-line stand led to a 25-yard Gualdoni field goal with 11:47 remaining in the second quarter as the Salukis lead extended to 13-0.
• Indiana State was on the scoreboard with 3:40 left in the first half as Anthony Thompson found Dante Hendrix on the one-yard, play-action jump pass to cap a 12-play, 50-yard drive and narrow the margin down to 13-7.
• Javon Williams, Jr. added to the SIU lead with his six-yard touchdown run coming as time expired in the first half to give the Salukis the 19-7 edge at the halftime break.
• Donnavan Spencer put the Salukis on the board in the second half with a two-yard touchdown run at the 11:12 mark in the third quarter to put Southern Illinois ahead 26-7 following the 12-play, 81-yard drive.
• Anthony Knighton added to the SIU lead with a 19-yard interception return down the right sideline to put the Salukis ahead 33-7 with 11:03 remaining in the third quarter.
• Cox was in the end zone for the second time in the game as he hauled in the back-shoulder touchdown pass from nine yards out to cap a four-play, 71-yard drive with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter as SIU went up 40-7.
• Thompson went to Rontrez Morgan on back-to-back plays late in the third quarter with the second target going for a 23-yard touchdown connection as the Sycamores cut into the SIU lead with 2:53 remaining to close out the 13-play, 75-yard drive.
• Williams Jr. responded for the Salukis with a 43-yard touchdown run with 14:50 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the score at 47-20.
• Kurtis Wilderman found Hendrix for the redshirt junior wide receiver's second touchdown of the game for a one-yard touchdown pass in the right flat to put the score at 47-21 with 8:41 to play in the contest.

Inside the Statistics

• Indiana State finished the contest with 291 total offensive yards (98 rushing, 193 passing) in the loss on Saturday afternoon.
• The Sycamores posted 20 first downs on the day and averaged 4.3 yards per play in the contest.
• Southern Illinois held the 30:15-29:45 edge in time of possession and posted 29 first downs.
• The Salukis recorded 515 total offensive yards (282 rushing, 233 passing) and averaged 7.0 yards per play.
• Travis Reiner averaged 38.8 yards per punt over his four punts in the game with a 53-yard effort in the third quarter.
• The Sycamores had a season-high 125 penalty yards accessed to the team on 12 penalties in the contest.

News & Notes

• Dante Hendrix continues his catch streak on Saturday afternoon as the redshirt junior wide receiver hauled in a game-high 10 receptions in the contest. It marked Hendrix's second double-digit catch effort in the last four games and gave the Florence, Ky. native 32 receptions over the four-game span since returning from injury. He has caught at least one pass in 26 consecutive games.
• Hendrix's two-touchdown game was his first of the season and third of his career after hauling in a pair of one-yard scores on Saturday afternoon. He joins Phazione McClurge (Eastern Kentucky) as the lone Sycamore wide receivers with multi-touchdown receiving games in the 2021 season.
• Rontrez Morgan was back on the field for the first time since going down due to injury against Missouri State three weeks ago. Morgan finished the day with three catches for 32 yards and his first touchdown of the season, while extending his receiving streak to 13 consecutive games.
• Anthony Thompson posted his second two-touchdown game of the season on Saturday afternoon as he targeted by Hendrix and Morgan for scores in the loss.
• Geoffrey Brown's nine-tackle effort against the Salukis marked a season-high for the freshman linebacker, while his 1.5 tackles for loss continued a six-game streak where's brought down a ball-carrier behind the line of scrimmage.
• The Sycamores welcomed back Mekhi Ware to the field with a vengeance as the redshirt junior defensive back posted a pair of pass breakups in his first action since suffering an injury against Eastern Kentucky.
• JJ Henderson added two more pass breakups to run his season total to nine on the year.
• The Sycamores recognized 24 seniors in a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday's kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
• ISU falls to 28-30 all-time in the series matchup with the Salukis. 

Up Next
Indiana State closes out the 2021 regular season next weekend in Normal, Ill. as the Sycamores travel to Illinois State for a Saturday afternoon clash at Hancock Stadium. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Redbirds is set for 1 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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