Salukis enjoy the elements in 27-7 win at Murray State
- Tom Weber
- Nov 1
- 3 min read
MURRAY, Ky. — It was cold, windy and rainy at Roy Stewart Stadium on Saturday, yet Southern Illinois savored every moment of miserable weather throughout a 27-7 win at Murray State.
From the opening kick to the final whistle, players were jumping up and down, encouraging each other and just having an old-fashioned good time in the kind of sloppy conditions you might have enjoyed as a kid.
“It was a fun game to coach in, and it just shows that we’re a team that loves playing football,” said SIU head coach Nick Hill. “That sounds easy, but there are guys on the sideline who aren't playing, and they're cheering for their teammates. There's only 20 guaranteed days left together. We've been talking about how it's a good group and we want to try to play as long as we can together.”
In the thick of the playoff hunt, the No. 16-ranked Salukis (6-3, 3-2) set the tone on the opening drive. Quarterback DJ Williams guided a 15-play, 72-yard scoring drive, plunging into the end zone from one-yard out. It was SIU’s seventh opening-drive TD in nine games.
Williams was the engine that drove Southern’s offense, passing for 171 yards and rushing for 90. Sloppy conditions nothwithstanding, he added a five-yard TD run in the second quarter and also threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to running back Lem Wash in the fourth.
“Coming back to where it all started for me was surreal for a moment,” said Williams, who played his first three seasons at Murray State. “I had to take it all in, but at the end of the day, I just wanted to get a win, and that's what we did and I'm blessed to get that done.”
Southern grinded out 233 yards of its 404 total yards on the ground. Running back Eddie Robinson had 109 yards on 18 tries for a 6.1 average, topping 100 yards for the second time in his career.
“It's a blessing to see Ed continue to grow in this game, get his confidence back,” Williams said. “It's November football and it's the right time to get the running game going.”
Defensively, the Salukis were led by safety Cejai Parson, who recorded a pair of interceptions, one at the SIU 10 and another at the SIU 5 that turned away potential points for the Racers (0-9, 0-5).
“Man, this is the best game I ever played in my life,” Parson beamed. “So for it to be coming off an injury, knowing how I couldn't be there for my team last week, it's a testament to the guys around me, trusting me to be in that position.”
The Salukis forced three turnovers in the game, with defensive tackle Caden Reeves recovering a fumble in the second half.
“Creating turnovers is something we’ve been taking pride in a lot lately, because it had slipped from our bag,” Reeves said. “But that's just what you got to do to win in this conference.”
Southern’s defense held Murray State to 300 yards and 3-of-10 conversions on third down. The unit also got a big fourth-down stop on the Racers opening drive.
“I feel like we were really prepared on the defensive side of the ball,” said defensive end Donnie Wingate, who recorded a sack. “It was just fun to play in this environment. Our motto is to just have high energy, punch them in the mouth and play our game.”
With only a handful of fans still left in the stadium at the end of the game, Southern stayed on sideline to sing the school fight song in the pouring rain.
“When you want to be a championship team, you know you're going to have to play in this type of weather — the rain, the cold, no matter what,” Parson said. “When you're trying to make the playoffs, every game matters. You can't come in and take anybody for granted. We prepare the same way every week because we know what it means in November.”
Photos by Cheyenne Bruce
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