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SIU keeps football season alive with stunning comeback

by les winkeler, the southern

Sunday, November 26, 2006 7:10 AM CST

CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University quarterback Nick Hill did not want it to be déjà vu all over again.

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Hill and his Salukis had the ball on their own 20 and trailed the University of Tennessee-Martin 30-28.

The Salukis were in a similar situation at Youngstown State three weeks ago. Hill drove SIU down to the Youngstown 2, but was tackled as time ran out.

This time the story had a happy ending.

Hill ran for one first down on the winning drive before throwing a game-winning 45-yard dart down the right sideline to Alan Turner. Turner sprinted into the end zone with just 57 seconds remaining, putting a cap on the 36-30 playoff victory.

The touchdown kept the Salukis alive in the Division I-AA playoffs. SIU travels to Montana Saturday to take on the Grizzlies. Montana defeated McNeese State 31-6.

"I said it all year, I've never seen a guy like him," SIU tailback Arkee Whitlock said. "He never loses his composure. He's a guy that makes a mistake and he's able to recuperate from it. He's rubber. He bends, but he doesn't break.

"One of the games that turned his whole season around was the Youngstown State game. He beat up on himself, thinking he could have done something to score at the end. He's been through adversity. He's been in those situations. He's been knocking at the door, right now it was time for somebody to let him in."

Hill said his teammates expressed confidence in him as he took the field.

"If you want to see somebody that keeps their team together, it's Andre Tillman," Hill said. "That kid has been through a lot. He plays football with some passion. I'll tell you what; he grabbed me by the facemask before I went out there on the two-minute drill and he just looked me in the eye and said, 'I trust in you. We're going to win this game.'"

Tillman's prediction came through on Hill's pitch and catch to Turner.

It appeared as if Turner might have pushed off on the play, but no flag was thrown.

"I have to go back and look," UT-Martin coach Jason Simpson said. "I'm sure there was stuff on both sides. I'm sure they thought they had calls, I'm sure we thought we had calls. That's part of football and that's why people buy tickets to come to the game."

"I can't comment on any of the officiating," Kill said. "When you're getting bumped and run in that situation, it could have going the other way. It's one of those things, in the game of football and the game of life there are things that happen. For whatever reason, good things happened to us.

"That's the best way I can put it because I don't want to get in trouble. I want to coach in the next game."

In Saturday's game, it took a long time for good things to happen to the Salukis.

They fell behind 14-0 within the first seven minutes. The Skyhawks scored on their opening drive, and then Jack Greenwood returned an interception 51 yards for a score with 8 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

"I probably shouldn't even have thrown it," Hill said. "I should have thrown it away. He made a good play."

That quick start dispelled any notion that UT-Martin, making its first playoff appearance, would suffer from butterflies.

"We're a very physical, a very tough team, mentally a very tough team," Simpson said. "I knew that wouldn't be an issue, being shell-shocked about being in the playoffs.

"That's one thing we talked about before the game, you should only be nervous about contests or things you're not prepared for. These guys were prepared."

They were prepared enough to carry a 14-7 lead into halftime. The Skyhawks then tacked on another touchdown to open the second half scoring.

However, Whitlock turned the game around in the third quarter.

The senior rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter alone. He finished the game with 207 yards rushing, his second 200-yard effort in the last four weeks.

"He's the best player in the country," Kill said. "Not the best running back, the best player."

Whitlock broke a 47-yard run late in the third quarter to cut the UT-Martin lead to 27-21. He tacked on his fourth touchdown, a 1-yard run with 9:42 remaining to give the Salukis their first lead of the game, 28-27.

The SIU defense gave up just a field goal in the final nine minutes, but Taylor Brown's 34-yard kick with 2 minutes, 44 seconds remaining put the Skyhawks on top 30-28.

Hill and the offensive unit had other ideas, driving for the touchdown that kept their season alive.

"It's just like Coach Kill always says, it's just like life," Hill said. "You just have to keep plugging, keep going at it and giving 100 percent and things will eventually go your way. In the first half, we weren't catching the breaks and in the second half we caught the breaks."

The Salukis tacked on a two-point conversion after Turner's touchdown, but the Skyhawks had 57 seconds to drive for a winning score. Those hopes ended when Derrick Belton picked off a Greg Preston pass at midfield.

"It sums up our year, it sums up the kind of kids we have," Kill said. "I think it sums up Southern Illinois. It sums up a hard hat, lunch pail, fight your guts out every day, never get down, never quit and find a way to get things done."

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com

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