CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University's football team simply wasn't done after putting up 28 points in less than 20 minutes Saturday against Indiana State.

With a résumé of three double-digit leads that failed to turn into easy victories, the Salukis did everything to get the job done quickly against the winless Sycamores. Former Herrin High School standout Kyle Walker scored off a fumble recovery and Lucien Walker and Richard White added their first touchdowns of the season on the way to a 60-7 homecoming victory.

Damian Sherman and SIU quarterback Chris Dieker opened the floodgates, hooking up on the first play from scrimmage for a 60-yard touchdown.

"We came out strong, scoring on the opening drive," Dieker said. "It kind of set the tone for the rest of the game, and we just built on it throughout the rest of the first half."

SIU led Hampton 20-0 and Northern Iowa by 17 in the second half before holding on for its two wins. The Salukis led North Dakota State 20-0 on the road last weekend, but couldn't hold on as the Bison rallied to win, 35-27.

There would be no comeback for the Sycamores on Saturday. Larry Warner, who finished a short day with 67 yards on seven carries, helped SIU's highest-scoring day of the season with a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:47 left in the opening quarter. Kyle Dougherty converted the second of seven extra points on the day for a 14-0 lead.

The second quarter brought more to celebrate as SIU (3-2 overall, 2-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) won its sixth straight league game at home.

Indiana State (0-6, 0-2) fell for the 20th straight time and now has the NCAA's longest current losing streak at any division.

Dieker scored his first career touchdown when he threw a screen pass to wide receiver Matt Guinn, then got it back. Guinn, a backup wideout, caught Dieker's pass near the left sideline, looked downfield, then turned to his right and threw toward the other sideline in search of good news. Dieker caught Guinn's pass, turned upfield, and found some maroon jerseys to block for him on the way to a 36-yard touchdown.

"We wanted to be aggressive for the first half and definitely not give Indiana State any chance of a comeback," SIU coach Dale Lennon said. "As the half continued, I think we just eventually overwhelmed them.

"That was the goal of the start, to hopefully come out and play well early, and then get some playing time for some individuals that could be very key for us down the road."

Safety Lance Caldwell scored the first defensive touchdown of the season when he blocked Gabe Mullane's punt near the 3-yard line and returned it into the end zone. Walker, a former Southern Illinoisan Offensive Player of the Year at Herrin, scored his second career touchdown when he picked up a fumble and waltzed into the end zone from eight yards out.

Dougherty then turned into a magician on the extra-point try with 6:29 to go in the half.

SIU's sophomore kicker picked up a bad snap and ran for his life toward the right sideline. Before he ran out of room, he threw it toward the back of the end zone. Jason Seaman, a 6-foot-5 defensive end, came up with the football in the back right-hand corner for the two-point conversion and a 36-0 lead.

SIU took a 50-0 lead into the locker rooms and started preparing its backups.

Indiana State broke the shutout when backup quarterback Calvin Schmidtke found Ryan Patrick behind the defense for a 48-yard touchdown with 5:25 to play in the third quarter. Schmidtke was nearly sacked as he rolled right, but found enough room to plant his feet and hit Patrick down the right sideline.

Redshirt freshman Matt Seliger, one of 16 underclassmen that started Saturday for the Sycamores, finished 3 of 4 for 15 yards. All of his attempts came in the first half.

Nine different players scored for the Salukis, who head to Youngstown State next weekend. SIU is yet to win on the road this season, but may have taken some big steps Saturday.

"It was what we needed," Lennon said. "It was a game where we hoped we could do what we did today."

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087@thesouthern.com / 351-5087