Wide receiver Kyle Thomas caught three touchdowns to lead the Southern Illinois football team past Indiana State 37-20 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The junior stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 190 pounds, and with this effort he became just the fifth Saluki ever to catch three receiving touchdowns in the same game. His 57-yard scoring catch with 5:58 left in the first quarter gave SIU a lead it never relinquished.
The victory brought Southern Illinois to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Thomas added touchdown grabs of 18 and 7 yards to help the Salukis pull even with two games left in the regular season.
Dawgs answer! DJ to Kyle Thomas for the score! South Dakota 14, SIU 7 – 1:50 left, second quarter pic.twitter.com/fEQkK8U7OY
Indiana State fell to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in conference play. The Sycamores scored 14 points in the fourth quarter when SIU inserted most of its reserves on defense, remaining winless in the league and dropping their sixth straight game after defeating Valparaiso on September 19.
With his performance, Thomas joined a historical group of Saluki receivers including Hall of Famer Cornell Craig, Brian Hamlett, LaVance Banks, and Rob Derricotte. It marked the first time any Saluki caught three receiving touchdowns in a single game since 1999.
Craig remains the only player in school history to accomplish the feat twice, having done so against Murray State and Illinois State during the 1999 season.
Defensively, the Salukis forced three turnovers and limited the Sycamores to 10 first downs. Linebackers Chris Presto and Charlie Whelpley paced the unit with seven stops each.
Sebastian Vargas and Matthew McClelland intercepted passes for SIU. The defense has recorded at least one takeaway in every game this season except one.
After ISU muffed a punt in the latter stages of the matchup, Ryan Algrim—the preseason All-American long snapper—pounced on the loose ball for a fumble recovery. Quarterback DJ Williams threw for 211 yards and four touchdowns while taking one sack without an interception.
Quade Chatmon led the Salukis on the ground with 82 rushing yards on 13 carries.
The Salukis will host No. 5 South Dakota State next on Saturday, November 14, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
