Karim's late TD rescues S. Illinois
Running back Deji Karim scored a game-winning, last-minute touchdown to lift No. 6 Southern Illinois past Youngstown State 24-17 on Saturday in Carbondale, keeping the Salukis (6-0, 2-0 Gateway Conference) undefeated.
Karim's 15-yard touchdown run came with 1:50 left during a fourth quarter that started with both teams tied at 17-17. Youngstown State (4-2, 1-1 Gateway) then tried to turn things around, managing to make it to the Salukis' 41-yard line, only to see two incompletions thrown by quarterback Tom Zetts.
Zetts finished 19 of 32 passing for 164 yards and 1 interception.
Youngstown State took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, starting with a 42-yard field goal from Brian Palmer and a 12-yard run by Fernando Williams.
SIU didn't score until the second quarter, when John Randle scored on a 5-yard run at 14:10. The Salukis tied the game at 10-10 just before the half as Kyle Dougherty made a 32-yard field goal.
Justin Allen scored the only points of the third quarter to put SIU ahead 17-10.
Missouri St. 58, Illinois St. 41: Freshman quarterback Cody Kirby threw for 4 touchdowns to rally host Missouri State (4-2, 1-1 Gateway) to a comeback win over No. 23 Illinois State (2-4, 1-1).
Kirby threw for 277 yards on 17-for-24 passing as Missouri State watched its early 17-0 lead evaporate when ISU scored four consecutive times in the second quarter.
But Missouri State outscored Illinois State 21-6 in the third quarter with 2 of the scores coming on Kirby passes to regain the lead for good at 45-34.
Geno Blow finished with 155 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns for ISU.
W. Illinois 19, Indiana St. 7: Herb Donaldson rushed for 191 yards and a touchdown to lead Western Illinois (4-2, 1-0 Gateway) over host Indiana State (0-6, 0-2).
The Leathernecks had a 6-0 lead on 2 Taylor Rowan field goals when Donaldson scored on a 5-yard run in the third quarter to complete a 15-play, 92-yard drive.
Indiana State responded with a 3-yard touchdown pass by Reilly Murphy to Brian Jackson midway through the fourth quarter, but WIU quarterback Matt Barr later scored on a 9-yard run.
WIU rushed for 338 yards on 71 carries, totaling 424 yards in offense to 264 for Indiana State. It was the 11th career 100-yard rushing game for Donaldson and his fourth of the season.
Alex Douglas added 95 yards rushing on 24 carries for the Leathernecks.
E. Kentucky 28, E. Illinois 21: Quarterback Allan Holland threw 2 touchdown passes to launch Eastern Kentucky (4-2, 3-0 Ohio Valley) past host Eastern Illinois (3-3, 2-1).
Holland was 30-for-44 for 321 yards for the Colonels.
Eastern Kentucky was up 15-14 at the half and scored on three of its first four possessions in the second half.
Eastern Illinois' Ademola Adeniji rushed for 186 yards and had 3 receptions for 58 yards.
The Panthers, down 28-14 in the fourth quarter, made one final charge, scoring a touchdown with 1:30 remaining to make it 28-21. They then tried an onside kick, but Eastern Kentucky recovered and ran out the clock.