By Ryan Keith 18

The 1997 season stung the SIUC football team a lot, but it was also a wake-up call for future success.

The Salukis stumbled out of the starting blocks in September and arrived at the finish line last Saturday with a 3-8 record. SIUC sandwiched several solid performances in between, but the result was a disappointment in Saluki head coach Jan Quarless’ inaugural campaign.

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I felt that even with so many things that we had to overcome, 3-8 really wasn’t where we wanted to be, Quarless said. To say it stung, I would say it did. I guess it’s again a viewpoint of how you look at it.

The Salukis finished sixth out of seven teams in the Gateway Football Conference, earning a lone conference win 31-29 against Illinois State University Oct. 11. SIUC edged out the Redbirds at the bottom of the conference standings.

But for Quarless, the season was more a matter of what could have been than what really was. SIUC made a habit of raising Quarless’ blood pressure this season, with five of its eight losses coming by five points or less.

At one point in the year, SIUC put together a losing streak in which it lost three games by a total of seven points. Quarless pointed to that stretch as the killer that prevented his team from reaching his goal of finishing with a record of 5-6 or 6-5.

The biggest factor this season was a lack of depth, and key injuries accentuated that fact as each week rolled by. The losses burned the Salukis throughout the last half of the season, especially in Saturday’s 28-17 loss to Southeast Missouri State University.

We don’t have a knockout punch, Quarless said. We’re not a strong football team like we were from week one to six. I’m still convinced that if we were healthy that might have been a different outlook in a couple of games at the end.

The lack of depth hit the Saluki defense especially hard, and the numbers are there to back it up.

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SIUC out-gained its opponents in the air 196.5 yards per game to 184.2 yards per game, but the running game was a different story. The Salukis gave up 3,030 rushing yards for the year, an average of 275.5 yards per game. SIUC averaged 121.7 yards per game on the ground.

The loss of key defensive starters to injury, such as defensive linemen Tavita Tovio and Doug Reicherter and linebacker Pat Izzo, forced Quarless to turn to several freshmen to deliver. Quarless said those players did a fine job, but they did not possess the strength or quickness needed to get the job done against top competition.

With 50 scholarships available, Quarless’ numbers sank to as low as 66 players by the end of the season. But despite small numbers, Quarless is intent on changing the direction of the program as soon as possible.

There’s a tremendous belief on my part that there’s no reason that we can’t get the job done, Quarless said. I am just overwhelmed by the fact that we have allowed our University to be encumbered by this low expectation level. I respect my opponent very much, but Southern Illinois belongs there.

A solid nucleus of about 40 players returns for Quarless’ next season, led offensively by quarterback Kent Skornia, wide receiver Cornell Craig and running back Karlton Carpenter. Tovio and cornerback Jean Baptiste lead a host of candidates for playing time who are returning for the defense.

With the recruiting season already underway, Quarless knows his work for 1998 officially started following Saturday’s game. But the veteran of 21 college coaching seasons is not ready to take a couple of weeks off before preparing for next year.

You can be rest assured that I won’t relax until we go where we’ve got to get to, Quarless said. I’ve never been known too much to relax. I like what I’m doing too much.