By Ryan Keith 22

SIUC safety Sam Wilkerson and wide receiver Jeraldo Henry returned to the field from Saluki football coach Jan Quarless’ dog house and played the heroes’ roles for the Salukis Saturday night.

Wilkerson keyed a strong defensive effort with two interceptions, and Henry caught a 34-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter that turned out to be the Salukis’ winning score in a 23-10 victory over the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., in front of 34,432 fans.

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The win improved SIUC’s record to 3-4 overall, while South Florida falls to 2-5. The victory marked the fewest points the Saluki defense has allowed since a 10-7 win over Western Kentucky University in 1994.

Quarless said Wilkerson and Henry, who saw time as starters this season before being demoted, are starting to believe in Quarless’ discipline. Wilkerson did not dress last week for undisclosed reasons, and Reggie Fowler recently replaced Henry in the starting lineup.

It takes awhile for a young man to understand our philosophy and where we want to go, Quarless said in his postgame radio show. I think sometimes they look back and observe and observe. We test them, and they test us, and then they finally say, Let’s go for it.’ It seems to be working out, and I hope those two guys really grow from it.

South Florida opened the fourth quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run by Jermaine Clemons to bring the Bulls to within 13-10. After a Saluki punt, South Florida was on the move offensively when Wilkerson picked off quarterback Chad Barnhardt’s pass at the 46-yard line.

Wilkerson’s interception set up the Salukis’ final touchdown. Quarterback Kent Skornia found Henry on a diving catch in the end zone for a 34-yard grab that sealed the Salukis’ third win of the season and a 20-10 lead with 8 minutes and 9 seconds remaining.

South Florida had one last shot to get back in the ballgame, but Wilkerson came up with another crucial interception that set up a 37-yard field goal by Simonton for the 13-point win.

(They were) really heads-up plays by Sam (Wilkerson), Quarless said. We think Sam can be a good football player. Once he concentrates like we felt he did (Saturday), I think he’s capable of coming up with big plays like that.

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It was a big play by Jeraldo (Henry). I think he has a chance to be a fine football player. We keep stressing with him to keep digging and digging. Hopefully, he’ll improve.

Both teams missed excellent scoring chances to open Saturday’s contest. The Salukis drove down to the Bulls’ 2-yard line to open the game, but were forced to settle for a 18-yard field goal by Matt Simonton after they were stopped on three consecutive running plays.

South Florida drove down to the Salukis’ 2-yard line on the next possession but needed a 24-yard field goal to knot the score at 3-3.

The Salukis took a 10-3 lead at the end of another long drive to wrap up the first quarter on a 12-yard touchdown run by fullback Bryan Nolbertowicz. Neither team added to the score in the second quarter, and SIUC took a seven-point advantage into the locker room.

In the third quarter, the Saluki defense shut out the Bulls’ offense again, while Simonton added a 30-yard field goal with six minutes left for a 13-3 SIUC lead.

The SIUC defense had its best performance of the year by holding the Bulls to just 66 yards rushing and 197 yards passing. SIUC gave up more than 560 yards in total offense in a 31-29 win over Illinois State University Oct. 11.

I think they (South Florida) have a young offensive line, Quarless said. As they get in the weight room, they’re going to get better and better. That (the final score) had something to do with their youth, and it affected them. I really don’t want to see these guys in three years, to be frank.

The Salukis finished the game with 117 yards on 44 rushes, led by Karlton Carpenter’s 62 yards on 21 carries. Skornia passed for 192 on 13 of 22 attempts, with Henry catching his first three passes of the season for 67 yards. Fowler fell one shy of the school record of pass receptions in a career, set by Billy Swain. He has 122 after making two catches Saturday night.

SIUC plays Western Kentucky University at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at McAndrew Stadium. Western Kentucky, who was ranked No. 7 in Division I-AA last week, narrowly escaped an upset with a 24-21 win over the University of New Haven Saturday.

If you talked to everybody in 1997 in August, I think we’ve had three upsets already, Quarless said. Plus, we’ve just missed two others, so let’s go take another one on.