CARBONDALE, Ill. – In a well-rounded display, the Southern Illinois University football team defeated Thomas More, 49-3, in the season-opener on Saturday.

“I thought there was a lot of good, and there’s a lot of things we’re going to have to get better from,” head coach Nick Hill said. “For the opening night, I was really happy with the effort, the cleanliness of the play. We didn’t turn the ball over and we took it away.”

Southern Illinois totaled 238 yards in the win, with 148 coming on the ground and 238 coming through the air. Defensively, the Salukis held Thomas More to 191 total yards while also not allowing the visitors into the endzone.

“If we’re a defense that continually makes teams kick field goals, we’ll be where we want to be defensively,” Hill said. “It’s not looking at stats or yards. It’s what’s the score, how did we play in situational football, and tonight we did a great job.”

The defense also forced five turnovers: three fumbles and two interceptions. Freshman linebacker David Obadein registered his first interception as a Saluki in the form of a pick-six at the 10:40 mark of the fourth quarter.

Fellow freshman Cameron Cason also had his first-career interception in the final quarter.

Quarterback DJ Williams, who was playing in his first game since Sept. 14, 2024, vs. Incarnate Word, had a strong overall 2025 debut. Williams went 17-for-24 with 227 passing yards and three touchdowns to go along with four rushing attempts for 18 yards and one touchdown.

Williams capped off an eight-play, 69-yard opening drive with a 10-yard rush into the endzone for the first score of the game. The rushing touchdown was the fifth of the senior quarterback’s Saluki career.

Both of Thomas More’s drives in the opening quarter ended in punts, with the first lasting three plays for seven yards and the second going for 11 yards in five plays. At the end of the quarter, the Salukis led, 7-0.

Early in the second, Southern Illinois capitalized on a Thomas More fumble as Williams connected with Jay Jones for 18 yards and SIU’s second touchdown of the game. About five minutes later, Williams found another receiver in the form of Jackson Parker. From 17 yards out, Southern’s signal caller located Parker to give the hosts a 21-0 advantage.

The Saints’ lone three points of the game came off of a Luke Iden 29-yard field goal with 2:15 to go in the first half.

In the final seconds of the opening half, running back Lem Wash ran for a one-yard touchdown to give the Salukis a 28-3 advantage through 30 minutes.

Southern Illinois found the endzone three more times in Saturday’s game. Williams’ third passing touchdown and fourth overall of the night came via a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Fabian McCray at the 9:55 mark of the third quarter.

After Obadein’s pick-six, freshman running back Quade Chatmon found the endzone for the first time as a Saluki with 7:28 left in the fourth. This gave SIU a 49-3 lead, which would end up being the final score.

Vinson Davis III led the team in receiving in the win, tallying five receptions for 89 yards. Linebacker Andrew Behm’s six tackles were a team-high.

Up Next

Southern Illinois will go on its first road trip of the season next Saturday as it faces the Big Ten’s Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind., at 6:30 p.m. CT.

Follow the Salukis

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Football, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiFootball and on Instagram at @SIU_Football. Fans can also download the “Salukis” Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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