 "Photo:")
Dale Lennon will finish the season as the most successful first-year head coach in SIU history, but he is not satisfied.
The SIU football team travels to Illinois State Saturday and is guaranteed to end the season with at least eight wins, which would make Lennon just the third coach to finish with a winning record during his first year at SIU.
Furthermore, Lennon could become just the third coach in Missouri Valley Football Conference history to win the league during his first year in the conference.
Lennon, though, said the focus remains on Illinois State.
"We set out at the beginning of the season to win a conference championship, and this game presents that to us," Lennon said. "It is satisfying to a certain point, but we still haven't finished what we have started."
An SIU win would clinch a share of the Valley crown and its automatic playoff bid because SIU defeated Northern Iowa earlier this season.
A loss, though, would force the Salukis (8-2, 6-1 MVFC) to earn their sixth straight playoff appearance via an at-large bid, which is selected by the Football Championship Subdivision Football Committee.
But Lennon and the Salukis are not taking any chances.
"This is a must-win situation for us," Lennon said. "If we win, we are in, and if we don't win, we don't know what is going to happen."
The Redbirds (3-7, 2-5 MVFC) enter the game on the verge of their second consecutive losing season and have lost five of their last six games.
Redbirds head coach Denver Johnson, (whose job is rumored to be on the line) said the 2008 slate was the most difficult season of his nine-year career with Illinois State.
"It has been such a disappointing year," Johnson said. "But the kids are resilient. It's been the most frustrating season I've been associated with. But we are trying to make the best out of the last week of practice."
Illinois State's season may have been epitomized during its 48-45 overtime loss to Western Illinois last week. The Redbirds scored 17 second-half points but lost on a last-second Western Illinois field goal.
"That was a heartbreaking loss," Johnson said.
But the overtime loss is what has Lennon concerned.
"You look at what they were able to do with Western Illinois by putting up 45 points - that was very impressive game from an offensive attack," Lennon said.
Illinois State boasts three playmakers that could pose threats to the SIU defense.
A running back duo of Geno Blow and Walter Mendenhall present a combination of speed and strength while wide receiver Eyad Salem has quickly developed into one of the Valley's top receiving threats.
"(The running backs) have two different styles that you have to be aware of because that can give you some problems defensively in adjusting to who is in the backfield," Lennon said.
Mendenhall enters the game on a recent tear that has seen him rush for more than 400 yards and seven touchdowns in the last three games.
Mendenhall was limited in carries early in the season but has cashed in on a bigger role as of late.
Defensive nose tackle Chris Arthurs said Mendenhall's limited playing time has made him somewhat difficult to prepare for.
"When you don't know much about a guy or he hasn't had a lot of reps in a season, it's a little bit harder to prepare for him," Arthurs said. "They are both good backs who can run the football well, so we have to plug some gaps and stop them."
Brian Feldt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 256 or bfeldt@siude.com.
