SALUKIS MAKE SHORT WORK OF TRIBE

So, who needs Karlton Carpenter anyway?

Certainly not the Southern Illinois University football team -- at least not Thursday night.

With their all-time leading rusher on the sidelines in street clothes as he is embroiled in legal problems, the Salukis still were able to cruise past Southeast Missouri State University's Indians 43-25 in the season opener for both squads.

An announced crowd of 9,112 at Houck Stadium watched the Indians get totally dominated and physically manhandled in the first half. They came on a bit in the second half but it was way too little, too late.

It was certainly not an encouraging sign for a Southeast squad trying to turn things around after several dismal seasons. The Indians have not compiled a winning record since 1994 and they have gone 10-23 over the past three years.

But not even the last few years could be considered as dismal as what happened for much of Thursday night against a team not regarded as one of the better squads on Southeast's 1999 schedule.

At halftime, the Indians had a grand total of one first down and seven yards of offense. During that same span, SIU had 14 first downs and 298 yards. SIU led 26-7 at the break.

"It was an abysmal first half," said Southeast coach John Mumford. "I'd call seven yards being totally dominated. We were flat, unemotional. I thought we were tight offensively.

"We were probably lucky to be down only 26-7 because our defense was on the field most of the half."

Things actually started off with a bang for Southeast.

On the game's third play, SIU quarterback Sherard Poteete dropped back to pass and was hammered by defensive end Joel Becker. The ball popped loose and was scooped up by linebacker Donovan LaViness, who raced 30 yards untouched to the end zone. Nick Reggio's conversion gave Southeast a 7-0 lead just 40 seconds into the contest.

But that was all Indian fans had to cheer about in the first two quarters.

SIU quickly tied things on a 39-yard pass from Poteete to Cornell Craig and went ahead 10-7 on Scott Everhart's 22-yard field goal.

As the Salukis' defense continued to throttle Southeast's offense, SIU tacked on 16 more points in the second quarter. Everhart kicked a 28-yard field goal, quarterback Ryan Douglass -- who shared time with Poteete -- ran 13 yards for a touchdown and Poteete hit Mark Shasteen with a 5-yard TD toss with one second left before halftime.

"I'm proud of our football team, particularly after we had the early error," said SIU coach Jan Quarless. "You're always fearful of adversity but we hung with it and Sherard bounced back well."

The Indians' offense finally got going in the second half, putting up 18 points. Everhart and Reggio exchanged field goals to leave Southeast behind 29-10 in the third quarter.

SIU true freshman tailback Tom Koutsos, who ripped the Indians for 194 yards in his collegiate debut, broke off a 19-yard touchdown run just 20 seconds before the end of the third period to seemingly put the Salukis in total control at 35-10.

But the Indians still had a little life left in them. They scored 15 straight points, getting a 49-yard TD strike from quarterback Bobby Brune to redshirt freshman wide receiver Jerl Huling, a 7-yard TD run by Brune and Brune's two-point conversion run.

All of a sudden it was 35-25 and the Indians had visions of a big-time comeback, especially after they recovered an onside kick with eight minutes left.

But a fake punt failed and, on the next play, Koutsos raced 54 yards for a TD that sealed the verdict. SIU almost put 50 on the board but the Salukis were stopped inside the Southeast 1-yard line in the closing seconds.

"It's a nice way to start the season," said Quarless.

That certainly wasn't the case for the Indians. But Mumford tried to remain positive despite the lopsided defeat.

"We have 10 games left," he said. "We have to shake this one quick. We have to learn from it and bounce back."

Koutsos, a player who the Indians tried to recruit at one time, probably wouldn't have even played were it not for Carpenter's legal problems and a knee injury suffered to former Kansas State transfer Paul Davis.

"The young kid did a great job running the football and a lot of credit goes to the offensive line," Quarless said.

SIU, which spent much of the second half trying to drain the clock, finished with 438 yards.

Southeast wound up with 205 yards, just 22 on the ground. Brune was 11-for-25 for 183 yards, with two interceptions. He was sacked six times.

Poteete completed nine of 18 for 146 yards. He was picked off once, by Isaac Powell.