Despite building an early lead in their first playoff game in school history, the Skyhawk football team could not hold on to the advantage, falling victim to a second-half rally in a 36-30 loss to Southern Illinois in Carbondale on Saturday.

With his team trailing 30-28 and the Skyhawks less than one minute away from surviving to see the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, Saluki quarterback Nick Hill found wide receiver Alan Turner in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Salukis erased a 27-7 second-half deficit by handing the ball off to star running back Arkee Whitlock for 112 yards in the third quarter. Whitlock scored three times in the second half after the Skyhawk defense had contained him in the first 30 minutes of the game.

From the opening kickoff, the Skyhawks set out to prove that they belonged in the playoffs, building a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The scores came on both sides of the ball as Don Chapman punctuated the opening drive of the game with a one-yard plunge into the end zone and Jack Greenwood provided a huge defensive play by picking off a Hill pass and returning it 51 yards for the Skyhawks’ second touchdown.

The Skyhawks made quick work of their opening drive, taking only three plays to put the ball in the end zone.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Greg Preston saved his best performance of the season for last as he completed 10-of-16 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. His key contribution came when he capped off an 80-yard Skyhawk scoring drive with a four-yard pass to tailback Justin Glover with 7:45 remaining in the second quarter to finish the scoring in the first half.

Preston completed 7-of-9 passes in the first half, including the first play of the game, which went to junior college transfer Jesse Burton for 51 yards.

“I thought Greg did a nice job today. He’s a freshman. He grew up and made some plays today,” said Skyhawk first-year head coach Jason Simpson.

Following another Chapman score and a missed extra point by Skyhawk kicker Taylor Brown, the Salukis began their gut-wrenching comeback.

Whitlock, who gained 71 yards in the first half, nearly doubled that total in the third quarter alone. He continually found holes in the Skyhawk defensive line that had not existed in the first half.

“He’s as good as advertised,” Simpson said. “No question about it.” Perhaps surprised at their position heading into the second half, the Skyhawks found their lead more difficult to maintain than it had been to build.

Following the first of Whitlock’s third-quarter scores, which capped a 49-yard drive by the Payton Award finalist, the Skyhawks went three-and-out. The possession resulted in an Adam Ivey punt that traveled only 27 yards.

Ivey struggled in the second half, when he had to punt into the wind. As a result of the energized Saluki defense, he remained busy as the Skyhawks repeatedly faced third-and-long situations and found first downs to be elusive.

Ivey finished the game with four punts for an average of 25.8 yards. His best effort only traveled 29 yards.

“Playing against the wind was a little factor in this game,” Simpson said. “You didn’t want to hang a ball up there.”

The poor punting by the Skyhawks resulted in favorable field position for the Salukis, who took advantage of the situation.

Whitlock scored on runs of 11 and 47 yards in the third quarter on his way to 112 yards in the period. On the other side of the ball, Chapman finished the game with 108 yards on 31 carries.

The Skyhawks finished their milestone season at 9-3 and achieved a peak ranking of No. 8 in the national polls. Despite the disappointing outcome, they put on quite a show in their first playoff game, easily proving that they belong in the national football discussion.

“You hate coming out on the losing end in a game that was so tight,” Simpson said.

“I thought our kids represented us well today and gave us a chance to win at the end.”

SIU will travel to Montana for a second-round game on Dec. 2.