The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Hit knocks Sambursky out of game

SIU quarterback taken off field on stretcher after vicious hit causes him to lose consciousness

Derek Anderson ~ Daily Egyptian SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky walks to the sideline dejected after one of his three turnovers on the day. Later in the third quarter Sambursky was blindsided and was motionless on the filed for 20 minutes before being carried off on a stretcher.

NEWARK, Del. - Joel Sambursky never saw it coming.

As he dropped back to pass in the closing seconds of the third quarter in Saturday's first round playoff game against Delaware, the SIU quarterback was blindsided by defensive end Chris Mooney.

This was not a rare sight as Sambursky had taken vicious hit after vicious hit all season only to hop right back up on his feet.

Only this time he did not get up.

Not only did he not get up, Sambursky also was not moving, period.

The hit caused Sambursky to lose consciousness for about a minute. When he regained consciousness, he was able to move, but trainers tried to keep him as still as possible as a precautionary measure.

"When a kid's not moving, you panic," SIU head coach Jerry Kill said. "It doesn't matter what side of the ball; you want to see him get up."

After the game, in addition to the pain felt by the 48-7 thumping administered by No. 2-seed Delaware, the injury to Sambursky was prominent on the players' minds.

Sophomore defensive tackle Mark Philipp, who is one of Sambursky's roommates, was having a hard time even talking about his fallen friend.

When asked how much the injury affected the squad, Philipp buried his head in his hands and tried to hold back tears as he slowly shook his head.

"Just hurts, man," Philipp said as he began to choke up. "That's my roommate, and he's hurt."

Philipp's reaction was not uncommon among Saluki players.

Throughout the season, Sambursky was the heart of the Salukis. When he lay motionless on the field, that heart stopped.

"A lot of emotions are going through you," senior wide receiver Courtney Abbott said. "We were all saying a prayer for him, hoping he's all right."

Sambursky was tended to by trainers from both SIU and Delaware for about 15 to 20 minutes before finally being placed on a stretcher.

The sophomore was strapped on with his head immobilized. Trainers chose not to risk removing his helmet.

After he was off the field and in an ambulance destined for the hospital, Sambursky's teammates had to continue without their emotional leader.

The Salukis came out strong the next few plays but after failing to score on the possession appeared to be deflated the rest of the game.

"It tears your guts up, and it definitely hurts," Kill said. "I think our kids handled it as good as they could."

Sambursky was put through a series of tests - all of which came back negative - at the hospital before being released in time to catch the team's flight back to Carbondale.