His coach said nobody felt more pressure, and Joel Sambursky admitted to being nervous. Both of them could have fooled Eastern Saturday.

After breaking numerous conference and school records, collecting player of the year honors and being a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, you’d think Sambursky, Southern Illinois’ quarterback, would have nothing left to prove. Wrong.

The fifth-year senior came into Saturday’s first-round playoff game against Eastern trying to do something he’d failed to do twice before – win in the postseason.

“I felt like I had to lead my team to victory today,” Sambursky said. “This group has fought through a lot of games and taken a lot of heat because we’d go home early.”

Sambursky was a freshman in the SIU program when the team went 1-10 in Jerry Kill’s first season in Carbondale, now he is a part of a dominant senior class that won a playoff game for the first time since 1983.

“I told him along with the other seniors after the game that the pressure is now off,” Kill said. “”The bottom line is we’re doing what it takes to win. We don’t care how we win right now – just win.”

Sambursky’s next two seasons ended with bitter disappointment as the Salukis were bounced in the opening round, once as the No. 1 overall seed.

Sambursky’s second pass looked like a pass thrown by a quarterback who had started 48 straight games at quarterback, including three in the playoffs. The signal caller hit receiver Quorey Payne down the right sideline for a 51-yard gain. The former defensive back’s first reception led to a touchdown and an early 7-3 lead for Southern Illinois.

“The bomb was probably the biggest play in the game,” Sambursky said. “We tried to spread things out and (Payne) is so fast that it helps us do that.”

The bomb to Payne was the second longest touchdown pass this season for Sambursky.

Sambursky is known as a dual threat and owns the school’s career rushing record for a quarterback with 1,075 yards. His mobility allowed him to move around and buy more time to throw against Eastern. At one point, Sambursky was 7-of-8 for 60 yards and led an eight-play drive that would’ve meant more points for SIU if not for a shanked 39-yard field goal.

“Sometimes as a quarterback you just get into a zone and I was able to just find receivers,” Sambursky said. “This was a good, physical defense so I was able to move around laterally instead of scrambling for yards.”

Sambursky finished the game 15-of-21 for 189 yards, not exactly gaudy numbers for a player up for several conference and national awards. But Kill put his quarterback’s performance into perspective.

“We do not win this football game today without him period,” Kill said. “He is a special kid that is as tough as they come.”

Kill also was able to watch his fifth-year senior deal with the pressures of being the highlighted offensive player on a team that failed to meet high expectations.

“This means a whole lot for me to watch him today after the last two seasons,” Kill said. “He’s set numerous records and all that but he only cared about winning the entire time.”