MACOMB, Ill. (AP) _ Mark Zanders threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns Saturday in leading Western Illinois to a 68-27 rout of Southern Illinois.

Western's Leathernecks (5-2, 1-2 Gateway Conference), ranked 20th in the latest NCAA Div. I-AA poll, went up 28-0 and led 35-13 at halftime.

The Salukis (3-4, 0-3), who have now lost 16 in a row to the Leathernecks in their annual meetings, got 202 yards passing and 144 rushing from quarterback Sherard Poteete, who carried 16 times and was 16-of-33 passing. He was sacked four times and was intercepted twice.

The 68 points was the most scored by the Leathernecks in a Gateway game and was the fifth highest in school history.

The two teams combined for 1,052 total yards of offense, including 625 for Western Illinois.

Leatherneck Rashad Harris carried the ball 8 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

SIU's Cornell Craig caught four passes for 71 yards. He has grabbed at least one pass in 34 straight games to break the league mark. His 19-yard scoring pass from Poteete was his 30th career TD, two shy of the school record.