Defenseless Southeast almost pulls out miracle

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Southeast Missouri State's defense continued to contain more holes than Swiss cheese, and this time the offense also couldn't hold up its end of the bargain.

Yet somehow, the Indians nearly pulled off the miracle before Eastern Illinois held on for a 35-28 Ohio Valley Conference victory in front of 10,124 fans at O'Brien Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Indians fell to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in OVC play while the Panthers improved to 2-2 and 1-0.

"It's not easy, is it?" EIU coach Bob Spoo said after nearly seeing his team blow a late 21-point lead.

EIU's triumph wasn't secured until Southeast wide receiver T.J. Milcic was unable to come down with quarterback Andrew Goodenough's desperation pass into the end zone on the game's final play.

"I think I was the first guy to hit it, but one of their guys kind of grabbed my arm and did a good job knocking it away," said Milcic, who had a career day by catching 13 passes for 145 yards. "I almost had it."

After Milcic was denied among a crowd of EIU defenders in the end zone, the Panthers were finally able to exhale after an apparent rout turned into a tense affair, thanks largely to a pair of late blocked punts.

"Special teams helped us out," Milcic said. "If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have had a chance."

Southeast, which was outgained in total yardage by a staggering 612 to 378 count, trailed 35-14 midway through the fourth quarter. At that point, the only question left appeared to be just how lopsided the final margin of victory would be.

But then the Indians' special teams turned the tide in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

With EIU facing fourth down at its 35-yard line, Tom Schofield had his punt blocked by Brian Matthews after a low snap. Chaun Tate retrieved the football and raced 12 yards to the end zone, slicing EIU's lead to 35-21 with 8 minutes and 9 seconds remaining.

"Brian blocked it, and I just happened to be there to pick it up," Tate said. "That got us back in it."

EIU was hit with a 15-yard roughing the kicker penalty on Derek Kutz's successful extra point, allowing Southeast to kick off from midfield.

Kutz attempted an onside kick and, although he appeared to hit it a bit too hard and deep, the ball bounced off an EIU player and Southeast's Corey Andrade recovered at the Panthers' 32-yard line.

Four plays later, tailback David Taufoou's second touchdown of the game, a 13-yard run with 6:54 remaining, made the score 35-28. All of a sudden, the game was on.

Southeast's defense forced a punt on the ensuing possession, and the Indians took over in great field position at EIU's 48-yard line. But the drive stalled. As Kutz lined up for a 48-yard field goal attempt, a low snap forced holder Chris NesSmith to roll out, but his pass fell incomplete.

Still, the Indians were not done, even after EIU took over with 2:50 remaining and gained one first down to bleed all but seven seconds off the clock.

Schofield had another punt blocked -- Tate said Matthews did the honors again -- and, although Schofield fell on the ball, Southeast took over on EIU's 33-yard line with 1.6 seconds left. But Goodenough and Milcic just missed making connections to end things.

"I don't know what happened on the two punts," Spoo said. "The first one obviously was a low snap. I don't know what happened on the second one."

Said EIU quarterback Matt Schabert of Southeast's final pass: "I just put my head down and was hoping somebody would knock it down."

Schabert, a Wisconsin transfer, more than did his part to hurt the Indians. He completed 16 of 30 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown. Schabert also rushed for 56 yards.

Sophomore tailback Vincent Webb, who was recruited by Southeast and is the cousin of Indians' cornerback Marco Tipton, also had a big day for the Panthers. He rushed for 155 yards on 25 carries and scored four touchdowns. EIU ripped Southeast for 297 rushing yards.

"We just need to execute," said Tate, a safety, of Southeast's defense that entered the game ranked last in the country by allowing an average of 536 yards per game -- and that figure went up Saturday.

EIU scored on three of its first four possessions while Southeast's offense struggled early as the Panthers built a 21-0 lead less than five minutes into the second quarter.

The Indians were fortunate to trail just 21-7 at halftime after Goodenough's 12-yard touchdown pass to Brian Matthews with 11 seconds left before the intermission. EIU's other four first-half possessions also went into Southeast territory but the Panthers failed to capitalize.

EIU scored on the first possession of the second half to go up 28-7. Goodenough -- who completed 34 of 49 passes for 321 yards -- and Taufoou connected on a 10-yard TD strike midway through the third quarter to pull Southeast within 28-14.

Webb's fourth TD of the day -- a 20-yard run with 5:18 left in the third period -- put the Panthers ahead 35-14 and appeared to ice the victory.

Southeast at least made things interesting down the stretch, but as far as coach Tim Billings was concerned, the Indians got what they deserved.

"The score was deceiving," he said. "We played horrible, and it was a miracle we had a chance at the end."