Indians' character shines in dramatic OT win

Southeast avoided its fourth straight loss with a late charge.

By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

As far as Andrew Goodenough and Derek Kutz were concerned, perhaps the most significant attribute of Southeast Missouri State University's scintillating 51-48, four-overtime win over Samford Saturday night was the heart the Indians displayed.

"I think that was the biggest thing," Goodenough, the Indians' senior quarterback, said. "We kept fighting back and hung in there."

Said Kutz, the Indians' senior kicker from St. Vincent High School, "This team never quits. Even though we lost our first three games and were behind most of the game tonight, we kept fighting back. We've got a lot of heart."

An announced crowd of 7,112 at Houck Stadium for Southeast's Ohio Valley Conference opener saw the Indians (1-3) pick up their first victory of the season -- and also witnessed the longest football game in school history.

Southeast had previously played two other overtime games, the last being a 42-41, double-overtime victory over Arkansas-Monticello in the 2002 season opener. Saturday's contest lasted about four hours and 20 minutes.

"I've never played in anything like that before," junior cornerback Kellin White said.

While Goodenough was somewhat overshadowed by the brilliant performance of Samford quarterback Ray Nelson -- who compiled 492 yards of total offense -- Southeast's signal caller more than held his own in a battle between the top two statistical quarterbacks in the OVC.

Goodenough completed 25 of 44 passes for 327 yards and two touchdowns, and he was not intercepted. In four games, Goodenough has already thrown for nearly 1,100 yards.

Senior tight end Ray Goodson from Jackson High School caught seven passes for 70 yards and junior wide receiver T.J. Milcic had a career game with four catches for 87 yards, including an unbelievable 47-yard touchdown grab late in regulation as he broke several tackles on his way to the end zone.

"Nelson is a great quarterback, but I was just trying to do my best to help us win," Goodenough said.

Kutz, Southeast's Copi-Rite player of the game who was also named the OVC special teams player of the week on Sunday, kicked the winning 22-yard field goal in the fourth overtime after junior safety Reggie AuBuchon intercepted Nelson's pass in the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line to keep things tied at 48-48.

Kutz also had a career-long field goal of 47 yards in the third overtime and booted a 38-yarder during regulation while making all six of his extra points.

"This is a huge win for us," Kutz said. "I think this could really get us going."

While Southeast's struggling and injury riddled defense allowed a whopping 591 yards -- Nelson rushed for 198 yards and passed for 294 yards -- the Indians' defenders did come up with several key plays during the game, including AuBuchon's interception in the fourth overtime.

Perhaps the game's biggest defensive play, however, took place midway through the third quarter. Samford led 20-10 and appeared poised to perhaps build an insurmountable lead with another touchdown.

But White, who did a good job shadowing Samford All-American receiver Efrem Hill all game long, intercepted one of Nelson's few poorly thrown passes of the night and raced untouched 43 yards for a touchdown that pulled Southeast within 20-17.

"He's a great receiver but I just tried to stay with him the best I could," White said.

A big factor in the game was the Indians having no turnovers while coming up with the two interceptions. Southeast entered the contest having forced just two turnovers while committing eight.

"We'd been turning the ball over, but to have no turnovers was a big key," Southeast coach Tim Billings said.

According to unofficial pressbox statistics, senior linebacker O.J. Turner from Central High School led the Indians in tackles with 13, including two for loss and a sack.

Junior linebacker Elijah Willis was credited with 11 tackles and senior end Adam Jones followed with nine.

Senior safety Chaun Tate, who returned from a one-game suspension, AuBuchon and true freshman safety Mark Dunaway all were credited with seven tackles.

With Southeast's secondary particularly banged up, Dunaway -- who prior to the Sept. 18 game at Central Michigan had been ticketed for a redshirt year -- received his first college start and Billings was impressed by the way the Central High School product handled himself.

AuBuchon has also moved into a starting role and the former star quarterback at North County High School also was solid Saturday.

"It's a lot different than playing quarterback, but I'm getting more used to it," AuBuchon said.

Said Billings, "We've had all these injuries, but we had a lot of guys step up. Mark Dunaway was supposed to redshirt, but now he's starting, and he's doing well. He's going to be a really good player."

Sophomore David Simonhoff, the nation's leading punter, also had another big game as he averaged 47 yards on nine punts, including a 73-yarder.

For all the big plays the game contained on both sides, Billings agreed with the original assessment of Goodenough and Kutz -- heart was perhaps the Indians' best attribute.

"We just hung in there and hung in there. We played hard and kept believing," Billings said. "I think this is the most heart we've shown since I've been here. We just never gave up."