A pair of polls have Southeast rated low in OVC race

The Ohio Valley Conference's football media day will be Monday in Nashville, Tenn., as the league's official preseason poll is released.

OVC head football coaches and sports information directors vote on the predicted order of finish for the 2004 season -- and it's doubtful they'll project Southeast Missouri State University to fare as poorly as some major national media outlets have.

Considering the Indians return 16 starters from a team that came within one victory of its first Ohio Valley Conference title, I figured most people would pick them at least in the upper portion of the league this year, maybe third or fourth.

But Street & Smith's magazine surprisingly picked Southeast a lowly seventh out of nine, although the magazine selected highly touted junior college transfer defensive back Charles McCoy as its newcomer of the year.

And The Sports Network, which covers NCAA Division I-AA football more extensively than any other organization, only rated the Indians 54th nationally among 98 scholarship I-AA programs. Among OVC squads, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Samford and Tennessee State were all ranked ahead of Southeast.

The 2004 Indians may or may not win the OVC championship, but I have a hard time envisioning them finishing as poorly as seventh. But only time will tell.

NFL training camps are scheduled to begin in the next several days, which means it's getting close to being an extremely important time for two Southeast products.

Wide receiver Willie Ponder, who was drafted by the New York Giants in the sixth round last year and made the team, will need to once again display his considerable skills this summer in order to earn a repeat roster spot.

Offensive lineman Eugene Amano, drafted by Tennessee in the seventh and final round this year, will also have to show the Titans plenty to make the squad.

Without a whole lot of fanfare, another former Southeast gridiron star -- one of the school's all-time greats, in fact -- retired prior to this year's Canadian Football League season after a star-studded career as among the CFL's premier running backs.

Kelvin "Earthquake" Anderson, Southeast's all-time rushing leader who completed his eligibility with the Indians in 1994, played in the CFL for eight seasons and piled up more than 9,000 yards on the ground.

The New Madrid County High School graduate was with the Calgary Stampeders from 1996 through 2002 and set the franchise's career rushing record with 8,292 yards, as he was a four-time CFL All-Star. He has six of the Stampeders' top 12 single-season rushing performances, with a high of 1,383 yards that ranks fourth all-time.

Anderson also had a big season last year with the B.C. Lions before deciding to call it a career, and word has it he will be part of Southeast's next Athletic Hall of Fame induction class to be announced soon.

It didn't take long for Advance High School product and former University of Missouri pitching standout Garrett Broshuis to earn a promotion in his rookie professional baseball season.

Broshuis, drafted in the fifth round by San Francisco last month, was recently moved up from short-season Class A Salem-Keizer (Ore.) to Class A San Jose (Calif.) of the California League.

Broshuis had been dominant for Salem-Keizer, going 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA. In 19 2/3 innings, he allowed 15 hits, struck out 23 and walked four.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.