Attitude has been critical in season of Indians' surprises

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's football team came to this Bluegrass town with high hopes of finally turning the tables on big, bad Eastern Kentucky.

The Indians, closing in on their first winning season since 1994, didn't seem to care that the Colonels are the nation's 16th-ranked NCAA Division I-AA squad or that they have owned Southeast over the years, winning all 12 meetings since the teams began playing each other in 1990.

The Indians also apparently weren't fazed that none of those previous games with EKU was particularly close and most of them were lopsided.

That's the kind of confidence and attitude third-year coach Tim Billings and his staff have slowly but surely instilled in their team since they took over the program. The Indians no longer expect to get beat on by perennial powerhouses. These days, they expect to administer the punishment.

That happened Saturday for the Indians in this season of firsts as they produced another real stunner -- a 35-21 upset of the vaunted Colonels that spoiled Roy Kidd's farewell party.

Not only did Kidd, EKU's legendary coach participating in his final home game after 39 seasons on the sidelines, fail to win his 315th game.

More importantly, the Indians finally beat the Colonels for the first time. And the way they did it was particularly impressive. Southeast physically dominated a team that rarely has been dominated, piling up 463 yards and holding EKU to 194 yards.

And perhaps most important of all for the Indians, they improved their record to 7-4, which guarantees them their first winning season since 1994 and only their second winning record since moving up to Division I-AA in 1991.

But, with just one game remaining, the possibilities don't end there for the Indians. A victory next Saturday at home against Samford -- and Southeast will clearly be favored -- would give the Indians eight wins in a season for the first time since 1969, when the Tribe went 8-2.

Now that would really be a reason to celebrate.

You had to feel good for Southeast's defense, which has been maligned much of the season but rose Saturday with an incredible performance that held EKU to less than 200 yards and totally shut down the Colonels' normally potent running game, allowing just 67 yards on the ground.

The Indians' defense has turned in by far its top two performances of the year against arguably the best teams on the schedule -- EKU and Middle Tennessee -- which seems to indicate that there is plenty of potential for the unit, which could really make Southeast a scary team for opponents next year.

One more quick side note to Saturday's game:

Kudos to Erik Sean, the Indians' play-by-play announcer who picked Southeast to beat EKU -- even though that wasn't reflected in the Southeast Missourian's Weekly Media Grid Picks because of an error on the newspaper's part.

Erik will get credit from the Missourian for his selection, but I wanted to make sure that everybody else -- mainly Southeast's coaches and players -- knew about it.

Finally, turning to college basketball.

The early signing period begins Wednesday and, if things go as planned, Southeast's men could receive a major boost for next season as the Indians continue to try and climb back toward the level they reached three years ago with the program's first NCAA Division I Tournament berth.

While not all the recruits Southeast is targeting figure to sign early, the Indians are hoping to land at least a couple of key players this week.

Dainmon Gonner, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College who originally signed with the Indians last spring before failing to meet eligibility requirements, reportedly is poised to sign with Southeast again.

Gonner, a touted inside force, actually may wind up in Cape Girardeau for the second semester, where he would be able to practice with the Indians but not participate in games until next year.

Also reportedly leaning toward the Indians -- and another possible early signee -- is Mineral Area College sophomore Norman Prather, an athletic 6-2 guard.

Prather is the kind of athlete bigger programs are targeting, but his ties to Southeast assistant Kevin Williams -- who coached him at Caruthersville High School -- has put the Indians high on his list.

The Indians figure to be improved this year and, since they're still young, the addition of Gonner, Prather and one or two other key recruits could definitely help put them over the hump next season.

At least that's what Southeast fans -- not to mention coach Gary Garner -- are banking on.

Stay tuned.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian