Bears claw to victory

Southeast Missouri State's offense finally woke up in the second half.

But it was too late to prevent Missouri State from continuing its dominance of the Redhawks.

The Redhawks scored touchdowns on four straight possessions beginning midway through the third quarter.

That outburst, however, came only after MSU had built a 21-0 halftime lead.

Southeast never got closer than 10 points as the visiting Bears eased to a 45-28 victory Saturday night.

MSU, which improved to 2-1, has won the last seven meetings between the teams, along with 14 of the past 15.

Southeast fell to 1-3 with the nonconference defeat at Houck Stadium.

CHUCK WU ~ cwu@semissourian.com Southeast Missouri State's Henry Harris carries the ball past Missouri State's Waylon Richardet during the second quarter Saturday at Houck Stadium.

"It's always hard to get in a hole against anybody," senior quarterback Houston Lillard said.

But that's what the Redhawks have done in all four of their games so far.

Counting MSU's first-quarter touchdown, Southeast has been outscored 52-0 during that period this season.

The Bears' 21-0 halftime advantage means the Redhawks have been outscored 97-20 in the first half of games this season.

Southeast's Josh Woods recovers a fumble by Missouri State's Chris Geisz during Saturday's game.

"It's so frustrating, not being able to come out ready at the beginning of the game," Lillard said.

Southeast's third consecutive loss came on a night when the Redhawks' defense turned in its best statistical performance.

The Redhawks defense allowed a season-low 314 yards -- only 112 in the second half -- and only could be held responsible for giving up two touchdowns and a field goal.

MSU scored two touchdowns on interception returns, one touchdown on a kickoff return and another TD on a short drive after an interception.

Southeast entered the game allowing an average of nearly 515 yards.

"It's encouraging. It tells us we're getting better," senior linebacker Nick Stauffer said of the Redhawks' improved defensive numbers. "But it's not good enough yet."

The Bears got the touchdown that made it 14-0 after intercepting a Lillard pass at Southeast's 24-yard line midway through the second quarter.

MSU's Chris Farrar returned an interception -- of a pass by freshman Matt Scheible -- 47 yards on the final play of the first half for a 21-0 lead.

Scheible replaced Lillard for the last two series of the opening half after Lillard had thrown two picks.

"It's hard to play from behind," junior wide receiver Brad Stewart said. "We just need to execute and finish drives."

Lillard responded with a big second half, throwing for 264 of his 331 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 30 of 44 passes, but was intercepted three times after entering the contest having been picked off only once.

In a perfect example of how meaningless statistics can be sometimes, Southeast outgained an opponent for the first time this year, holding a decisive 445 to 314 edge in total yards.

But as entertaining as Southeast's offense might have been for a stretch in the second half, the Redhawks never seriously threatened the Bears.

MSU answered with two touchdowns -- one on a 95-yard kickoff return by Brandon Oliver -- and a field goal immediately after Southeast's first three scores to make sure the Redhawks never got closer than 38-28.

The Bears finally iced the victory on a 57-yard interception return by Cedric Alvis with 58 seconds left to round out the scoring.

"The defense did a good job tonight," Lillard said. "They gave us a lot of opportunities. We just can't make that many mistakes."