COLLEGE FIITBALL: EKU GROUND GAME GRINDS UP SOUTHEAST

RICHMOND, Ky. -- Southeast Missouri State University's defense has been giving up yardage in bunches this season and that trend continued in a big way here Saturday night.

The result was a 48-24 loss to host Eastern Kentucky in front of 8,100 fans at Roy Kidd Stadium. The Colonels scored 34 straight points to turn what was a competitive contest for most of the first half into a total blowout.

EKU, the preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite, piled up 586 yards -- including 318 in the first half -- as the 21st-ranked Colonels improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in OVC play.

Southeast fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the OVC as the Indians suffered their second consecutive defeat. Southeast has still never beaten the Colonels, losing all 11 meetings with EKU.

"We just couldn't stop them," said Southeast coach Tim Billings, whose squad entered the contest allowing an average of 445 yards per game. "They basically ran over us. There was no secret about it."

The Indians played the entire game without normal starting quarterback Rashad West, who made the trip but did not suit up because of a bruised sternum he suffered during last week's loss to Western Kentucky.

But not having West in the lineup was the least of the Indians' worries. Bobby Brune, who played the entire game at quarterback, actually directed Southeast's offense fairly well in the first half, before things got out of hand.

Southeast's defense, however, never could slow down the Colonels' attack that featured big games from tailback Corey Crume and quarterback Waylon Chapman, who both bounced back from subpar performances during last week's upset home loss to Tennessee Tech.

Crume sliced through Southeast defenders for a career-high 190 yards on 28 carries, including 144 yards on 20 attempts in the first half. Crume sat out the entire fourth quarter.

And EKU had another 100-yard rusher as backup tailback Maurice Clark added 119 yards on 17 carries. The Colonels gained a whopping 399 yards on the ground.

"People have found what our weaknesses are," Billings said. "We're not big and physical up front (on defense) and teams are totally dominating us. There's no magic secret."

Chapman, just 10-for-26 against Tennessee Tech, completed 12 of 17 passes for 171 yards Saturday even though he played very little in the second half. Chapman was 10 of 12 for 140 yards in the opening half.

Brune was 15-for-28 for 207 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw for 134 yards in the first half.

"I thought Bobby did some good things and bad things, just like the rest of the team," Billings said. "We played okay offensively. We're improving (offensively) every week, but we still haven't turned the corner."

While the Colonels had plenty of success both on the ground and through the air, the Indians did next to nothing with their running game, gaining just five net yards on 24 attempts, with several sacks of Brune factored in.

Southeast finished with just 212 yards of total offense, 130 coming in the first half.

While the final score was lopsided, the Indians actually made things interesting for most of the first half as they matched the Colonels score for score until a late EKU flurry resulted in a 31-17 halftime lead for the home team.

Southeast started the game with a bang as Curtis Cooper returned the opening kickoff 77 yards to the EKU 17. However, the Indians could not move the ball -- they lost six yards -- and Jason Witczak came on to kick a 41-yard field goal for an early 3-0 Southeast advantage.

That would be the first of three Southeast leads in the opening half. EKU scored a touchdown on its first possession as Chapman's 1-yard run completed a 74-yard drive, putting the Colonels up 7-3.

Southeast went back ahead 10-7 with just 44 seconds left in the first period as Brune hit his former Cape Girardeau Central High School teammate Andy Dunaway with a 19-yard touchdown pass. Dunaway's first college TD capped a 63-yard march. Witczak booted the first of three extra points.

Crume's 3-yard run early in the second quarter capped a 69-yard drive and put the Colonels up 14-10, but the Indians surged back on top again 17-14 on Iven Brown's 3-yard run midway through the period. That ended a 63-yard drive that featured Brune's 46-yard pass to Leslie Weaver.

But EKU took control by scoring the final 17 points of the first half. Crume's 6-yard run with 5:44 left capped a 72-yard drive and put the Colonels up for good 21-17.

Just 30 seconds later, one of the Indians' few glaring offensive mistakes of the game burned them as Brune was sacked and fumbled, with EKU recovering on the Southeast 30. Chapman's 1-yard sneak with 2:43 left made it 28-17.

EKU tacked on a field goal on the final play of the half as the Colonels drove 57 yards in 1:14 to set up Adam Smith's 49-yard kick with the wind at his back.

Things began to get out of hand early in the second half as a fumbled pitch by Mark Blissett was scooped up and returned for a 15-yard touchdown by Eric Sims to make it 38-17.

"Any hope we had of getting back in the game basically ended with that play," said Billings.

The Colonels went up 45-17 before the third quarter was over and tacked on a field goal early in the final period to make it 48-17.

Southeast finally broke EKU's 34-0 run with 2:44 left in the game as Brune hit Tarik Simpson with a 35-yard TD pass.

Simpson had four receptions for 52 yards to lead the Indians in that category. Weaver caught three passes for 72 yards while Corey Chester also had three receptions.

EKU's Alex Bannister led all receivers with six catches for 108 yards.