Commentary: Southeast's predicted last-place finish not surprising

It came as no surprise last week that the Southeast Missouri State football team was picked to finish at the bottom of the Ohio Valley Conference this season.

Preseason polls almost always are based on what a squad did the previous year, and the 2008 Redhawks finished tied for seventh in the nine-team OVC.

In voting by the OVC's coaches and sports information directors, the 2009 preseason poll had the Redhawks deadlocked with Austin Peay for the basement.

Let's face it, the Redhawks are going to be picked near or at the bottom of the OVC every year until they finally come up with a successful season -- something that has been rare.

Southeast has not won more than four games in a year since 2003 and the Redhawks' last winning record came in 2002. That is one of only two winning seasons for Southeast since it moved up to Division I-AA in 1991.

Tony Samuel enters his fourth season as Southeast's coach 11-23 overall and 5-18 in the OVC. The Redhawks twice have won four games under Samuel. Their high-water mark in league play has been two wins.

Believe it or not, the 2008 Redhawks actually surpassed preseason expectations because they were picked dead last in the OVC.

Whether the Redhawks can exceed outside expectations again, and climb further up the OVC standings, remains to be seen.

There are surprise teams every year in most conferences and Southeast hopes to join that group.

I'm not betting on it, but as the old saying goes, that's why they play the games.

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It should be an interesting OVC football season for at least one reason.

That's because Jacksonville State will have a major chip on its shoulder and try to take out its frustrations against each conference opponent.

The Gamecocks, who might have been the preseason favorite after they tied for second last year, were not included in the poll since they aren't eligible for the league title this season under OVC bylaws.

That's a result of Jacksonville State's postseason ban by the NCAA for repeated shortcomings under the Academic Progress Rate formula.

The Gamecocks, led by star quarterback Ryan Perrilloux, still will play a full conference schedule with wins and losses counting. They also will be eligible for rankings in national polls.

The Gamecocks will be listed at the bottom of the conference standings each week regardless of how they fare.

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Things get going in earnest for the 2009 Redhawks this week as they begin fall camp.

Players report Wednesday, with the first practice set for Friday. And then it's just under a month before the season opens Sept. 3 against Division II Quincy.

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Former Southeast women's basketball player Wanika Owsley will be entering the Division I coaching ranks for the first time.

Owsley recently accepted a position as an assistant at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Owsley, the point guard on Southeast's first NCAA Division I tournament team in 2005-06, spent the past three seasons as an assistant at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo., under former Southeast assistant Kevin Emerick.

Emerick gave Owsley considerable credit for helping turn Jeffco into one of the nation's premier women's basketball programs. The Vikings went 97-9 the past three years and finished second in the 2008-09 national tournament.

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The Plaza Tire Capahas will play their first NBC World Series game at 1 p.m. Wednesday against the Hays (Kan.) Larks in Wichita, Kan.

The 75th annual tournament began Saturday and concludes Aug. 15.

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The Festus American Legion baseball team that won the recent Zone 4 tournament in Perryville, Mo., also claimed the state title.

Festus rolled through the four-team event in Blue Springs with a 3-0 record, including Saturday's 7-1 victory over O'Fallon West in the finals.

Talent-rich Festus will carry a 34-3 record into this week's regional tournament in Minneapolis.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.