CURTAIN RISES TONIGHT ON INDIANS' SEASON; LAMBUTH VISITS HOUCK STADIUM

Southeast Missouri State University football coach John Mumford insists that NAIA power Lambuth will provide the Indians with plenty of opposition and will be a difficult foe to defeat.

Lambuth coach Vic Wallace professes to cringe at the thought of playing an NCAA Division I-AA team like the Indians and says it's going to be hard for the Eagles to keep up.

Tonight, in the season opener for both teams, we'll see which coach was fibbing the most. The squads will kick things off at 7 p.m. at Houck Stadium.

First, a sampling of what Mumford thinks about Lambuth:

"They're an awfully good football team, as good or better as some of the other teams we'll be playing this year. People need to forget about the different division and remember that they are very talented. They'll be a very good test for us."

Now, a bit about how Wallace feels about Southeast:

"It's going to be a really tough game for us. We wouldn't have played them if it hadn't been the first game of the year. But playing a team like SEMO will help us get ready for our season because they're probably the best team we'll see all year."

Mumford and Wallace disagreed on one other notable aspect concerning their teams.

According to Mumford, Lambuth "has tremendous speed."

But according to Wallace, a big difference in the squads will be speed.

"We've got some pretty good sized players, but we're pretty average speed-wise. It's hard at this level to recruit speed," said Wallace.

There's nothing like the spin coaches can put on things in order to keep their team from having to carry the role of favorite entering a game.

But, even though there's no doubt Southeast should be a solid favorite tonight, there also is probably plenty of truth to what Mumford says about the Eagles, who almost certainly won't just come into Houck Stadium and roll over for the Indians.

To be sure, the squad from Jackson, Tenn., does have one of the nation's top NAIA programs. The Eagles went 9-2 last season and advanced to the NAIA playoffs for the third straight year. Lambuth, which is 35-10-1 in five years under the veteran Wallace, is ranked fifth in the 1997 NAIA preseason poll.

"We do have a good program," said Wallace, who is 112-56-4 in 16 seasons as a head coach. "But we lost a lot from last year. We only return six starters so we're trying to break in people all over. We've got a lot of rebuilding to do. We've got lots and lots of new faces."

Lambuth, however, has picked up several key transfers -- just like the Indians -- including quarterback Billy Joe Spann from Tennessee-Martin and 6-foot-5, 285-pound defensive tackle Steve Thompson from Alabama.

Spann directed UTM's Skyhawks to a 7-6 win over Southeast last season at Houck Stadium as he completed 16 of 28 passes, including a 52-yard touchdown.

"He (Spann) is a guy we're really high on," Wallace said. "A lot of our offense is built around Billy Joe. We're going to throw the ball quite a bit."

Said Mumford, "They've got just as many I-A transfers as we do. They have a new offensive coordinator so we don't really know what to expect from them offensively. I know their quarterback really hurt us for Tennessee-Martin last year. Defensively, they really swarm to the ball."

While Mumford and Wallace differ on the kind of speed Lambuth has, the Eagles certainly possess plenty of size. The right side of their offensive line features 6-8, 390-pound Shaunacy Carter and 6-5, 292-pound Dan Prestridge while the center is 6-3, 300-pound Joachim Salo.

Defensively, three of Lambuth's starting linemen weigh more than 270 pounds.

Like all coaches at this time of the year, Mumford is anxious to see the Indians against outside opposition for the first time. He -- along with the rest of the team -- is also anxious to begin making atones for last year's disappointing 3-8 record.

"We've had a good fall camp and it is time to get after it," he said. "I've been pleased with the intensity of this team. We have the talent to win a lot of football games."

INDIAN NOTES: Three Ohio Valley Conference teams opened their seasons Thursday night with non-league games and there were some interesting results.

Two-time defending OVC champion Murray State blanked Indiana State 13-0; pre-season OVC favorite Eastern Illinois was hammered 41-0 by Western Illinois in a matchup of two nationally ranked I-AA teams; and Tennessee-Martin -- picked to finish last in the OVC -- was ripped 42-0 by Western Kentucky.

Lambuth at SEMO

Probable Starters

SEMO Offense

TE - Mitch Fryer 6-2 240 Jr.

LT - Ian Walters 6-3 280 So.

LG - James Williams 6-2 275 Jr.

C - Chris Kiefer 6-3 270 So.

RG - Jessie Eaton 6-3 320 Jr.

RT - Carlos DeJesus 6-3 300 Jr.

WR - Leslie Weaver 5-10 190 Fr.

WR - Dante Bryant 6-1 190 Jr.

QB - Heath Graham 6-2 220 Sr.

FB - Britt Mirgaux 6-1 228 Jr.

TB - David Koleosho 5-10 195 So.

PK - Eric Warren 5-7 190 Sr.

SEMO Defense

DL - Angel Rubio 6-3 290 Sr.

DL - Troy Baglio 6-1 280 Jr.

DL - Damon Hendrick 6-5 260 Sr.

DL - Brad Richardson 6-2 255 So.

LB - Gabe Jenkins 6-0 230 Jr.

LB - Zuri Buchanan 6-0 240 So.

LB - Chris Justice 6-2 235 So.

CB - Fred Hambrick 5-10 180 Jr.

CB - Willie Davis 5-11 190 Sr.

FS - Joe Williams 5-11 200 So.

SS - Ronald Smith 5-9 195 Sr.

P - Justin Terrill 6-2 185 Sr.

Lambuth Defense

DL - Blake Brower 6-2 213 Sr.

DL - Kevin Davis 6-4 279 Fr.

DL - Chris Mooris 6-0 274 Jr.

DL - Steve Thompson 6-5 272 Sr.

LB - Kevin Lorenz 5-11 185 Jr.

LB - William Baird 5-10 210 Jr.

LB - Derik Mitchell 6-3 207 So.

CB - Jamar Franklin 5-11 175 Fr.

CB - Reggie Shannon 6-2 189 So.

FS - Jonathon Kemp 5-10 180 Sr.

SS - Myron Vinson 6-2 182 Jr.

P - Jonathan Bass 6-2 200 Jr.

Lambuth Offense

TE - Andy Hughes 6-2 230 Sr.

LT - John Powell 6-2 255 So.

LG - David Byars 6-2 232 Jr.

C - Joachim Salo 6-3 300 Sr.

RG - Dan Prestridge 6-5 292 Jr.

RT - Shaunacy Carter 6-8 390 Jr.

WR - Martino Theus 6-2 187 Jr.

WR - Kennon McWilliams 5-10 163 So.

QB - Billy Joe Spann 6-4 220 So.

TB - Justin Dudley 5-9 165 Sr.

FB - Willie Bernard 6-0 213 Sr.

PK - Jonathan Bass 6-2 200 Jr.