Friendly confines of Houck could help rally Redhawks

The bad news for the Southeast Missouri State football team was the Redhawks' latest loss, Saturday night's 40-16 beatdown at Tennessee State.

But, even though it might not be clear for Southeast fans to see, maybe there is a bit of good news on the horizon for the Redhawks.

There sure hasn't been much good news for the squad so far.

Southeast is now 0-5 for the first time under eighth-year coach Tony Samuel and off to the program's worst start since the 2005 squad began 0-7 during coach Tim Billings' final season.

Among the many statistical areas in which the Redhawks are struggling, a stagnant offense tops the list. Southeast is averaging only 12.4 points and 276.6 yards per game -- figures that make it easy to see why the Redhawks are winless.

So, you say, what's the good news for the Redhawks, who are 0-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play?

Well, it's only good news if they can take advantage of it, but after playing four of their first five games away from Cape Girardeau, the Redhawks now have four of their final seven contests at home.

That more friendly stretch of the schedule begins Saturday when Murray State visits Houck Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.

The explosive Racers (4-2, 2-0 OVC) are off to a strong start but were not picked among the conference's top teams entering the season.

Murray currently ranks, along with Southeast, among the OVC's worst defensive clubs statistically, meaning the Redhawks have a shot at getting their floundering offense going.

I know Southeast football fans are looking for any sliver of hope they can find and, right now, that's about all I could come up with.

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Defending OVC football champion Eastern Illinois, which has been the league's most impressive team during the first several weeks of the season, continues climbing the national charts.

The Panthers are up to No. 5 in both major FCS polls, marking the first time since 2002 that they have reached the top five. EIU got as high as No. 2 that year.

EIU had an open date Saturday but there were four other OVC games, including Southeast-TSU.

Jacksonville State notched the most notable win, 41-27 at 22nd-ranked Tennessee-Martin.

Also, host Murray State beat Tennessee Tech 35-24 and Eastern Kentucky routed visiting Austin Peay 38-3.

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More detais are expected to be released in the next day or two, but Southeast basketball fans will have the chance to get a public look at the school's men's and women's teams Sunday.

Southeast will hold a form of midnight madness at the Show Me Center, although it actually will take place a few hours before midnight.

Both Southeast squads will be on hand to perform a variety of drills and also do some live scrimmaging.

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The Chaffee High School football team continued to roam in rarified air Friday with a 54-32 win at East Prairie.

That makes Chaffee 6-0 for its best start to a season since the 1969 squad also was 6-0.

The Red Devils continued to pound the opposition; they have a 279-104 scoring advantage and their closest margin of victory is 17 points.

But now things will get a whole lot tougher for the Red Devils, who will be facing three of their top opponents of the regular season prior to the start of district play.

Chaffee hosts Malden Friday -- a game that will decide the SEMO South Conference title -- followed by a home date against Jefferson and a trip to Charleston.

The Red Devils might be hard-pressed to run through that gauntlet unscathed, but considering how dominant they've been so far I wouldn't put anything past them.

Meanwhile, Jackson made a major statement by crushing previously undefeated Sikeston 49-0 at home Friday to wrap up the SEMO North Conference championship.

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Still on the subject of high school football, Vianney senior Markel Smith broke the state's single-game rushing record Friday when he piled up 541 yards during a 48-41 win over Washington, Mo.

Smith, one of the state's top recruits, led Vianney from suburban St. Louis past Jackson earlier this season for the Indians' only loss. The teams could meet again later during postseason district play as they are widely considered the top squads in Class 5 District 1.

By the way, former Jackson phenom Mario Whitney still ranks fifth on Missouri's single-game rushing list. His 463-yard performance against Parkway North in 2001 set the record at the time.

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The University of Missouri football team rolled through the nonconference portion of its schedule 4-0. The Tigers did not beat what anybody would consider a strong opponent but there were quite a few signs that this year would turn out much better than last year's debut SEC season.

Saturday afforded an early chance for the Tigers to begin proving that assessment correct -- and they opened SEC play in impressive fashion with a 51-28 romp at Vanderbilt.

It has certainly helped MU that senior quarterback James Franklin is healthy again and displaying the all-around strong play that marked his breakout 2011 season.

I've always considered Franklin a very good quarterback who took unfair criticism last year, when he was banged up so much.

While it's great for the Tigers to be 5-0, their most rugged SEC tests are still to come beginning Saturday at Georgia.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.