Harris tops 1,000 yards for season

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- A sixth straight 100-yard rushing performance during Saturday's 41-24 win at Austin Peay put Southeast Missouri State senior tailback Henry Harris in rare company.

Harris, who gained 152 yards on 35 carries and scored three touchdowns, became just the fifth player in Southeast history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season.

Harris also is only the sixth Southeast player to reach 2,000 career rushing yards.

"First of all, I want to thank my offensive line and line coaches," Harris said. "We're a unit. I don't have 1,000 yards. We all do."

Harris has 1,020 yards through seven games for the 6-1 Redhawks, who lead the Ohio Valley Conference with a 5-0 record. Both marks represent the best starts since Southeast joined the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA, in 1991.

Harris, who has 2,058 career yards, is the nation's leading rusher and he became the fastest FCS player to reach 1,000 yards this season.

"It's a great accomplishment," Harris said. "But the big thing is we just have to take it one game at a time toward our goal of winning the [OVC] championship."

In addition to leading the nation in rushing, Harris also ranked first in all-purpose yards with an average of 227 per game before Saturday.

Thanks to 156 yards on kickoff returns -- including a 71-yarder late in the third quarter that set up Southeast's go-ahead touchdown -- Harris piled up 308 all-purpose yards against Austin Peay.

Ball hawking Brock

Sophomore safety Tylor Brock has turned into quite a ball hawk as he intercepted his fifth pass of the season and fourth in the past three games.

His pick and 67-yard return to the Austin Peay 2-yard line with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter set up Southeast's final touchdown.

Brock, who had a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown three weeks ago at Eastern Illinois, entered Saturday tied for first in the OVC and 11th nationally in interceptions.

"It seems like the ball comes to me sometimes," Brock said.

Geldbach boots

Sophomore kicker Drew Geldbach kicked a 46-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in the first half to pull Southeast within 14-10.

Geldbach's kickoff then was muffed and recovered by freshman Trent Peterson at the Austin Peay 36. Geldbach's 47-yard field goal on the final play of the half made it 14-13.

"Those two field goals right before the half were very big," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said.

Geldbach, Southeast's first-year kicker, began the season making five straight. He then missed three of four -- one was blocked -- but is a solid 8 of 11 overall.

"Right when I kicked them both, I knew they were good," Geldbach said. "It's nice to contribute."

Statistically speaking

* After a slow start, Southeast's offense piled up 377 yards, including 322 rushing.

* Junior quarterback Matt Scheible had his second straight 100-yard rushing game and third of the season with 116 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

* In addition to the three touchdowns by Harris -- he has 10 this season -- Scheible and senior running back Mike Jones both scored a touchdown.

* Scheible completed 9 of 17 passes for 80 yards. He attempted only one second-half pass as Southeast outscored Austin Peay 28-10 over the final two quarters and 22-0 after falling behind 24-19.

* Junior Chantae Ahamefule had four receptions for 42 yards. Junior Aaron King's first reception of the season, for 11 yards, was a big one as it helped sustain Southeast's first touchdown drive.

* Defensively, senior linebacker Joshua Jackson led Southeast in tackles with nine, followed by sophomore linebacker Blake Peiffer with eight and senior linebacker Justin Woodlief with seven.

* Peiffer, a Jackson High School product, also had eight tackles last week. He has started the past two games. He had nine tackles in the first five games.

* In addition to Peterson's recovery of the muffed kickoff, sophomore long snapper Brandon Gabbard recovered a muffed punt.