Holloman credits line for improved rushing attack

Tim Holloman had a second consecutive career performance Saturday -- and he was quick to heap plenty of praise on his fast-improving offensive line.

"They played excellent," said Southeast Missouri State's freshman tailback. "They gave me some real nice holes."

And, as Holloman has proven during the past two weeks, once he has a decent hole to run through, he certainly can make plenty of things happen.

Holloman torched Murray State for 181 yards on 31 carries Saturday, and he scored two touchdowns to help the Redhawks notch their first win of the season by routing the Racers 52-21 on Southeast's homecoming.

"Timmy really has a great feel," Southeast coach Tim Billings said. "He's got such patient feet, and then he can really explode."

Last weekend, during a 33-32 loss at Eastern Kentucky, Holloman rushed for 155 yards on 31 carries and scored four touchdowns.

During Southeast's first six games of the season, Holloman was the Redhawks' leading rusher -- although with just 130 yards on 37 carries (3.5-yard average).

But over the last two weeks, Southeast has placed a much greater emphasis on rushing the football, even switching junior Corey Andrade from linebacker to fullback in order to utilize more two-back looks instead of the one-back offense that had been the norm.

After Southeast rushed for a total of just 381 yards in its first six games, the Redhawks gained a season-high 161 yards on the ground against Eastern Kentucky, on a season-high 43 attempts.

Saturday, the Redhawks nearly doubled that rushing yardage total as they piled up 302 yards on 59 attempts.

"Being able to run the ball like this, it really helps our defense, because they don't have to be on the field as much," Billings said.

Southeast's offensive line of redshirt freshman left tackle Zach Leible (Perryville High School), junior left guard Austin Russell, junior center John Ball, junior right guard Joe Hadley and senior right tackle Taurean Robinson not only opened plenty of holes in the running game, the unit also kept quarterback Mike Haley virtually untouched.

"I thought our offensive line did a great job," Billings said. "They've really played well the last two weeks."

In addition to Haley's strong play the past two games, Billings said Andrade has also made a difference in the offense.

Andrade had been a reserve linebacker when he was moved to fullback prior to the Eastern Kentucky game. He scored his first Southeast career touchdown Saturday, on a 1-yard plunge, and made his first career reception, an impressive juggling catch down the sideline that went for 34 yards.

"It felt good to score and catch a pass, and it felt better to get a win," Andrade said. "I like playing fullback, opening holes for the other backs."

Thanks to Andrade and the line, there were plenty of holes. Holloman ripped off a 44-yard run, while junior tailback Elton Peterson had a 50-yarder as he gained 65 yards on 10 carries.

"The line really did a good job," repeated Holloman, who probably could have gained well over 200 yards had he not sat out most of the fourth quarter. "They helped out a lot."

Schermann still streaking

Redshirt freshman placekicker Colin Schermann continued to show plenty of accuracy as the Central High School product booted a 35-yard field goal Saturday, making him 10 of 11 for the season to lead the Ohio Valley Conference.

Schermann matched his Southeast career long with the 35-yarder; he has not attempted a longer one this year.

That appeared to change, however, when Schermann made a 37-yarder early in the third quarter. But a personal foul for roughing Schermann gave Southeast an automatic first down at the 10-yard line, and the Redhawks took the three points off the board. Southeast scored a touchdown to go ahead 31-7 and the rout was on.

Billings up in booth

Billings, who serves as Southeast's defensive coordinator, has spent the majority of the last two games in the press box instead of on the sidelines -- and he believes that has given him a better perspective on things.

"I think we're making adjustments quicker now because I can see what's going on a lot better," Billings said. "And, knowing what works against defenses, I can help coach Likens out some."

Rob Likens is Southeast's offensive coordinator who spends every game up in the booth, along with several other assistants.

Noteworthy

* Nine Southeast players caught passes from Haley, with Jamel Oliver having two receptions for 62 yards. Also with two catches were Brandon Simpson, T.J. Milcic, Samora Goodson and Brian Matthews.

* Freshman safety Kendall Magana tied fellow safety Mike Miller for team-high tackling honors with six. Linebackers Seth Harrell and Adam Casper followed with five each. Justin Komondoreas had his third sack in the past two games.