Lathrop makes most of his return to starting role

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel said sophomore Scott Lathrop got his second start of the season at quarterback Saturday simply because it was his turn.

The move paid major dividends for the Redhawks as Lathrop, the 2012 Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year, had a strong performance in helping jump-start Southeast's struggling offense.

Lathrop accounted for 341 total yards -- more than Southeast's season average as a team -- as the Redhawks notched their first win of the year, 37-34 in triple overtime over visiting Murray State.

Lathrop had a hand in all five Southeast touchdowns, throwing four TD passes and running for a score. He threw for a career-high 247 yards, completing 19 of 32, and rushed for a game-high 94 yards on 24 carries.

"It just feels good to come out and show what I can do," Lathrop said.

Junior Kyle Snyder started four of Southeast's first five games, giving way to Lathrop during the second contest of the year at Mississippi when Snyder was injured.

Snyder and Lathrop had both seen action in four of the Redhawks' first five contests but Samuel said Southeast's coaching staff decided before the game to let Lathrop go all the way Saturday.

"We thought it was his turn to go. The plan was to go the whole way with him," Samuel said.

The elusive Lathrop got his day off to a strong start. On the game's third play from scrimmage, he ripped off a 52-yard run to set up a prime scoring chance, although the Redhawks came up empty.

Lathrop and senior wide receiver D.J. Foster hooked up for a 78-yard touchdown in the second quarter, the fifth-longest pass play in Southeast history.

Lathrop's other TD passes were an 8-yarder to Foster in the third quarter, an 18-yarder to sophomore wide receiver Paul McRoberts with 55 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and a 15-yarder to McRoberts in the first OT.

Lathrop's 1-yard TD sneak came in the opening period.

"He had a great game, running the ball, throwing the ball, making decisions," Samuel said.

Lathrop was able to shake off two interceptions that could have proven costly, one late in regulation and another in the second overtime.

"Coach talks all the time about fighting through adversity," Lathrop said.

Statistically speaking

Southeast reached season highs for points and total yardage (469).

The Redhawks' previous season highs were 19 points and 306 yards. They were averaging just 12.4 points and 276.6 yards per game.

McRoberts led Southeast with six receptions for 76 yards while Foster caught five passes for 109 yards. Sophomore wide out Peter Lloyd added four receptions for 38 yards.

Sophomore tailback DeMichael Jackson was Southeast's second-leading rusher with 64 yards on 20 carries.

MSU's offensive headliner, as usual, was All-American senior wide receiver Walter Powell. The NFL prospect, after a slow first half, finished with 15 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns.

But Powell was not much of a factor in the return game as Southeast kicked away from him.

"He's a great player, an NFL player," Samuel said.

Sophomore quarterback Maikhail Miller, a Mississippi transfer, completed 30 of 45 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions.

Southeast's defense was led by sophomore linebacker Wisler Ymonice with a career-high 12 tackles, including two tackles for loss.

Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Austin Black recorded nine tackles, an unusually high number for a down lineman, and two of Southeast's three quarterback sacks.

Redshirt freshman defensive end Selwyn Carrol had Southeast's other sack.

The Redhawks have 11 sacks this season, three more than all last season.

"[Wisler] made a couple of big plays. [Black] had a very good game," Samuel said.

Senior cornerback Cantrell Andrews had nine tackles as he did an admirable job matched up against Powell most of the day.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Roper Garrett had his first collegiate interception and forced a fumble, both key plays late.

Junior cornerback Reggie Jennings had his second interception of the season and junior college transfer safety Ron Davis recovered the fumble that Garrett forced to halt a potential game-winning drive in the second overtime.

Noteworthy

* Third downs were key for Southeast.

The Redhawks converted 12 of 22 third downs (54.5 percent) after entering the day at just 28 percent. They held MSU to 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) after allowing opponents to convert 51 percent over the first five games.

* Southeast returns to action Saturday at fourth-ranked Eastern Illinois, the defending OVC champion.