Lillard, Redhawks establish passing attack

~ Southeast's QB threw for four touchdowns against Austin Peay.

The Southeast Missouri State football team is riding a six-game losing streak and assured of its 15th losing record in 17 seasons on the Division I-AA level.

But for the first time since second-year coach Tony Samuel took over the program, the Redhawks appear to have found a passing game.

Junior Houston Lillard has posted Southeast's first 200-yard games by a quarterback under Samuel over the last two weeks.

Lillard passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns at Tennessee-Martin on Oct. 27.

During Saturday's 34-31, double-overtime home loss to Austin Peay, Lillard topped that by throwing for 265 yards and four touchdowns.

"He put together a nice game ... really competed well," Samuel said during his weekly media briefing Monday. "You can see that we do have a receiving corps. A guy with his accuracy, that's a big plus for us."

Lillard, who transferred to Southeast last year from a California junior college, missed all of the season with a knee injury.

He began this year sharing time with Victor Anderson. After a strong performance during a 13-10 win over Indiana State on Sept. 15, Lillard started at Samford the following week but suffered cracked ribs early in the game.

He missed the next two contests and played sparringly in another game before finally returning to full-time status at Tennessee-Martin.

Ever since, Southeast's passing game -- which has ranked among the nation's worst statistically the past two years -- has flourished.

Lillard has completed 60.6 percent (66-of-109) for 896 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions this season. He ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference in passing efficiency.

Lillard's favorite target Saturday was true freshman wide receiver Miles Edwards, who also had a career game with eight catches for 131 yards and three touchdowns.

Edwards, who enrolled in school last January and went through spring practice, tied Southeast's single-game record for receiving touchdowns.

"Miles had a breakout game," Samuel said. "He came in January, but he's a true freshman."

Edwards is Southeast's leading receiver with 23 catches for 309 yards and five touchdowns this season.

But while Southeast's passing attack has picked up the past two weeks, the Redhawks' formerly stout running game has struggled.

The Redhawks have been limited to 148 yards on the ground in the last two games after they had averaged well over 200 yards per contest to rank among the top 20 nationally.

Southeast is still 35th nationally in rushing offense at 184.1 yards per game.

Southeast no doubt misses tailback Timmy Holloman, who was among the nation's top 10 rushers through five games, but has not played since being declared ineligible by the NCAA on Oct. 9.

Also, Samuel said most squads are intent on limiting the Redhawks' effectiveness on the ground.

"Teams aren't going to give us the running game. They are doing a good job taking that away," he said. "But if you look at our numbers through the air, we compensated for that."

Southeast (2-7, 0-6 OVC) has two games left, a nonconference matchup Saturday at Missouri State (5-5, 2-4 Gateway Conference) and a Nov. 17 home date with Jacksonville State (6-3, 5-1 OVC).

Samuel said it was encouraging Saturday to see his squad continue to give maximum effort despite its struggles. He's looking for that to continue in these final two weeks.

"One thing for sure, I want to see us perform well ... continue to play hard," he said.