Local walk-on steals the show in spring game

Garett Schaefer was a most unlikely hero during Southeast Missouri State's spring football game.

Southeast coach Tony Samuel and Schaefer's teammates said it couldn't have happened to a better guy.

Schaefer, a diminutive sophomore walk-on wide receiver from Scott City, Mo., caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Kyle Snyder with 10 seconds left Saturday afternoon, rallying the offense to a 16-13 win over the defense.

About 150 fans at Houck Stadium witnessed the conclusion to the Redhawks' spring practices.

"I'm still coming down off of that," said Schaefer, grinning from ear to ear, several minutes after his winning score. "I was so happy."

Samuel and the Redhawks appeared to be just as happy for Schaefer.

"I love him to death. The kids love him," Samuel said. "He's a 4.0 student, he's 127 pounds soaking wet. ... He outworks everybody."

Said sophomore tailback DeMichael Jackson: "The way we [the offense] won it, the littlest guy on the team scoring the touchdown, it can't get better."

Schaefer, a 2011 Scott City High School graduate -- he rushed for more than 1,400 yards as a senior tailback in 2010 -- was a redshirt freshman on Southeast's 2012 team but never got into a game.

Schaefer hopes that changes this year, although he realizes he still faces long odds in receiving much playing time.

"I'm hoping to get on the field a little more this year. I'm willing to put in the work," he said. "I love it here."

Schaefer is listed on Southeast's official roster as 5-feet-7 and 127 pounds, which he said is accurate.

That lack of size hasn't prevented him from earning the respect of his teammates.

Southeast running back DeMichael Jackson looks for running yardage during Saturday’s spring game. (ADAM VOGLER)

"He's got the most heart of anybody on the team," Jackson said.

Schaefer caught three passes for 20 yards Saturday, including a 6-yard reception prior to scoring the winning touchdown on a fade pattern in the right corner of the end zone.

"He made a great play," Snyder said.

The late touchdown allowed the offense to beat the defense in the closing seconds for the second straight spring game after the defense had won the previous three meetings.

Despite the ending, Southeast's defense largely got the better of the offense in the annual matchup that allows both units to score points in a variety of ways.

"The defense stepped up. They looked really good," Snyder said. "The offense struggled some."

Which didn't surprise Samuel all that much.

"The defense was flying around," Samuel said. "We limited ourselves [offensively]. We didn't call a whole lot of things."

Southeast's offense scored just one other touchdown, on a 1-yard run by junior fullback Ron Coleman in the second quarter that was followed by the PAT [no PAT was attempted after Schaefer's TD]. The offense added three additional points on other scoring scenarios.

The offense finished with 279 total yards, including 255 on the ground.

Jackson rushed for a game-high 57 yards on 11 carries, while junior tailback Lennies McFerren gained 44 yards on 10 attempts.

Sophomore tailback Lewis Washington picked up 33 yards on nine carries, and walk-on redshirt freshman tailback Tyson Estes from Chaffee High School added 21 yards on four attempts.

Junior wide receiver Spencer Davis caught three passes for 29 yards and had the day's longest play, a 39-yard end-around run.

Southeast marched 54 yards in 12 plays and used back-to-back plays of 15 or more yards on its way to the winning touchdown. Snyder completed a 20-yard pass to Davis and McFerren added a 15-yard run.

Davis was glad the offense pulled out the win, but he lauded the defense.

"It was real exciting. We had a little talk at halftime," Davis said of the offense, which trailed 8-7 at the break and 12-8 after three quarters. "The defense showed a lot of energy. I'm excited to see what they're going to do this year."

Southeast's four quarterbacks combined to complete just 8 of 21 passes for 66 yards.

Sophomore Scott Lathrop was 4 of 5 for 30 yards while Snyder was 3 of 7 for 31 yards.

"I thought we had a really good spring," Snyder said. "We have a lot of younger guys. ... We kept it basic and simple."

Defensively, the Redhawks held the offense to fewer than four yards per rush. Southeast also notched four sacks and 13 tackles for loss. The sacks, worth two points each, accounted for the bulk of the defensive points.

Sophomore linebacker Andy McNeel led the defense with 11 tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Terrance Hill followed with eight tackles. Sophomore defensive tackle Zach Clouse, a mid-year junior college transfer, had a game-high three tackles for loss.

"I was pleased with what we were able to accomplish this spring," said Samuel, whose squad opens the 2013 season at Southeastern Louisiana on Aug. 29. "This is a hard-working group. They put together a real good offseason and they worked hard in spring ball. It's a high-energy bunch. They compete."