Loss to strong Cincinnati team was just half bad for Redhawks

The Redhawks lost Thursday night, but they were gritty and gutty against the Division I-A Cincinnati Bearcats ... for one half.

Then they were mistake-prone, coughing up the ball for easy scores and committing penalties that doomed their chances.

They were running and gunning, opportunistic ... and then they were just trying to get out of Cincinnati and get home healthy -- physically and mentally.

Tony Samuel's second edition opened the season with its toughest test, being served up as the home-opening fodder for a team that may end up playing in a bowl game for the second straight year.

Last year, Samuel inherited a game at nationally ranked Arkansas, and it turned into a 63-7 rout. That game was over early.

This time, the Redhawks were a yard away from having some momentum against Cincinnati in the second period.

They surrendered more than 200 yards of offense in the opening period, but they dodged a bullet on a missed field goal and came up with two turnovers. Kendall Magana intercepted a third-down pass at his own 10-yard line and returning it 45 yards into Cincinnati territory.

Later in the quarter, Adam Casper punched a ball out of the hands of a Cincinnati receiver after a long gain and Salim Powell recovered to set up another drive in Cincinnati territory.

But the Redhawks offense in the first period, still trying to find its identity with two first-year quarterbacks, was unable to cash in.

Finally, in the second period, trailing 13-0, Southeast's offense put something together.

Victor Anderson, who emerged as the main quarterback with his mobility and slightly fewer miscues in the early going, directed a 65-yard scoring drive. Unfortunately, the Redhawks needed 66 yards to reach pay dirt, instead settling for Doug Spada's 25-yard field goal.

The Redhawks showed offensive daring, as Anderson scrambled for 6 yards to set up a fourth-and-1 at Cincinnati's 45. Samuel went for it and got it by drawing the Bearcats offsides.

A couple of plays later, Anderson made a 36-yard run to the right side on a tricky option keeper that put him within reach of the goal line.

That was the highlight of the night.

Following Spada's field goal, it went downhill, almost immediately, as he kicked out of bounds on two tries to give the ball back to the Bearcats.

The grittiness and the guttiness left the building at halftime, replaced by turnovers and -- compounding matters -- penalties.

"We had a good first half," Samuel said. "I wished we could have gotten more points offensively. We had opportunities for more points."

Anderson was intercepted in the end zone on the first drive, and he fumbled a ball reaching for extra yardage in Bearcats territory late in the first half.

Those turnovers didn't prove costly.

But in the second half, Southeast committed two turnovers that led directly to two touchdowns -- a 45-yard interception return of Houston Lillard's only pass of the period, and a fumble by Vincent Anderson after a reception on the next drive.

Before you knew it, 19-3 was 32-2, then 39-3 after three periods.

Southeast had 77 yards of offense in the third quarter. It gave up 59 yards in penalty yardage.

"The third quarter was horrible," Samuel said.

The fourth quarter wasn't much better, as Cincinnati tossed up another 20 unanswered points.

But by then, the game was long over, and the final score had no impact on Southeast's psyche.

"We have a good team, and we are going to compete in this conference," Anderson said. "This was our first time playing together. There's no doubt in my mind we're a good team."

Another first-year Redhawks player, defensive end Matt Stahlberg, agreed.

"I thought we did great, actually," he said. "I'm looking forward to the season. It feels like it's going to unfold and be a great season."

Maybe gritty and gutty didn't leave the building after all.

"Sometimes things just don't go your way," Stahlberg said. "That's just football. It was a great learning experience."

Toby Carrig is the editor of semoball.com