Potent offense awaits Southeast Missouri State football team in season finale

The Southeast Missouri State football team likely will have to slow down the Ohio Valley Conference's top offense if it wants to end the season on a winning note.

Southeast finishes the 2011 campaign Saturday with a 1 p.m. senior day contest against Murray State at Houck Stadium.

The Redhawks, 3-7 overall, are tied for seventh place in the nine-team OVC at 2-5.

The Racers (6-4, 4-3) are tied for fourth and still have an outside shot to gain a share of the conference title. They also still are alive for an at-large bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

"We want to be able to finish off on a positive note," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "We're going to have to play well to win."

Southeast Missouri State's Steve Hendry celebrates a tackle against Jacksonville State during the third quarter Saturday at Houck Stadium. (Kristin Eberts)

That's especially true on defense.

MSU leads the OVC in scoring offense and total offense, averaging 37.3 points and 459.3 yards per game.

The bulk of that yardage comes through the air. The Racers average a league-best 316.3 yards passing per contest, but their 143-yard rushing average is only eighth.

"They're a very explosive, high-scoring team," Samuel said. "They throw the ball well and they have a very good running back. They're high tempo. They run that no-huddle. It's going to test our defense from a depth standpoint, a fatigue standpoint."

MSU's offense is directed by junior quarterback Casey Brockman, the OVC's preseason offensive player of the year.

Brockman leads the OVC with 3,054 yards passing, 23 touchdowns and a 65.8 completion percentage (285 of 433). He has been intercepted nine times.

"He's a good quarterback," Samuel said. "Mobile, makes good decisions."

The Racers have three players with at least 40 receptions, led by junior Ja-Vonta Trotter with 43 and four touchdowns. Sophomore Walter Powell and junior Hannibal Beauford both have 42 catches. Powell has scored five touchdowns.

While the Racers don't rely on the run as much as many teams, they do feature one of the conference's premier tailbacks in senior Mike Harris.

Harris is third in the league in rushing yards per game. He has gained 888 yards and ranks second in the conference with 13 touchdowns.

The Racers also are solid defensively, ranking in the upper half of the league.

Sophomore linebacker Qua Huzzie, a Kentucky transfer, leads the OVC with 12.5 tackles for loss. Junior defensive end Kevin Robinson is second with five sacks.

MSU also has an elite special teams performer in senior Kienan Cullen, who holds the OVC's career record with 58 field goals.

Cullen leads the league in field goals with 15 while missing just once this year. He also is tied for first in punting with a 40.6-yard average.

"They're a good football team," Samuel said. "They're one of the teams I thought had a legitimate chance to win the conference when we did the voting [in the preseason]."

Second-year coach Chris Hatcher has turned around quickly the Racers after taking over a struggling program.

Hatcher led the Racers to a 6-5 record in his debut season last year, their first winning mark since 2004. MSU is assured of consecutive winning campaigns for the first time since 1999 and 2000.

Southeast trails the lopsided series 36-8-1, but the Redhawks have won two consecutive and four of the last six, including 30-17 last year in Murray, Ky.

Seniors honored

Southeast's 14 seniors will be honored before Saturday's game.

The group consists of Matt Scheible, Bryan Blanfort, Sheldon McCullough, Kweku Arkorful, Cory Holmes, Philip Klaproth, Steve Hendry, Josh Coleman, Chantae Ahamefule, Aaron King, Johnnie Morgan, Courtney Brame, Kris Cottner and Armin Blagajcevic.

Cottner, from Perryville High School, has missed much of the season with an injury after also being sidelined for most of his freshman campaign.

Cottner probably would be successful in petitioning the NCAA for one more year of eligibility but has elected not to pursue that.

Blagajcevic, an offensive lineman who has had an injury-plagued career but has been healthy most of this season, likely will be approved by the NCAA to play one more year.

"It's a special group," Samuel said about the seniors. "They've all done some good things here and they're all going to graduate."