Redhawks' accomplishments will live on

The Southeast Missouri State football team and its fans naturally were disappointed with Saturday's 37-17 playoff loss at Eastern Washington that ended the Redhawks' season.

But there is no way anybody could be disappointed with the Redhawks' historic campaign that resulted in one of college football's greatest turnarounds.

A Southeast squad that went 2-9 and finished last in the Ohio Valley Conference a season ago stunned the nation by going 9-3, winning its first OVC title and making the first playoff appearance in the program's 104-year history.

And for one half Saturday, it looked like the Redhawks might notch another milestone -- they were tied 17-17 at the break -- before EWU dominated the second half.

That in no way, shape or form can detract from what the Redhawks accomplished, especially their coaches and 20 seniors -- most of them starters or key reserves -- who endured all the struggles of the previous several seasons.

Losing all those veterans will present considerable challenges next season for Southeast, which returns standout junior quarterback Matt Scheible and several other talented underclassmen who were vital performers this year.

There also is the question of whether Tony Samuel will return as Southeast's coach. He's in the final year of his original five-year contract and there is little doubt he'll be offered an extension.

Samuel would not commit when asked after Saturday's loss if he would be back to lead the Redhawks in 2011.

Here's hoping Samuel does return because he's not only a solid coach but also a class guy.

But regardless of what the future holds, nobody can take away all that the 2010 Redhawks accomplished.

I expect this group will live on in the minds of Southeast fans for years to come -- and deservedly so.

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Former Southeast track and cross country athlete Joe Dandridge was among the 100 or so Redhawks fans who attended Saturday's game.

Dandridge, a 1993 Southeast graduate, has lived in the Seattle area since 2008. He said he drove about 4 1/2 hours for the contest, leaving his home about 6:30 a.m.

I covered Dandridge when he competed at Southeast and later became friends with him as he continued to live in the area. I hadn't seen him in several years and had no idea he had moved to Washington.

Dandridge made it a point to come up to the press box before the game and we had a nice visit.

Dandridge made the trip to see the contest even though he knows nobody currently affiliated with the football program. He said Southeast still means a lot to him and he wanted to be there to support the team.

Now that is school loyalty and pride at its highest level.

On a side note, I'm embarrassed because in a story I wrote for Sunday's paper that included Dandridge, I mistakenly referred to him as Joe Windeknecht, also a former area runner.

I don't know why that name stuck in my head, but it didn't occur to me that I had referred to Dandridge as Windeknecht until Sunday morning. My apologies to both parties.

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You can't blame the Redhawks much because Southeast never made the playoffs before this year, but Saturday's results continued a dubious streak for the OVC.

With Southeast's loss and with Jacksonville State falling at home to Wofford 17-14, OVC teams now have suffered 16 straight playoff defeats.

The last time an OVC squad notched a postseason victory was 2000.

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The Southeast men's basketball team, which all of a sudden is short of players due to injury, continues to struggle.

Saturday's 77-67 home loss to equally undermanned Tennessee State dropped the Redhawks to 0-8 overall and 0-2 in OVC play.

Southeast's previous worst start since moving up to Division I for the 1991-92 season had been 0-5 during the 2001-02 campaign.

And it will take a significant upset this week to keep the Redhawks from going 0-10 since they will be heavy underdogs during nonconference road games against Iowa State tonight and SIU-Carbondale on Wednesday night.

Even if the Redhawks fall to 0-10, the losing streak should end Saturday when they host NAIA Hannibal-LaGrange.

At least Southeast's women (3-5, 1-1), also injury-plagued, notched their first OVC win Saturday, beating visiting Tennessee State 51-46.

Southeast hoop squads now take a break from league play before resuming their conference schedules Dec. 19 at Jacksonville State in rare Sunday games.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.