Redhawks collect two OVC honors after opening win

Even though Southeast Missouri State barely beat a struggling Division II team in its season opener, the Redhawks had several impressive individual performers.

Two of them -- senior quarterback Houston Lillard and junior cornerback Eddie Calvin -- make up half of the Ohio Valley Conference's first weekly awards for the 2008 campaign.

Lillard is the OVC offensive player of the week, while Calvin garnered defensive honors. Both sparkled during Thursday's 35-28 overtime win over Southwest Baptist, which went 0-11 last season.

Lillard completed 27 of 39 passes for a career-high 387 yards and three touchdowns to lead the comeback from a 28-12 fourth-quarter deficit.

Lillard threw for 265 yards after halftime, including 181 yards and two touchdowns in the final period. His TD toss to sophomore wide receiver Miles Edwards in overtime was the game-winner.

"Houston really came on down the stretch," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said Monday. "I think he really plays well under pressure."

Calvin intercepted a career-high three passes, all in the first half. He returned the picks a total of 71 yards, including a 62-yarder on the final play of the opening half. He also had seven tackles.

"Three interceptions in a game, that's very good," Samuel said. "And three critical interceptions."

The OVC's two other weekly awards went to Austin Peay sophomore Terrence Holt (specialist) and Tennessee State junior JaJuan Spillman (newcomer).

Holt set an OVC record with 250 kick return yards in the Governors' 41-6 loss at North Dakota State.

Spillman, a transfer from Louisville making his Tennessee State debut, caught a 65-yard touchdown pass and returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown as the Tigers won at Alabama A&M 34-13.

National leaders

After one game, Southeast ranks second nationally in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) in passing offense with 387 yards per game.

Lillard leads the nation in total offense with 351 yards.

Edwards, who reached career highs with 10 catches for 204 yards in the opener, leads the nation in receiving yards and is second in receptions.

Defensively, Calvin is first nationally with his three interceptions, senior middle linebacker Nick Stauffer is tied for second in tackles with 16 and senior defensive end Ben Gugler is tied for first with two quarterback sacks.

In the special teams area, junior Doug Spada is second with a 47.6-yard punting average. He is tied for first in field goals with two.

Of course, many of those statistics could take a hit this week as the Redhawks visit Missouri for a Saturday matchup with the nation's sixth-ranked Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) squad.

Missouri opened its season with a 52-42 win over Illinois in St. Louis.

"They're a great team in all phases," Samuel said.

Needing to improve

Samuel said Southeast's coaching staff saw no real surprises after watching the film of Thursday's contest.

"It's about what we thought after the game. We didn't play well early," he said. "The bottom line, the kids held on in the fourth quarter and won the game.

"Now we just have to clean things up. We have to correct and move on."

Freshmen stand out

Several true freshmen saw action in the opener. Two were particularly impressive.

Tailback Jacob McKinley, from Parkway North High School in St. Louis, rushed for 49 yards on 10 carries and scored his first collegiate touchdown, on a 2-yard run. He had 44 yards on eight attempts in the second half.

"Going into fall camp, I felt like he would be a factor," Samuel said.

Linebacker Philip Klaproth, from Poplar Bluff, Mo., had six tackles and forced a fumble recovered by Stauffer with under 5 minutes remaining. That led to Spada's 47-yard field goal with 1:41 to send the game into overtime.

"He had a very good football game," Samuel said of Klaproth. "I wouldn't necessarily call him a surprise. He plays hard. He plays like he practices."