Redhawks fall to fumble-prone Eastern Illinois in OVC opener

~ Southeast lost 23-14 despite recovering four fumbles deep in its own territory

A barrage of Eastern Illinois turnovers had Southeast Missouri State in position for a rare win over the Panthers.

But a dominant second-half performance by EIU ruined Southeast's Ohio Valley Conference opener.

EIU erased a 14-7 halftime deficit and beat the Redhawks 23-14 Saturday night in front of an announced Houck Stadium crowd of 9,053 on Family Weekend.

The Panthers improved to 3-0 overall while the Redhawks fell to 1-2. EIU has won six straight meetings against Southeast.

Eastern Illinois quarterback Jake Christensen escapes the pressure of Southeast Missouri State's Josh Gipson during the first quarter Saturday at Houck Stadium.

"Sure it hurts," Southeast sophomore quarterback Matt Scheible said. "But I like the fight we had until the end."

EIU lost fumbles inside Southeast's 25-yard line on three straight second-quarter possessions, including once at the 1-yard line.

Junior defensive tackle Maurice Lyles pounced on two of the fumbles, while junior linebacker Tyler Epstein came up with the other.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," Lyles said.

EIU junior tailback Mon Williams said the Panthers were frustrated yet confident at halftime.

"We were real frustrated," Williams said. "We had to get ourselves together. We couldn't let fumbles get us down.

"We had control the whole time."

That control finally manifested itself on the scoreboard in the second half as EIU, despite losing one more fumble at Southeast's 1-yard line -- true freshman linebacker Blake Peiffer from Jackson recovered -- stormed back.

EIU outgained Southeast 278 to 103 in total yardage in the second half and controlled the ball for 19 minutes, 35 seconds compared to 10:25 for the Redhawks.

That allowed the Panthers to finish with a total yardage edge of 523 to 381 after Southeast had more first-half yards (278 to 245) and a bigger time of possession (16:50 to 13:10).

"We felt pretty good about the way we were playing," EIU coach Bob Spoo said of the first half. "We were beating ourselves. There wasn't a whole lot we had to say."

EIU tied things early in the third quarter as a 65-yard touchdown run by Florida transfer Williams capped a 93-yard drive that took only three plays.

Southeast was backed up at its 10-yard line after a penalty on the ensuing kickoff. Scheible rolled out to his left and pitched the ball to junior tailback Henry Harris, who could not make connections.

The ball bounced into the end zone, where Scheible picked it up in the corner. As he was about to be tackled for a safety by several defenders, Scheible flung the ball backhanded and was called for intentional grounding, which resulted in a safety anyway.

So EIU had a 16-14 lead with 10:18 left in the third quarter after scoring nine points within 15 seconds.

"We had that doggone safety," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said, frustrated over one of the game's key plays.

EIU appeared ready to seize control right after the free kick as it drove deep. But the Panthers fumbled at the 1-yard line.

But Southeast couldn't move the ball, and, after a punt, EIU took over at the Redhawks' 46. The Panthers punched it in early in the fourth quarter to go up 23-14.

Southeast threatened to make things interesting with a nice drive, but senior Doug Spada was wide on a 35-yard field-goal attempt with 7:51 left. Spada had missed from 43 yards in the second quarter.

"We quit executing," Scheible said of Southeast's second-half problems. "It could have been a different ballgame."

The Panthers all but put the game away with a drive that did not result in points but used up nearly five minutes and pinned Southeast deep.

Southeast's lone turnover of the night -- a Scheible interception with 2:19 remaining -- officially iced EIU's victory.

"I think they made some adjustments," Harris said. "I think we hurt ourselves in the second half."

After EIU scored first, Scheible's 1-yard sneak tied the contest with 4:44 to play in the opening quarter.

Harris went over from 9 yards out 1:31 before halftime -- the touchdown was set up by his 47-yard scamper -- to put Southeast up 14-7 at the break.

But it was all EIU after the intermission.

"We had our chances," Epstein said. "At times we didn't capitalize."

Scheible completed 17 of 35 passes for 171 yards. He was also Southeast's leading rusher with 75 yards on 15 carries.

Harris gained 72 yards on 10 carries, but 70 of the yards came in the first half.

Junior Mike Jones added 63 yards on 12 attempts as Southeast rushed for 210 yards while averaging a strong 5.7 yards per carry.

Junior linebacker Justin Woodlief and sophomore linebacker Philip Klaproth each had 10 tackles to lead Southeast. Junior safety Bryan Blanfort added nine tackles

"I thought we handled ourselves very well in the first half," Samuel said. "We just couldn't finish."

Despite the defeat, Samuel lauded the Redhawks' effort. So did Epstein.

"We fought hard," Epstein said. "I still think there are good things ahead."

Southeast plays its second OVC game Saturday at Tennessee-Martin.