Redhawks make switch at QB

Kevin Ballatore will get his first start on Saturday against Jacksonville State.

It didn't take Southeast Missouri State coach Tim Billings long to decide that Kevin Ballatore's strong performance at Missouri State warrants him starting at quarterback.

Billings announced at his weekly media conference Monday morning that Ballatore will replace Mike Haley when the Redhawks (0-3) begin Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday at home against two-time defending champion Jacksonville State (0-3).

"Yes, Kevin Ballatore will be our starting quarterback," Billings said. "We'll give him an opportunity this week."

Ballatore, a junior college transfer in his first season at Southeast, was impressive off the bench during Saturday's 45-21 loss at Missouri State.

Playing most of the second half, Ballatore completed 14 of 19 passes, for 147 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. He directed both of Southeast's second-half scoring drives, after the Redhawks' lone first-half touchdown came on defense. Ballatore also rushed three times for 15 yards.

"He brought a spark. It's the first spark we've had on offense this year," Billings said. "He made some plays, made some things happen.

"It was a positive for us, to see our offense move the ball, gain some confidence."

Ballatore had seen limited action in Southeast's first two games this year. For the season, he has completed 22 of 37 passes (59.5 percent) for 208 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Haley, a senior who saw very little action last year as Andrew Goodenough's backup, has completed 67 of 118 passes (56.8 percent) for 656 yards, with two touchdowns and six interceptions.

Against Missouri State, Haley was 14 of 22 for 158 yards, with one interception.

Asked if Haley might also play Saturday, Billings said, "I don't know. We're in conference play now. We've got two guys. If one's not getting the job done, we'll go with the other. But as of right now, Ballatore is our starting quarterback."

Billings hopes Ballatore, who threw for more than 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns last season at Santa Rosa (Calif.) Community College, can jump-start Southeast floundering offense.

The Redhawks have scored just five offensive touchdowns (they also have two touchdowns on interceptions returns).

"He [Ballatore] got the offense in a flow, seemed to get rid of the ball a little quicker," Billings said. "We hope he won't be a one-half wonder. Let's hope he does a great job again. Let's hope it's a sign of things to come."

Penalty woes continue

Southeast's problems with penalties continued at Missouri State, as the Redhawks were flagged 11 times for 73 yards -- which was actually something of an improvement over their first two games.

The Redhawks are by far the most penalized team in the OVC, having been whistled 31 times for 277 yards. The league's next-most penalized squad is Tennessee State, with 25 infractions for 218 yards.

"The No. 1 concern of mine is penalties," Billings said. "The amount of penalties we've had is amazing. We have to really work on that."

While Billings said some of the penalties have been questionable, he added, "A lot of them we can take care of. We have to do a better job of coaching. It's bad on our part."

Record misleading

While Southeast is 0-3 against a brutal nonconference schedule and has been outscored 136-56 -- with no loss closer than 21 points -- Jacksonville State has a much different 0-3 mark against an equally rugged nonleague slate.

The Gamecocks' three defeats have been by a total of 12 points, including Saturdays' 35-28 setback at Division I-A Alabama-Birmingham.

In their season opener, the Gamecocks saw Furman -- ranked No. 2 nationally in Division I-AA at the time -- score a touchdown on the game's final play to prevail 37-35. Tennessee-Chattanooga then scored a touchdown with less than 10 seconds left to win 21-18.

"They're probably the best 0-3 team in the nation," Billings said.

Noteworthy

* Southeast had not experienced much success with returns in its first two games, but Antonio Scaife gave the Redhawks a spark against Missouri State, averaging 20 yards on three punt returns.

* Sophomore backup safety Mark Dunaway, a Central High School product, suffered a knee injury against Missouri State. The extent of the damage is not known, but Dunaway is out indefinitely.