Redhawks open OVC play against Gamecocks

~ Southeast receives its first real test today at Jacksonville State.

Beating underdog opponents Austin Peay and Missouri-Rolla by a combined score of 82-36 was nice.

And posting a 2-0 record for the first time since 2002 has boosted the players' confidence.

But the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks realize the first true test of just what kind of team they have will come today.

That's when Southeast begins Ohio Valley Conference play with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at perennial league power Jacksonville (Ala.) State.

"We have confidence but we have to keep a level head," Southeast quarterback Kevin Ballatore said. "It's nice to be 2-0, but Jacksonville State will be a lot better than any team we've played so far. Now we'll find out what we're made of."

Added senior tailback John Radney: "We know it will be a big challenge, but I think we're ready for it."

Tony Samuel, Southeast's first-year coach, has tried to be realistic about the Redhawks' fast start. He knows scheduling has a lot to do with it -- yet he's not about to apologize for being undefeated right now.

"I think the first two games were good for us, because more than anything it gave us a chance to iron our wrinkles out," Samuel said. "You're talking about a new staff, a new system. It's more about getting the bugs out than anything."

Like his players, Samuel appears anxious to find out just what will transpire when the Redhawks face easily their toughest opponent so far.

JSU, which led until the final 30 seconds before losing 17-13 at fourth-ranked Furman in its only game to date, is 20-4 in OVC play since joining the league in 2003. That includes conference titles in 2003 and 2004, with a third-place finish last season.

"We're dealing with a very good team. They will present us with more talent than we've faced collectively, better athletes," Samuel said. "We start conference, so we're going to throw everything at them that we have. It'll be interesting to see how this thing unfolds."

JSU coach Jack Crowe also believes things will be interesting today -- partly because of the Redhawks' new offensive style and partly because he believes they are vastly improved from the team that went 2-9 in 2005.

The Gamecocks have beaten Southeast all three times since they joined the OVC -- but never before has JSU faced such a run-oriented bunch of Redhawks.

"They appear to me to be a greatly improved football team," Crowe said. "They're completely different from any SEMO team that we've ever played against. They're a running football team. ... We're looking at field position, the kicking game being very important.

"SEMO, quite honestly, is good. We're in real trouble if we don't think we have our hands full."

Crowe thinks this is the most talented team JSU has fielded -- but he knows the Gamecocks are a long way from showing it.

"I've said this before and I said this to them, that this is the best Jacksonville State team that we've had," Crowe said. "Are we playing like that? No. We've got so much new about this team ...

"We think we're good, but we hadn't proven it."

The Gamecocks almost proved it at Furman on Sept. 2, but fell just short of upsetting the Division I-AA powerhouse for the second consecutive season.

"They probably should have won that game," Samuel said.

Southeast will have to contend with a fast, athletic defense, along with one of the nation's premier running backs and all-purpose runners.

Senior All-American Clay Green rushed for 1,352 yards last season -- the second-most in JSU history -- and set a school record with 2,048 all-purpose yards.

Green, one of 16 players on the watch list for the Walter Payton Award -- the Division I-AA equivalent of the Heisman Trophy -- has rushed for more than 100 yards in eight straight OVC games, but he was held to 80 yards on 19 carries by Furman.

"He's a great player," Samuel said.

JSU junior quarterback Matt Hardin is a first-year starter, although he gained considerable backup experience the past two seasons.

In the opener at Furman, the 5-foot-8 Hardin completed nine of 17 passes for 108 yards and was intercepted twice.

"He's short, but he's mobile and accurate," Samuel said. "They've got very good running backs and they set up the pass with the running attack."

Southeast has not started a season 3-0 since 1958. It will take a significant upset to pull that off -- but Ballatore believes the Redhawks are capable of achieving it.

"I think we're ready to play a team like that," said Ballatore, who threw for 195 yards in a 2005 loss to JSU before breaking his foot in the third quarter and missing the rest of the year. "We know they're going to be really good, but I think we've got a good team. It should be a lot of fun."