Redhawks soar to No. 13 in polls

Southeast Missouri State's sixth straight win moved the Redhawks higher in the national football rankings.

The Redhawks are No. 13 in both major Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) polls released Monday after ranking 18th and 20th last week.

Southeast moved up five spots in The Sports Network media poll and seven spots in the coaches poll.

The Redhawks have been ranked three straight weeks in The Sports Network poll and two consecutive weeks in the coaches poll.

Southeast previously had not been ranked since the 2003 season. Before this year, the program's highest ranking since joining the FCS in 1991 was 20th.

"Like I said before, it's an honor. It's great recognition," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "Any time you get that type of notoriety, it's great for the program."

But Samuel emphasized it's important to keep things in perspective and to not get carried away with the rankings.

"As players and coaches, we can't get that caught up in it," Samuel said. "With all this excitement, you have to make sure you handle it the right way."

Southeast improved to 6-1 overall and a first-place 5-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with Saturday's 41-24 victory at Austin Peay.

The Redhawks' six consecutive wins represent the program's longest streak since joining the FCS and matches the 1989 squad that also won six straight. The last time Southeast won seven in a row was 1975.

Southeast also tied its high-water mark for OVC wins reached three times, most recently in 2003.

And, although there are still four games left in the regular season, Southeast has clinched the program's first winning season since 2002 (8-4) and just the third since joining the FCS (the other was a 7-5 mark in 1994).

"It's definitely a good start to have a winning record. But we don't want it to stop there," sophomore safety Tylor Brock said following the victory at Austin Peay.

Undefeated Jacksonville State is the only other ranked OVC squad as the Gamecocks remained No. 3 in both polls.

Southeast, which played five of its first seven games on the road, begins a three-game homestand Saturday against perennial OVC power Eastern Kentucky (2-4, 1-1).

The Redhawks have lost all nine meetings with the Colonels at Houck Stadium. Southeast is 2-18 against EKU, the only wins coming on the road in 2002 and 2003.

"We have to prepare for a very good football team," Samuel said.