RUGGED DEFENSE, PENALTIES MARK SEMO-MURRAY GAME

If fans showed up at Stewart Stadium Saturday night looking for a football masterpiece, they probably went home disappointed.

But if fans came out to the Ohio Valley Conference game to see some extremely hard-nosed, rugged defensive play, then they certainly got their money's worth.

Murray State's 17-3 win over visiting Southeast Missouri State University was certainly not pretty. The teams combined for five turnovers, 25 penalties and just 384 yards of offense.

But both defenses were at the top of their game as massive collisions sent bodies flying all over Stewart Stadium.

"I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty," said MSU first-year coach Denver Johnson. "SEMO might have played us tougher than we expected, but I'm happy with the win."

Southeast coach John Mumford did expect his team to play the Racers tough and that's exactly what happened. The Indians still were very much in the game until the closing seconds, when MSU linebacker Ronnie Merritt sealed the victory by returning an interception 55 yards for a touchdown.

"Our guys played really hard and gave a great effort," said Mumford. "We really hung in there. We just have to become more consistent and start making more plays."

The Indians (1-2 overall, 0-1 OVC) struggled big-time offensively once again, failing to gain 200 yards for the second week in a row.

Southeast, held to 28 yards in the first half as it fell behind 10-0, finished with 142 yards.

MSU (2-2 overall, 1-0 OVC) didn't fare all that much better. The Racers had 201 yards in the first half but finished with only 242 yards.

The Indians were penalized 11 times for 79 yards and had three passes intercepted. The Racers were penalized 14 times for 100 yards, had one pass intercepted and lost a fumble.

Both teams' run defenses were especially stout. Taking into account six quarterback sacks, Southeast gained just 18 yards rushing. MSU, which did not yield a sack, still had only 60 yards rushing.

MSU quarterback Dan Loyd had a hot hand in the first half but was benched some in the second half. He wound up completing 15 of 34 passes for 174 yards.

With Southeast hampered by poor field position most of the first half, the Indians stayed extremely conservative and attempted just three passes, with no completions. Starting quarterback Heath Graham was just 1-for-5 for 12 yards before being knocked out of the game on a late hit early in the second half. He was intercepted once.

Justin Martini, last year's starter, completed 11 of 29 for 112 yards and was picked off twice. He directed Southeast's only scoring drive that led to Eric Warren's 36-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Dante Bryant caught eight passes for 79 yards to lead the Indians' air attack.

"There are a lot of positives we can take from this game to build on," said Mumford. "There's still a lot of the season left."

The Indians will visit Tennessee-Martin this Saturday night.

* Defensively, linebacker Zuri Buchanan was unofficially credited with a team-high nine tackles and two assists by MSU press box officials.

Former Jackson High standout John Smith, making his first career start at safety, was unofficially credited with six tackles.

(Tackles are officially determined by Southeast coaches after they review game films early in the week)

Cornerback Fred Hambrick intercepted his second pass of the season for the Indians.