SE, EKU DIVVIED HALVES

Saturday's football game between Southeast Missouri State University and Eastern Kentucky was a tale of two halves.

The Indians had the better of play in the first half -- although not by that much -- and the teams were tied 10-10 at the intermission.

EKU had the better of play in the second half -- by far -- and the Colonels were able to pull away for a 20-10 win at Houck Stadium.

"They wore us down in the second half," acknowledged Southeast coach John Mumford.

The Colonels wound up gaining 314 total yards to 220 for the Indians and they finished with a 33:32 to 26:28 edge in time of possession.

Those numbers become even more impressive for EKU when considering that Southeast held a 173 to 143 edge in yardage and a 17:02 to 12:58 advantage in time of possession during the first half.

"We couldn't get much going offensively in the second half and I think our defense probably got tired," Mumford said.

* Britt Mirgaux, Southeast's hard-running fullback, led the Indians in rushing with 60 yards on 15 carries.

Quarterback Justin Martini completed nine of 19 passes for 125 yards. Leslie Weaver was the Indians' top receiver with three catches for 68 yards.

Defensively, according to unofficial pressbox statistics, Angel Rubio and Marcus McClellan were both credited with two sacks. Ronnie Smith and Gabe Jenkins both had 10 tackles, followed by David Bowling with nine and Rubio with eight.

For EKU, Kentucky transfer Derick Logan gained 97 yards on 25 carries while quarterback Simon Fuentes was 16 of 25 for 161 yards.

* The St. Louis Rams Foundation, in conjunction with the NFL/VISA program, made a $5,000 contribution to the Cape Youth Tackle Football League at Houck Stadium prior to Saturday's game.

Willard Harrell, a former St. Louis Cardinals' running back who works for the Rams organization, presented the contribution on behalf of the Rams Foundation.

"The Rams are committed to supporting youth programs throughout the region and we're happy we've been able to help this program expand," said Harrell.

The contribution will enable the league to replace aging equipment and expand its program.

* Southeast will host Southern Illinois next Saturday in a 1 p.m. game.