SE not perfect, but real exciting

Southeast Missouri State University's 2001 football team is a thrill-a-minute outfit -- as Saturday's 38-33 win over Illinois State proved once again.

The Indians might not be perfect -- they have a 2-2 record -- but they're second to none in excitement.

While the Indians' are a far from finished product -- they have some deficiencies, like most teams -- nobody can question their heart. I doubt there are a whole lot of squads that would have rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit -- like SEMO did -- on the road against a team considered to have top-20 national talent when the season began.

I'll even gladly accept a wrong prediction in the Southeast Missourian's Weekly Media Grid Picks competition -- don't think I didn't take plenty of grief from SEMO players and coaches for selecting Illinois State -- for a game like Saturday's.

They're not scheduled to play each other this year so it won't happen, but a game between Jackson and New Madrid County Central would be an absolute treat for area high school football fans.

Jackson and NMCC could very well be the area's top two teams -- you certainly have to include Poplar Bluff in that mix, and the Mules will get their chance to prove that later in the season -- and they've both been steamrolling the opposition so far.

Speaking of Poplar Bluff -- which has also been mighty impressive to this point -- the Mules and Jackson will square off on the final date of the regular season in a game that will once again almost certainly decide the Class 5A, District 1 title and send one team into the playoffs while ending the other's campaign.

It's still a few weeks away, but SEMO basketball fans should start gearing up for a neat activity that will take place Friday, Oct. 12.

Houck Madness 2001 will officially usher in the beginning of practice for SEMO's men's and women's teams. The event will be held from 11 p.m. until 1 a.m. at Houck Field House, the old home of the Indians and Otahkians.

Activities will include men's and women's autograph sessions, T-shirt and poster giveaways, fan contests, men's and women's 3-point shooting contests, a dunk contest and a men's scrimmage.

Under NCAA guidelines, college basketball teams are officially allowed to begin practice Oct. 13, so many schools across the country hold these types of midnight madness sessions to hype the coming season.

It sounds like a lot of fun and you won't want to miss it.

SEMO will introduce its two new assistant men's basketball coaches at 10 a.m. Monday at the Show Me Center. The public is invited to attend.

Although the new assistants have not yet been announced, I do know that one will be former Notre Dame High School assistant coach John Daniel, who will serve in the limited earnings -- or No. 3 -- position on Gary Garner's staff.

I also know that former limiting earnings coach Keno Davis -- who has been with the program ever since Garner came to SEMO four seasons ago -- will be elevated to one of the staff's top two positions.

Belated good luck and best wishes to former SEMO assistant basketball coach Tom Schuberth, who recently accepted a similar position at Alabama-Birmingham.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian