Southeast defense put in extra time while offense came up with a season-low 222 yards

MARTIN, Tenn. -- You sure couldn't blame Southeast Missouri State's overworked defense for Saturday's 24-21 loss at Tennessee-Martin.

The Redhawks' defenders should have been allowed to clock in for overtime pay -- particularly in the second half -- as Southeast's offense hit a major snag following two impressive performances.

Southeast had piled up 903 yards the past two weeks, helping account for 84 points, after the Redhawks' offense had struggled in the first six games.

But Saturday, Southeast's offense gained a season-low 222 yards -- only 49 in the second half. UTM had a 41:53 to 18:07 time-of-possession advantage.

"It was surprising, because the offense had really been rolling," Southeast defensive end Justin Komondoreas said.

Southeast's defense allowed 312 yards on a mind-boggling 88 offensive plays by UTM, which averaged less than four yards per play.

Yet Komondoreas said he wouldn't blame UTM's strong second half -- the Skyhawks rallied from a 21-3 halftime deficit -- on Southeast's defense being tired.

"I don't think we were tired," Komondoreas said. "We just weren't tackling good at times."

Still, UTM's longest touchdown drive covered 58 yards. The others went for just 42 and 10 yards after Southeast miscues.

Komondoreas had two quarterback sacks and four tackles for loss.

Linebacker Seth Harrell, a Jackson High School product, was credited with a whopping 18 tackles.

Also, true freshman safety Kendall Magana continued his strong play with 10 tackles, linebacker Adam Casper had nine tackles and broke up two passes, and 305-pound defensive tackle Bernard Quinn nabbed his first career interception on an unusual play when he appeared to almost snatch the ball right from quarterback Brady Wahlberg's hands.

Holloman finally slowed

Tim Holloman, Southeast's true freshman tailback sensation, had rushed for 336 yards and scored six touchdown in the past two games.

But Saturday, Holloman had virtually no room to run, except for his 33-yard touchdown scamper. He finished with 64 yards on 16 carries before missing much of the fourth quarter with what appears to be a minor ankle injury.

"They had a nice scheme. There was not much room to run," Holloman said.

Said Southeast coach Tim Billings, whose squad netted just 53 yards rushing: "They stacked everybody in the box. We had to make some plays in the passing game. We did the first half. We didn't the second half."

While Holloman was bottled up, UTM sophomore Don Chapman gained a hard-earned 107 yards on 35 carries as he went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. Chapman had only 20 yards in the first half.

"He's a real good running back," Komondoreas said. "We knew he would keep getting the ball."

Billings also had praise for Wahlberg, one of UTM's few seniors. He completed 25 of 38 passes for 190 yards, and rushed 12 times for 39 yards.

"I was really impressed with him, how he led the team," Billings said.

Noteworthy

• Despite punting several times into a wind that was estimated at about 25 miles per hour, Southeast's David Simonhoff averaged 45.7 yards on seven attempts.