Southeast knocks off OVC-leading TSU

Football games don't get much wilder than Saturday's crucial Ohio Valley Conference matchup between host Southeast Missouri State University and Tennessee State.

They also don't get much sweeter if you're an Indian.

Southeast scored the last 21 points of the contest in the final eight minutes to rally past TSU 52-35 in front of an announced crowd of 5,375 at Houck Stadium. It was the most points the Indians have scored in a game since 1985, when they beat Tennessee-Martin 57-17.

By posting their fourth victory in five games, the Indians improved to 4-6 overall and 4-2 in OVC play as they pulled into a three-way tie for second place.

The Indians also received good news Saturday when Jacksonville State beat Samford, which defeated Southeast earlier in the season. Jacksonville State leads the OVC at 5-1, with Southeast, TSU and Eastern Kentucky all one game behind.

Because the Indians have already beaten TSU and Eastern Kentucky, and with Jacksonville State visiting Houck Stadium in the regular-season finale on Nov. 22, the Indians can do no worse than tie for their first OVC title if they win their last two games. And if that happens, they'll gain the league's automatic NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth.

"This is a big, big win," said cornerback Dimitri Patterson, who had an interception, four passes broken up, two forced fumbles and 2.5 tackles for loss after he spent much of the day covering TSU standout C.J. Johnson, the OVC's all-time leading receiver. "These last five games have really showed our character. We started out 0-5 but everybody stuck together."

Said defensive end Ryan Roth, "Everything went the way we wanted it to today, with us winning and Samford losing so we don't have to worry about the tie-breaker with them. It's a great win and now we just have to keep it going the next two weeks."

The Indians prevailed despite allowing two interception returns for touchdowns in the first half and being penalized 14 times for 124 yards. But the Tigers (6-4, 4-2) helped offset the penalties with 14 penalties for 116 yards, including a late offsides call that helped seal the win.

"There was a little bit of everything in this game -- a lot of penalties and a little bit of football," Southeast coach Tim Billings said. "We're very fortunate to have that many turnovers and penalties and still win the game. But I was really proud of our kids. We hung in there."

Take away the two first-half defensive touchdowns by the Tigers and Southeast might have rolled. The Indians dominated statistically, piling up a season-high 555 yards of offense against the OVC's top-ranked defense. TSU entered the contest allowing an average of just 289.6 yards per game.

Southeast's defense was responsible for 21 TSU points. The explosive Tigers gained 345 total yards, which is 25 yards below their average.

Converted wide receiver Jamel Oliver rushed for a career-high 186 yards on just 15 carries -- he displayed his impressive speed with touchdown runs of 54 and 82 yards and added a late 3-yard TD reception -- as the Indians piled up 291 yards on the ground.

"That's good. I like that," said a smiling Oliver when informed of his rushing total. "But it was our offensive line. They played awesome. I just had to run through the holes."

Bobby Dorsainvil added 74 yards on 17 carries and scored on runs of 6 and 3 yards.

"We've gotten better as the season has gone along," said offensive tackle Justen Meyer of his unit. "It's great when you see running backs gain those kind of yards."

Quarterback Andrew Goodenough, making his second straight start, shook off the early interceptions that turned into TSU touchdowns -- one came on a tipped pass -- to complete 15 of 23 for 231 yards, including a 62-yard TD strike to Brandon Amick that put the Indians ahead for good midway through the fourth quarter.

Ray Goodson led the Indians' receivers with five catches for 78 yards, giving him 57 receptions on the season. Amick had four receptions for 70 yards, while Oliver and Chris NesSmith both caught three passes.

Goodenough was shaken up on a hit late in the game, and Jack Tomco -- last year's record-setting signal caller -- came on to throw a clinching touchdown pass in the final moments.

"I wasn't seeing the field real well, but we had a good running game going and our defense played great," said Goodenough, who wasn't seriously injured.

After taking an early 7-0 lead, Southeast was either behind or tied much of the contest.

TSU snapped a 21-21 halftime deadlock by scoring on the first possession of the third quarter, but two plays later Oliver broke off an 82-yard touchdown run as the Indians forged a 28-28 tie, and a 20-yard Derek Kutz field goal late in the period put Southeast on top 31-28.

After TSU surged ahead 35-31 with 8:20 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Indians answered less than a minute later as Goodenough hit a wide-open Amick on a 62-yard TD pass with 7:41 left for a 38-35 lead.

Then things got really wild. Facing a fourth-and-1 from its 33-yard line with just over four minutes remaining, Southeast prepared to punt. But TSU was inexplicably called for offsides, so the Indians retained possession and Tomco hit Oliver for a 3-yard TD pass with 1:03 remaining for a 45-35 lead.

"This guy had been coming off the ball hard all day long on punts, and I think he hit our snapper, Justin DeShon," said Roth, who is on the punt team.

Cornerback Kellin White added some icing with just 10 seconds left as he returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown.

"It was a total team effort," Meyer said. "It's a great win for us."

mmishow@semissourian.com

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