Southeast Missouri State football team falls to 0-5 at TSU

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southeast Missouri State football team grabbed its first lead of the season by scoring for the first time on its opening offensive possession.

Southeast later got a defensive touchdown by Central High School graduate Cantrell Andrews to take its second lead of the year, still in the opening half.

But that was about the extent of the good news for the Redhawks on Saturday night, at least until the outcome had long been decided.

Sophomore tailback Lewis Washington, a burly 245-pounder with speed, broke off a 99-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the game. It was Washington's only carry of the night and the longest play from scrimmage in Southeast history.

"I did the easy part. The guys up front did the work," Washington said.

Washington's highlight-reel jaunt was simply window dressing for the Redhawks, who remained winless as host Tennessee State romped 40-16.

Southeast, continuing the program's worst start since the 2005 squad lost its first seven games, fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play.

"We've got to keep staying positive," junior cornerback Reggie Jennings said. "It's like life. Life gets tough, you have to keep pushing through."

The Tigers improved to 5-1 and 2-0 with their fifth straight win.

"They've got a good team. They're experienced and they've got depth," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said.

Southeast, despite being dominated statistically, trailed only 16-9 at halftime. But the Redhawks were ultimately done in by their continued offensive woes.

The Redhawks, who entered the night averaging just 11.5 points and 288.5 yards per game, were shut down by what is statistically one of the nation's top defenses.

Southeast gained 39 yards on the game's opening drive that led to a 38-yard field goal by redshirt freshman Ryan McCrum. It was his first collegiate field goal and Southeast's first field goal this year.

The Redhawks had only 85 yards through three quarters before making their final total a bit more respectable at 229, thanks largely to Washington's record run.

"The first drive was very good. That was probably the last time we did anything where we could sustain it," Samuel said.

TSU piled up 544 total yards as the Tigers held a whopping 38:21 to 21:39 advantage in time of possession. TSU had 27 first downs compared to only nine for Southeast.

Despite all those lopsided numbers, defense kept the Redhawks in the game during the first half.

After TSU went ahead early in the second quarter, Andrews gave the Redhawks their second lead of the season.

The senior cornerback returned a fumble 68 yards for a touchdown after sophomore defensive end Travis Sanders stripped quarterback Ronald Butler as he was rolling out to pass.

The ball took one bounce and came up right to Andrews in stride. He raced untouched to the end zone with a little more than nine minutes left in the second quarter, putting Southeast up 9-7.

"It felt good that the defense could put points on the board," Andrews said.

But that advantage was short-lived.

On the ensuing extra point, a bad snap led to Southeast eventually fumbling. TSU gained control of the ball and, after one player pitched it to another, returned it to the end zone the other way for a two-point defensive conversion.

Instead of Southeast leading 10-7 if it had kicked the PAT, the score was tied 9-9.

Despite the turn of events, Andrews didn't think the Redhawks were negatively affected.

"As a whole I didn't think it had too much of an effect on us," Andrews said.

But Southeast did virtually nothing offensively the rest of the way, at least until Washington's late run, as TSU took control.

The Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 1:07 left before halftime.

TSU then put the game away by getting a field goal and two touchdowns on its first three possessions of the third quarter. That made the score 33-9.

Southeast had all three of its turnovers -- two interceptions and a fumble on a kickoff -- in the third quarter and the opening moments of the final period. TSU scored after only one of the miscues.

"I thought the first half we handled ourselves very well," Samuel said. "To start the third quarter we made too many mistakes. We missed a few tackles. That was a tough stretch for us."

Washington's touchdown cut the deficit to 33-16, but TSU answered that with a TD on its next drive to round out the night's scoring.

Despite the lopsided setback, Washington said: "Everybody's still positive. We're one big unit."