Southeast Missouri State football team prepares for UTM's aerial attack

The Southeast Missouri State football team had little success slowing down Tennessee State's running game last week as tailback Trabis Ward piled up 267 yards and scored four touchdowns.

Now it looks like Southeast's pass defense will get a workout when Tennessee-Martin visits Houck Stadium Saturday for the Redhawks' 1 p.m. homecoming game.

The Skyhawks (5-2, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) are riding high behind the arm of senior quarterback Derek Carr, who is coming off a performance for the ages.

Carr, a three-year starter, set school records of 560 yards passing and seven touchdowns during last week's incredible 66-59 road win over Murray State in the highest-scoring game, based on points by both teams, in OVC history.

"Derek had a great game and the receivers played well. The offensive line protected. It was fun to watch," UTM coach Jason Simpson said.

Carr completed 42 of 46 passes without an interception as the Skyhawks piled up 693 total yards while the Racers had 747 yards of offense.

"That's incredible," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said about Carr throwing only four incompletions. "When you see that, you think it's a lot of short passing game, but they also threw a lot of long balls. They're throwing up unbelievable numbers offensively."

Southeast (2-4, 1-2) will likely have to shift its defensive focus some after its past two opponents relied heavily on the run.

The Redhawks, before their 40-28 home loss to undefeated Tennessee State, suffered a 31-16 defeat at Jacksonville State on Sept. 29.

"We have to do a much better job against the pass," Samuel said. "But it's still a little bit of both. They're very capable of running the ball."

But the Skyhawks have relied heavily on their passing attack to pile up 117 points in their last two games, including a 51-37 home victory over Eastern Illinois on Oct. 6.

Carr, who boasts a school-record 54 career touchdown passes, ranks sixth nationally in passing yards with 2,020. The fifth-year senior has completed 62.7 percent (158 of 252) with16 touchdowns and six interceptions.

"He's very mobile and accurate. He's got a lot of experience," Samuel said.

Carr, who passed for more than 2,500 yards as a sophomore and more than 2,400 yards as a junior, ranks seventh on the OVC career passing yardage list (7,172), ninth in career completions (559) and 10th in career total offense (7,205).

"I'm biased, just like everybody else is of their QB," Simpson said. "We wouldn't trade our guy for anybody."

UTM boasts five players who have caught at least 14 passes, led by senior Quentin Sims. He ranks third in the OVC with 57 catches, averaging 12.1 yards per reception, and has scored six touchdowns.

Junior college transfer Jeremy Butler set the school record for touchdown receptions in a game, catching eight passes for 177 yards and four touchdowns against Murray State. He has 21 receptions on the season for a 20.7-yard average and seven touchdowns.

Three UTM running backs have rushed for between 228 and 291 yards, led by senior Jason McNair (291 yards, 3.8 average).

The Skyhawks are last in the league in rushing offense with 114 yards per game but third in passing offense with 291.3 yards per game. They are averaging 30.6 points.

UTM also has the OVC's top kick returner in junior Kevin Barfield, who is averaging 27.5 yards per return and has a 93-yard touchdown.

"They're a very good team," Samuel said. "I thought they would be in the hunt for the conference [championship]."

The Skyhawks are as they trail first-place Tennessee State by one-half game.

Southeast, with two conference losses, is not out of the title chase, but the Redhawks probably can't afford another league defeat.

Samuel shakes his head when he thinks about what might have been for his squad. The Redhawks railed Tennessee State just 33-28 with under two minutes left and trailed Jacksonville State only 17-16 early in the fourth quarter.

"We're so close to being undefeated in the conference," Samuel said. "That's how close this league is."