Southeast Missouri State football team's spring game wraps up camp

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel generally has been pleased with spring practice.

Samuel hopes the Redhawks can finish strong in Saturday's noon intrasquad game at Houck Stadium that concludes spring drills. There is no admission charge.

"Things have gone pretty well. They've worked hard," said Samuel, who will be entering his seventh season. "We're looking forward to seeing how things wrap up Saturday."

The spring game will pit the offense against the defense using a scoring system that allows both units to score points.

The defense has posted three straight spring game wins, including 41-20 last year. The offense most recently prevailed in 2007. The 2010 contest was stopped early because of lightning, and no winner was declared.

"This formula seems to work," Samuel said. "It's generally a good game. The kids are competitive. I get a kick out of it."

Saturday's affair will mark Southeast's third spring scrimmage, the maximum allowed by the NCAA. Teams are permitted 15 practice sessions, including scrimmages.

Quarterback Kyle Snyder, a transfer from Football Bowl Subdivision Ohio University, has been impressive during Southeast's first two scrimmages and is the heavy favorite to open the season under center.

"I think he's starting to get a good grasp of things," Samuel said. "He's making progress."

Southeast lost only a handful of key seniors from last year's squad that went 3-8 overall and a seventh-place 2-6 in the nine-team Ohio Valley Conference.

The most notable loss is record-setting quarterback Matt Scheible.

Noteworthy

* The Southeast football coaching staff will hold its annual spring party Saturday at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson. The event, which begins at 6 p.m., is free and open to the public.