Southeast took a step back with loss to Tennessee-Martin

The Southeast Missouri State football team might have taken some major steps forward with strong performances the past two weeks, but the Redhawks certainly went backward Saturday.

The Redhawks figured to be riding high following last weekend's first win of the season, a 52-21 demolition of Murray State.

And that was after they had also played extremely well during a 33-32, last-second loss at Ohio Valley Conference power Eastern Kentucky.

With three of the OVC's non-contending squads left on the schedule, the Redhawks had their sights set on ending the year with a four-game winning streak to get their fans excited about 2006.

Instead, host Tennessee-Martin wiped out those plans with a 24-21 victory, as Southeast saw a 21-3 halftime lead evaporate.

First, props to the Skyhawks, who are vastly improved and not even close to the team that entered this year as by far the OVC's worst program. Tennessee-Martin had finished either last or tied for last the past nine seasons, compiling a 3-61 league record during that time.

And Saturday's win was certainly no fluke. The Skyhawks physically controlled much of the game -- especially in the second half -- outgaining Southeast by almost 100 yards and holding the ball for nearly 42 of 60 minutes.

Southeast had three long touchdown plays in the first half. Otherwise, the offense did next to nothing. Only a stout defensive performance allowed the Redhawks to have a chance at pulling the game out late.

Still, the Skyhawks entered the contest with a three-game losing streak. They appeared to be reverting back to previous form, making them ripe for the Redhawks to take advantage of.

But I guess what comes around, goes around. Last weekend, the Redhawks snapped a 12-year losing streak against Murray State. Saturday, Tennessee-Martin ended an eight-year skid against Southeast.

The Redhawks now are almost back to square one as they try to salvage something out of a season that began with seven straight losses, the first six by 14 points or more.

Southeast should have a solid chance to beat Tennessee State in its final home game Saturday, but winning at Tennessee Tech in the season finale on Nov. 19 will be difficult, even though the Eagles aren't anything special.

The Redhawks still have a chance to finish with three victories in their final four games, but a four-game winning streak would have looked a lot better to Southeast fans searching for reasons to believe that their team, which will return many of its key players next year, has the potential to turn things around.

And, after what transpired Saturday, it's not a given that the Redhawks (1-8, 1-5 OVC) will beat both Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech.

What a difference a week makes. It was only a few days ago that the Redhawks were riding high after their destruction of Murray State and figuring that nothing the rest of the season could slow them down.

Now, Southeast is again facing an uphill battle, needing victories in its final two games simply to match last year's records of 3-8 overall and 3-5 in the OVC.

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I planned to write this last week, but didn't want to dim the mood after the Redhawks' first win of the year, the blowout of Murray State.

But I thought Southeast coach Tim Billings made a big mistake before the season by stating publicly that he believed this was his best overall talent since he's been at Southeast.

That raised plenty of eyebrows, considering all the impressive players Southeast had during some of Billings' previous seasons in Cape Girardeau, including his most successful campaigns in 2002 and 2003.

Even if Billings believed that, he should have kept it to himself, because once you make that kind of statement, then fans are going to be expecting quite a bit -- certainly much more than this season has produced.

If I'm Billings, I say that I think we've improved our talent base over 2004 and I'm optimistic about the season, but I leave it at that.

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While first exhibition games are generally ragged -- which they were to an extent -- both Southeast basketball teams displayed their share of promise during Friday's tuneups at the Show Me Center, with the men beating Missouri-St. Louis and the women blistering SIU-Edwardsville.

While it's hard to gauge just what type of season the men might have since they lost so much from a year ago, the women are fully loaded as they return most of the key players from last season's squad that was the best in the program's Division I history.

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Regarding the FanSpeak comment on this page concerning Southeast basketball player John Chappell, coach Gary Garner said he decided to hold Chappell out as far back as the Oct. 29 scrimmage because he had missed some classes. That same day, Garner told me he was also going to hold Chappell out of Friday's exhibition game as a disciplinary measure because of the missed classes.

All of Garner comments to me about Chappell's benching came before the police report in question, so I've got every reason to believe that the so-called "real reason" for the benching was indeed the missed classes. Whether Garner decides on any further disciplinary action remains to be seen.

And, not to make light of what Chappell allegedly did, but I don't think some traffic violations automatically qualify a person as a criminal.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.