Southeast's defense did its job but turnovers prevented upset

If you had told me that Southeast Missouri State University's defense would allow less than 400 yards for the first time all season and Eastern Kentucky's offense would basically be responsible for scoring just 10 points, I'd have bet on the Indians winning -- or at least coming very close.

But in this weird Southeast football season, all the above resulted in Saturday night was a 25-point loss for the Indians as the Colonels prevailed 38-13.

It's been that kind of a year for the Indians, who have been decimated by injuries and have not played very well most of the way. Their 1-5 overall record and 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference mark is certainly no fluke, since they were fortunate to even win that one game -- a four-overtime thriller against Samford.

Saturday night, however, the Indians' banged-up defense finally did its job and gave their normally high-powered offense every opportunity to take control and upset the Colonels.

But five turnovers later -- including two that were returned for touchdowns -- not to mention a blocked punt and a blocked field-goal attempt on what would normally have been a chip shot 19-yarder, the Colonels were waltzing out of Houck Stadium with a lopsided victory.

I'm just glad I didn't place a bet.

What a great time I had Saturday at Southeast's third annual Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Show Me Center.

As an unabashed sports fan who simply can't get enough, it was a real treat for me -- for the third straight year -- to meet and rub elbows with some of the school's all-time great athletes, who also rate as equally impressive people.

Once again, Southeast deserves plenty of praise for holding a classy reception and induction ceremony.

Special kudos to Rich Eichhorst, Hall of Fame committee chairman, and financial contributor John Bierk. Those two have been largely responsible for making the Hall of Fame a long overdue reality.

Also props once again to Southeast sports information director Ron Hines, who does a great job as master of ceremonies each year and donates plenty of time toward the event, and Southeast director of athletic development Greg Brune, who also donates a lot of time and plays a major role in making sure everything runs smoothly.

Once again, it was a blast hanging out with and interviewing those elite athletes, several of whom I knew and some of whom I was meeting for the first time.

I'm already looking ahead to next year's affair.

I still don't know if the Rams are any good -- I doubt if most people have a clue at this point -- but you certainly have to give them their props for Sunday's 33-27 overtime win at Seattle that featured one of the most incredible late comebacks in NFL history.

For most St. Louis fans who watched that game, it's amazing they didn't turn off the television at halftime -- or maybe many of them did. That's how pitiful the Rams looked both offensively and defensively in being dominated by the Seahawks, who led 24-7 at the break.

Even though the Rams' defense stiffened in the second half, the offense still couldn't get much going as Seattle appeared to be coasting with a 27-10 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.

But, in one of the most dramatic turnarounds imaginable, the Rams -- apparently hopelessly out of the game -- struck for 17 points in the final 5:34 of regulation, then won by scoring on the first possession of overtime.

You also have to give plenty of credit to quarterback Marc Bulger for having an extremely short memory. He was awful in the first half and even early in the second half but became unstoppable late as he zipped passes into receivers all over the field.

Like I said earlier, however, the jury is still very much out on just what kind of team the Rams have. But it's going to be interesting to see if their miracle rally helps get them on a roll over the next few weeks.

I don't think most people expected the Cardinals to sweep the Astros, so Saturday's loss shouldn't be very alarming to St. Louis fans.

But if the Astros win again today -- and with Roy Oswalt pitching they're probably the favorites -- then it looks like the NLCS will actually be a series after all.

Anybody who knows classy former Southeast head football coach John Mumford had to feel good for him last weekend after Army broke its 19-game losing streak -- which had been the nation's longest -- by beating Cincinnati 48-29.

And Army made it two in a row Saturday with a win over South Florida.

Mumford, the Indians' head coach from 1990 to 1999, is an assistant at Army and had been part of the Black Knights lengthy string of futility. He was even their interim head coach for the final part of last season after Todd Berry -- an ex-Southeast assistant -- was fired.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.