It didn't quite have the bite of last year's miraculous 34-33 comeback victory.
But Saturday night's 24-5 win by Southeast Missouri State University over arch-rival Southern Illinois at Houck Stadium still contained plenty of pop, most notably for the Indians' second-half turnaround and a school-record passing performance by redshirt freshman quarterback Jeromy McDowell.
SIU marched up and down the field in the first half while SEMO's offense was stuck in place. But a valiant bend-but-don't-break defense allowed the Indians to enter halftime with a 3-3 tie that must have felt like a big lead under the circumstances.
That the Indians were able to take control in the second half had to be sweet for head coach Tim Billings and his staff, who saw their first SEMO team wilt badly in the latter stages of many contests last year.
One game does not a season make, but what the Indians showed Saturday -- coupled with an impressive performance in their season opener at Eastern Michigan last week -- definitely gives SEMO fans cause for optimism.
And it definitely should have them coming back for more when the Indians entertain Southwest Missouri State next Saturday.
Friday night's high school football schedule around the area featured a couple of interesting developments.
First, for the contest I covered, Jackson's 42-0 thrashing of Sumner. Sure, Sumner is down this year. But the Indians held the Bulldogs to no first downs and forced them into a total yardage of minus 37. I don't ever recall a game where a team had those kind of futile statistics.
And still on that Jackson-Sumner matchup: He had plenty of holes to run through and Sumner's defense was suspect, but the fact remains -- Mario Whitney is one super running back whose cutting ability and acceleration are mighty impressive.
Now, for one score that was hard to believe: Portageville 58, Scott City 0. The Bulldogs went winless last year and, although they were believed to be significantly improved this season, to come to Scott City and win by 58 was improbable to say the least.
Finally, in what was by far the most exciting contest on a night full of blowouts, New Madrid held off Cape Central 28-20 in a battle of area heavyweights. The Tigers erased all of a 20-0 halftime deficit before falling short.
Much like SEMO's football team, the SEMO women's soccer squad has a host of young and talented players, meaning the future looks extremely bright for the Otahkians.
And the present also isn't too bad. The Otahkians are off to a 3-0 start and have not yet allowed a goal while scoring 10 times.
The competition is certain to get tougher down the road, but the Otahkians sure look like legitimate Ohio Valley Conference contenders.
It was brought to my attention after I wrote a preview of the area's high school cross country teams that Delta started up a program this year.
My apologies to the runners at Delta for not including them in my preview, but good luck on the season that started last weekend.
What a bizarre -- and sad -- situation regarding Danny Almonte and the Little League World Series.
If he had really been 12 years old -- per Little League age rules -- then Almonte would have been an amazing phenom of a young pitcher.
But at 14, which turned out to be his actual age, he's nothing more than just another pretty good hurler.
Baseball skills aside, however, it's truly a shame such deceit even exists on that level.
Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian
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