Surprising Redhawks at front of exciting OVC women's race

That is some kind of race being waged for the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season women's basketball championship.

And much to the delight of Southeast Missouri State fans, the Redhawks are right in the thick of things heading down the home stretch.

Saturday's 73-72 win over visiting Eastern Kentucky kept the Redhawks tied atop the 11-team league at 12-4, along with Murray State, which dropped Morehead State one game behind by beating the Eagles Saturday.

All three contenders have four OVC contests remaining -- none against each other -- with Murray and Morehead both playing two at home and two on the road, while Southeast has three of its final four away from the Show Me Center.

That makes things particularly challenging for the Redhawks, who are 9-0 in conference home games but just 3-4 on the road.

But if somebody had told me before the season that Southeast would be tied for first place with four games left, I have to admit I wouldn't have believed it.

Neither would a lot of people, since the Redhawks were picked just fifth in the OVC's preseason poll after losing most of their key players from last year's championship squad, and then having head coach B.J. Smith resign amid turmoil and controversy.

But the re-tooled Redhawks pretty much haven't missed a beat, which like I've written many times is a real credit to everybody associated with the program.

With two weeks left in the regular season, we'll see if the Redhawks can finish off their improbable quest.

Considering how much they've already overcome, bet against them at your own risk.

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You can't really judge football recruiting classes for a few years -- until you see how players produce on the field -- but Southeast appeared to land some promising talent, and plenty of it.

Coach Tony Samuel's second crop of recruits, announced Wednesday, features 29 players.

Particularly intriguing is 6-foot-6, 360-pound offensive lineman Miles Stroter, a high school senior from Chicago.

Stroter was at one time ranked among the nation's premier offensive linemen and attracted recruiting interest from several major programs before his stock apparently dipped.

But Stroter looks like quite a catch for the Redhawks.

A big key as far as improving on last year's 4-7 record is finding a solid quarterback who will help the offense be more productive.

Southeast signed three quarterbacks, to go along with the only returning scholarship signal caller in Houston Lillard, who missed all of last season with a knee injury after transferring from junior college.

Samuel seems pleased with the potential of the four players who will compete for that all-important position, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be as satisfied once the season rolls around.

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One more recruiting note:

A Fan Speak comment in last Sunday's Southeast Missourian criticized Southeast's football program for not recruiting Charleston seniors Justin Clark and Jamarcus Williams, who signed with Murray State and Tennessee-Martin, respectively.

Well, I was told by reliable sources that Southeast did recruit both players, but they chose other universities, which is their right.

The rambling comment -- it never did make a whole lot of sense -- then touched on how the Charleston duo wanted to go to Southeast and be paired up with Will Bogan because they all grew up together.

Yet that's a different sport, because Bogan is a basketball player who has verbally committed to Southeast, although the Bell City senior can't sign until April.

It would be nice if folks got their facts straight before they ripped good people like Southeast football coaches who are trying their best to get the program turned around.

But I guess that's why so many people like Fan Speak. They can write pretty much whatever they want -- no matter how inaccurate -- without having to place their name beside it so they can be held accountable.

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With the chill in the air over the weekend, it hardly seems like baseball weather.

But don't let that fool you.

Southeast Missouri State's 2007 baseball team is just about set to take the field.

The Redhawks open the season Saturday with a doubleheader at Jackson State in Mississippi. The Redhawks' home opener is set for Feb. 23 against South Dakota State.

This should be an especially interesting year for the Redhawks, who are coming off unprecedented back-to-back losing seasons under successful coach Mark Hogan.

Southeast's 23-33 record in 2006 was only its fourth losing mark in 12 years under Hogan, who has a 355-298 record at his alma mater, including two OVC titles and two NCAA regional berths.

But, unlike 2005 -- when Southeast was still a respectable 15-11 in the OVC -- last year the Redhawks tumbled to an 11-16 league record, and the resulting tie for sixth place marked their worst finish under Hogan.

Hogan has readily acknowledged that it's time for Southeast to get back to having the kind of success that had marked the program during his first decade.

Over the next few months, we'll find out if the Redhawks are able to pull it off.

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While Southeast baseball opens Saturday, the softball team is also gearing up for its season debut, set for Saturday at the Tennessee-Martin invitational.

The Redhawks' first home action will be March 9 against Belmont.

Southeast softball had its first winning record in five years last season under Lana Richmond, who ranks among the nation's most successful coaches.

Richmond, the winningest softball coach in OVC history, is 712-474-2 entering her 25th season.

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Southeast track and field has been the university's most successful athletic program in recent years.

Area fans will get a chance to watch the Redhawks' men and women for the only time during the indoor season when Southeast hosts a meet Friday at the Student Recreation Center.

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A lot was written and discussed about the substantial differences of the two Super Bowl quarterbacks.

All those so-called experts turned out to be right.

While Indy's Peyton Manning was solid, Chicago's Rex Grossman struggled and made two crucial mistakes when the game was still hanging in the balance.

But to totally blame the Bears' 29-17 loss last Sunday on Grossman would be wrong, because the Colts pretty much dominated in most areas.

The final score doesn't really do justice to how much Indianapolis controlled things. The Colts ran 81 offensive plays to the Bears' 48, had a 38:04 to 21:56 edge in time of possession and held a 430-265 advantage in total yardage.

Chicago was actually fortunate to be in the game late, which is where Grossman could have made a difference. But his interception and subsequent return for a touchdown, when the Bears trailed just 22-17, pretty much sealed the deal.

The contest was an example of what many people thought -- that the AFC is a lot better than the NFC right now, and has been for the last several years.

Of course, having a future Hall of Fame quarterback on your side -- compared to an inexperienced signal caller yet to prove himself -- also doesn't hurt.

And, for a change, I did pretty good with my Super Bowl prediction.

I wrote in last Sunday's column that the Colts would win 31-20. That's not too far off from what resulted.

For all of my predictions that have been way off the mark, I guess I deserve to brag a bit this time.

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How about that Southern Illinois basketball team.

The Salukis, having yet another banner season, now find themselves ranked in the top 25 of both major national polls.

SIU is No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and No. 21 in The Associated Press media poll.

Sure, it would be nicer if Southeast was getting that kind of acclaim.

But, considering that SIU is less than an hour away and is coached by a former Southeast assistant (Chris Lowery), I'll root for the Salukis any day -- as long as they're not playing the Redhawks.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.