Sweet homecoming

Southeast Missouri State didn't just break its 12-game football losing streak against Murray State -- the Redhawks crashed right on through.

And they took out all their frustrations of this season in the process.

In a game between two struggling teams that had all the makings of a tossup, the Redhawks stunned the Racers with 45 unanswered points and rolled to a 52-21 homecoming victory Saturday afternoon.

"After 12 years, it's better to beat Murray like this," said Southeast senior safety Mike Miller with a smile.

And even better was the fact the Redhawks (1-7, 1-4 Ohio Valley Conference) can no longer be referred to as winless.

"I'm just glad we finally got the victory, because we should have won at Eastern Kentucky," said Miller, referring to last weekend's last-second 33-32 loss.

Junior linebacker Seth Harrell, a Jackson High School product who had the first interception and first fumble recovery of his Southeast career, said the Redhawks displayed the character that he has witnessed all season -- despite their struggles.

"We knew we could have beaten Eastern Kentucky last week, and a lot of teams might have gotten down," Harrell said. "But the thing about us, we'll never give up. We'll keep fighting."

The Redhawks had not beaten the Racers (1-7, 0-5) since 1992, although they had come close plenty of times.

But there was virtually no suspense Saturday as Southeast dominated a Murray State squad that had lost its last three OVC games by a total of just 16 points.

Southeast piled up a season-high 505 yards of offense while scoring 20 more points than it had in any previous game this year.

Defensively, the Redhawks held the Racers to just 251 yards -- and a good chunk of that came late in the contest. Murray State, which had gained 897 yards in its previous two games, needed two touchdowns in the final 5 minutes against mainly Southeast reserves to avoid its most lopsided OVC defeat since 1992.

"It really was a great performance by us offensively and defensively," said Southeast coach Tim Billings, who was drenched with a cooler full of water by his players in the final seconds. "We really needed it. And if we're going to beat anybody, around here the fans love it to be Murray."

Southeast received a second straight career rushing performance from freshman tailback Tim Holloman, who gained 181 yards on 31 carries.

Running behind an offensive line that dominated Murray State, the Redhawks piled up a whopping 302 yards on the ground after entering the game with just 542 rushing yards the entire season.

"I thought our offensive line did a great job," said Billings, who has switched to more of a two-back look after previously utilizing a one-back offense. "With the way we've been able to run the ball the last two weeks, our offense is on the field so much and the defense is more rested."

Senior quarterback Mike Haley had his second consecutive solid performance, completing 14 of 21 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers.

Haley was intercepted once for Southeast's lone turnover, after the Redhawks had no turnovers against Eastern Kentucky.

"Mike played really well again," Billings said. "It's such a big difference when you don't turn the ball over."

Said Miller: "Our offense is clicking, and that really benefits our defense."

Holloman's 8-yard touchdown run on Southeast's opening possession capped a 75-yard drive and the first of redshirt freshman kicker Colin Schermann's seven extra points put the Redhawks ahead 7-0 just 5:43 into the game.

The Racers tied it late in the first quarter with one of their few drives of substance the entire contest -- but after that it was all Redhawks.

Southeast took advantage of two Murray State miscues to score 17 points in a span of 4 minutes, 31 seconds.

Junior fullback Corey Andrade scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run, capping a 63-yard drive that put Southeast up for good at 14-7 with 14:50 left in the second quarter.

On Murray State's next possession, punter Tim Wright fumbled what appeared to be a good snap, then dropped it again while trying to regain control. Southeast freshman Kendall Magana pounced on the ball at the Racers' 22-yard line.

Three plays later, junior tailback John Radney scored on a 7-yard run to make it 21-7 with 12:08 left before halftime.

On Murray State's very next offensive play, junior defensive end Edgar Jones tipped a Ryne Salyer pass and Harrell intercepted, making a 9-yard return to the Racers' 26.

"The defensive line made a great play, and the ball came to me," Harrell said.

Schermann booted a 35-yard field goal with 10:19 left in the half for a 24-7 lead, which was the score at intermission.

Any hopes the Racers had of a comeback were extinguished as the Redhawks scored 21 third-quarter points.

Haley hit senior T.J. Milcic from 13 yards out with 8:32 left to cap a 76-yard drive and make it 31-7.

Harrell then recovered a fumble deep in Murray State territory, leading to Haley's 24-yard TD pass to senior Jamel Oliver that put Southeast up 38-7 with 6:26 remaining.

With 21 seconds left in the period, Holloman's 1-yard run capped a 72-yard march for a 45-7 lead.

Southeast ended its 45-point blitz on a 5-yard pass from Haley to senior Brian Matthews with 6:59 left in the game. Murray State made things a bit more respectable by scoring twice in the last 5 minutes.

"There have been times we played not to lose," Miller said. "Today we played to win."

And win big the Redhawks did.