THE LATEST LINE: RUBIO HAS BEEN ABLE TO LAND ON HIS FEET

Say one thing for Angel Rubio, Southeast Missouri State University's former All-American who is trying to make it as a rookie in the National Football League.

He's been nothing if not resourceful so far.

And he's probably getting extremely used to quick moves.

Rubio, a noseguard, was the 1997 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and he also earned Division I-AA All-American honors.

He was selected in the seventh round of this year's NFL draft by Pittsburgh and appeared to be faring well several weeks into the Steelers' training camp -- until San Francisco acquired him.

Rubio then made the 49ers' roster and he was on the squad for the first two games of the season -- until being waived Tuesday.

But the next day, Rubio was acquired by Cincinnati, meaning he's now with his third NFL team in just a matter of several weeks.

There's no doubt Rubio's even demeanor and positive attitude have helped him cope with the reality that it's hard to make it in professional sports, particularly if you're not coming out of college as a top prospect.

Hopefully Rubio will find his niche with the Bengals and fit into their plans for the future.

* Because of deadlines, there's not enough time to write something about SEMO football after the Indians took on Tennessee-Martin Saturday night (hopefully, they should have been able to take care of the lowly Skyhawks with relative ease).

But last Saturday's performance against Murray State -- even though the Indians lost 26-14 to the powerhouse Racers -- was certainly one for optimism.

Even though they were picked to finish near the bottom of the OVC in every preseason poll, the Indians showed against the Racers that they just might be better than many folks had originally thought.

Of course, that was just one game. The official verdict won't be in for a couple more months.

* Although nobody has been saying anything about it publicly, word is that SEMO administrators are exploring the possibility of leaving the OVC and joining the Missouri Valley Conference.

A move like that -- which would include being a member of the rugged Gateway Conference for football -- would be a definite step up in competition for virtually all of SEMO's athletic teams.

* The high school football season is nearing its halfway point and some definite trends are starting to emerge.

For one, St. Vincent and Scott City appear to have powerhouse small-school squads.

St. Vincent, a Class 1A team, stayed undefeated with a huge 14-12 win at 3A power Herculaneum. The Indians have been one of the state's top 1A teams over the past several seasons --and this latest victory showed that they just might be a legitimate 1A state championship contender.

And Scott City -- even though it lost to 4A Perryville 13-12 on a late field goal -- showed me enough (I was at the game, and it was a dandy) that I believe the Rams are among the better 2A squads in the state.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian