THE LATEST LINE: SE DISPLAYED ITS POTENTIAL IN FIRST GAME

There is no way you can get very carried away by a victory over an NAIA team and I'm not about to try.

But what I saw out of Southeast Missouri State University's Indians during a 24-6 season-opening win over Lambuth on Aug. 30 at least got me thinking that, hey, maybe this SEMO football season will turn out to be a good one after all.

Although it wasn't a total blowout, the Indians pretty much had their way with the Eagles, who are one of the top NAIA teams in the nation but certainly won't boast the speed and depth of some of the better NCAA Division I-AA teams on SEMO's schedule.

Last year's 3-8 team basically fell short in the talent department virtually every time it took the field, but it was apparent in the opener that the Indians have upgraded their talent base considerably and should at least be able to match up skill-wise with most of the squads on their schedule.

Defense is supposed to be the Indians' strength and SEMO's speedy `D' lived up to that billing in the opener. Combining a host of key returning players with some talented transfers, Indian defenders totally suffocated the Eagles, limiting them to only 31 first-half yards.

Offense is still something of a question mark and that was evident as SEMO's `O' was a bit sluggish at times. But the Indians' offense also showed its vastly improved speed with two runs from scrimmage longer than any running play all of last season and two 100-yard rushers for the first time in recent history.

So, what does that opening victory really mean in the overall scope of an 11-game season?

Other than the obvious rewards of already giving the Indians one-third of their entire win total from last year and giving them a surge of confidence -- which are big rewards, to be sure -- probably not all that much.

The real tests are still out there for the Indians, who are intent on proving their preseason prediction of seventh in the eight-team Ohio Valley Conference was way off base.

A big key as to what type of season the Indians will ultimately come up with is Saturday's second game of the year, at home against Illinois State.

The Redbirds, even though they hammered SEMO 29-0 last year, don't figure to be one of the top few teams the Indians face. But they also don't figure to be one of the bottom few, meaning they rank some place in the middle.

If the Indians can beat the Redbirds, then you've got to think they're going to have a good shot at beating quite a few of the other teams on their schedule.

Come Saturday night, we'll see how this 1997 SEMO football season continues to develop.

* As always, this week will feature plenty of action for all area fall high school sports, but one matchup in particular stands out.

That will take place Thursday night when Bell City hosts Bernie in a matchup of defending state volleyball champions. Bell City won last year's 1A crown while Bernie has won three straight titles, including last year's 2A crown.

Bell City's gym figures to be rocking for that one.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian