TRUMAN ST. DEFENSIVE BOSS FEATURES STRONG LOCAL TIES

Summary:

Chuck Clemens graduated from Central High in 1983.

It's doubtful that anybody associated with Truman State's football program is more excited to be playing Southeast Missouri State University this year than the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator.

Chuck Clemens simply can't wait to step on to the Houck Stadium field when the Bulldogs and Indians kick off their 1998 seasons Thursday night.

And that's not because Clemens is certain Truman State will beat Southeast. In face, he realizes the Division II Bulldogs will be decided underdogs against the Division I-AA Indians.

But Clemens will be happy to coach in Cape Girardeau regardless of the outcome. That's because he spent the bulk of his teenage years in the city and graduated from Central High.

"It's exciting just thinking about it," said Clemens of Thursday's matchup during a recent telephone interview from Kirksville. "I was watching film (of Southeast) with my players and a lot of memories came back.

"I told my guys that I played at that stadium (Houck) every other Friday night, or sometimes on Thursday night, during my high school years."

The 33-year-old Clemens, in his 10th season as a Truman State assistant coach and in his third year as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator, moved to Cape Girardeau in the late 1970s during his eighth-grade year with the rest of his family when his father Larry began a lengthy coaching career at Central High.

Larry went on to spend more than 10 seasons as a Central assistant football coach and 15 seasons as the Tigers' head wrestling coach. After leaving the school a few years ago, he and his wife continued to live in Cape Girardeau before moving to Piedmont last year.

Meanwhile, Chuck and his three brothers all graduated from Central High and starred for the football Tigers. Chuck, a 1983 graduate, played quarterback. Chris, a 1984 graduate, was a wide receiver who caught Chuck's passes for two years. Craig, an all-state linebacker, graduated in 1986.

"I have a lot of good memories of not only playing football for Central but just attending school there and living in Cape in general," said Chuck.

Chuck went on to play football at what was then Northeast Missouri State and later renamed Truman State. He earned honorable-mention all-conference honors at tight end in 1985.

After finishing up at Northeast, Clemens spent a year as a graduate assistant coach at Eastern Illinois before returning to Kirksville to coach at his alma matter, where he has been the past 10 seasons.

"I grew up in Kirksville when my dad was coaching there before we moved to Cape, so this has kind of been home to me," he said. "Getting to coach at my alma matter has been very exciting and I'm really happy here."

The Bulldogs have had some extremely strong teams over the past decade, often contending for a high conference finish and last year going 6-4.

Northeast and Southeast were longtime rivals in the old Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association before Southeast made the move up to the Division I-AA level in 1991.

The schools have not played each other since 1990, Southeast's last Division II season. The Bulldogs prevailed 26-7 that year and they lead the all-time series against the Indians 41-22-2.

"One of the things that makes this game so special is that Northeast Missouri and SEMO was always a great rivalry. Not one of hatred, but one of respect," Clemens said. "Everybody always used to look forward to the game and it will be very enjoyable to have that again."