Upon further review: Samuel says film is not as glowing as Saturday's final scoreboard

Winning the season opener was nice, but Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel knows that the performance in Saturday's 38-13 victory at Austin Peay was nothing to get overly excited about.

Speaking at his weekly media briefing Tuesday, Samuel said a review of the game film revealed an outing that was "pretty average."

"A win is always good, especially in the season opener," Samuel said. "But we've got an awful lot of work to do to get where we need before we get into conference play.

"It was nothing really to jump up and down about, except in the second half we played like we're capable."

Southeast and Austin Peay were tied 10-10 at halftime as the Redhawks held a slim edge in total yardage, 180 to 174.

But Southeast dominated the second half, outscoring the Governors 28-3 and outgaining them 178 to 67. The Redhawks also forced four turnovers in the contest and committed none of their own.

"They played much better in the second half, obviously," Samuel said. "They didn't play up to the speed of the game in the first half.

"They had the deer-in-the-headlights look. They were very nervous early, tentative. The biggest things were assignment and technique. Once they got going, they were more aggressive."

Samuel, who has preached the importance of a balanced offensive attack, was pleased that the Redhawks' were able to attain that Saturday. They finished with 180 yards passing and 178 yards rushing.

"We are trying to balance it, no question," he said. "Any time you can establish the running game, you force the defense to make decisions. We want to continue to establish the running game."

While the Redhawks' defense dominated the second half and even came up with a touchdown -- by linebacker Adam Casper, on a fumble return after a sack by end Edgar Jones, who had 2 1/2 sacks --Samuel said that unit has considerable work to do.

"They did some good things. I thought Casper and Jones stood out," Samuel said. "But there were still too many mistakes, technique and assignment mistakes we have to get cleaned up."

Samuel, in his first season at Southeast, believes the Redhawks will need a significantly better performance in most areas Saturday when they open their home schedule with a 6 p.m. kickoff against Missouri-Rolla.

The Division II Miners lost their opener 58-32 at Tiffin (Ohio), but they were 7-4 last season, including a 45-3 win over Austin Peay.

Missouri-Rolla has featured one of the nation's most prolific passing attacks the past few years. Quarterback Joe Winters, a transfer from Division I-AA Columbia University, threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns against Tiffin, as he was named Division II's national player of the week.

"If we go out the same way against Missouri-Rolla, I think we'll have problems. They'll present a real challenge to us," Samuel said.

Many coaches believe a team shows its greatest improvement from the first game to the second game. Samuel hopes that holds true for the Redhawks.

"The coaching axiom is you usually see the biggest improvement between the first and second week," he said. "This is a big week for us, before the first conference game."

Southeast begins Ohio Valley Conference play Sept. 16 at perennial power Jacksonville State.

A change in kickoffs?

Samuel said true freshman Doug Spada will likely handle kickoff duties against Missouri-Rolla after Colin Schermann struggled some in that area against Austin Peay.

Schermann, a sophomore from Central High School who was first-team all-OVC last year as a redshirt freshman, handled Southeast's first five kickoffs in the opener. His longest boot reached the Austin Peay 9-yard line, with three reaching the 15 and one reaching the 24.

Austin Peay wound up getting solid field position following most of those kickoffs.

Spada handled the Redhawks' last two kickoffs against the Govs. The first resulted in a touchback while the second went out of bounds, giving Austin Peay the ball at its 35.

"We bought Spada in because he has a strong leg," Samuel said. "We'll probably start him on kickoffs this week. We'll see how he does in practice.

"There were some phases in the kicking game we feel have to improve."

Even if there is a change in who kicks off, Schermann will continue to handle field goals and extra points. He made one of two field goals Saturday and was perfect on five extra points. Last year, Schermann hit 12 of 14 field goals.

Noteworthy

* Samuel said starting cornerbacks Monroe Hicks and Todshon Jones will play against Missouri-Rolla.

Hicks, a junior from Central High School, and Jones, a freshman, did not make the trip to Austin Peay as they were suspended for violating unspecified team policy.