Washington gives spark to faltering Redhawks

The Southeast Missouri State football team hasn't had many offensive highlights so far this year, but what will probably rank at or near the top of the list for the entire season took place Saturday night during a 40-16 loss at Tennessee State.

Sophomore tailback Lewis Washington, a burly 245-pounder with surprising speed, broke off a 99-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the game.

The play meant nothing to the final outcome since it only cut TSU's lead to 33-16.

But the jaunt will go down in the NCAA record books because it tied the mark for longest run and longest play from scrimmage. It was also the longest play from scrimmage in Southeast history.

Washington is just the second Ohio Valley Conference player with a 99-yard run and only the 19th player in NCAA Division I football -- FBS and FCS combined -- to pull that off.

"I did the easy part. The guys up front did the work," Washington said after the game.

Washington's only carry of the night left him winded as, after he broke through the line and was in the clear along the right sideline, he was just able to hold off a TSU defender who had given chase most of the way and finally caught up to Washington near the end zone. But Washington was able to lunge the ball just over the goal line.

Washington, a native of Arlington, Texas, said he thinks he might have had about as long a touchdown on a kickoff return during his high school career but he couldn't quite remember.

Washington did, however, recall with a smile that "I was just as tired back then as I was this time."

Other than Washington's record run and a 68-yard fumble return for a touchdown by senior cornerback Cantrell Andrews, a Central High School graduate, there wasn't a whole lot for the winless Redhawks to smile about.

Southeast (0-5, 0-2 OVC) did hold its first two leads of the season, 3-0 early in the game after the first collegiate field goal by redshirt freshman Ryan McCrum -- a 38-yarder -- and 9-7 after Andrews' defensive touchdown with just over nine minutes left in the second quarter.

But on the ensuing extra point, a bad snap led to Southeast eventually fumbling. TSU gained control of the ball and, after one player pitched it to another, returned it to the end zone the other way for a two-point defensive conversion.

Instead of Southeast leading 10-7 if it had kicked the PAT, the score was tied 9-9.

The Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 1:07 left before halftime to take a 16-9 advantage and then romped in the second half.

"We've got to keep staying positive," junior cornerback Reggie Jennings said after the game. "It's like life. Life gets tough, you have to keep pushing through."

Southeast coach Tony Samuel emphasized pretty much the same thing during his weekly media conference Monday afternoon.

"It's important to stay positive when things are going good or bad," Samuel said. "When it's going bad, you really have to stay positive. You really have to have faith in your system and what you're doing."

Samuel acknowledged that some how, some way, the Redhawks have to get their struggling offense going.

The Redhawks had only 85 yards through three quarters Saturday and finished with just 229 yards, a good chunk coming on Washington's record run.

Southeast is averaging only 12.4 points and 276.6 yards per game, ranking eighth in the nine-team OVC in both categories and ahead of only Austin Peay. The Redhawks have been outscored 169-62 on the season

"We're not getting enough points. A big part of that is the execution of the things," said Samuel, whose squad has also been hampered by injuries to several key offensive players. "We need to have everybody practicing."

The Redhawks, who have lost eight straight games dating back to last year, are 0-5 for the first time under Samuel, in his eighth season. They're off to the program's worst start since the 2005 squad was 0-7 during coach Tim Billings' final year.

And things don't figure to get any easier for the Redhawks Saturday when they host explosive Murray State (4-2, 2-0) in a 1 p.m. kickoff.