April 16, 2009

Official Release

By Tyler Koonce, Sports Information Assistant

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State University announced the Redhawks 2009 football schedule Thursday. The 11-game slate includes six home contests at Houck Stadium, four of which will be Ohio Valley Conference games along with non-conference matchups against Southern Illinois and Quincy. The remaining five games on the road will include a trip to nationally-ranked Cincinnati and four OVC away contests.

"This is an exciting schedule for us," head coach Tony Samuel said. "Any time we get to play at home, I like it. We'll have six because we have two non-conference home games this year."

The Redhawks begin the season on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. when they host Quincy University from the NAIA ranks.

"The season opener is exciting for every team in America," Samuel said. "The beginning of the year is always a challenge. We've had some serious battles in recent home openers so it will be important to find the identity of our team."

On Sept. 12, the Redhawks will play at the University of Cincinnati of the Football Bowl Subdivision, who finished 17th in the nation and participated in the Orange Bowl of the Bowl Championship Series last season. Southeast began the 2007 season against the Bearcats at Nippert Stadium.

"The kids like to play a school on that level," Samuel said. "A fair amount of our kids have played there before so they should be more comfortable this time around."

OVC play begins on Sept. 19 with a home matchup against Eastern Illinois at 6 p.m. during Family Weekend. This will begin a stretch of eight consecutive conference games.

"Having the conference opener against EIU, a perennial power, is exciting," Samuel said. "This is a very important start for us."

The Redhawks will then hit the road for games at UT Martin on Sept. 26 and Tennessee State on Oct. 3 at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League.

They will return to Houck Stadium on Oct. 10 for a 1 p.m. kickoff against Austin Peay during Homecoming Weekend.

The bye week will come one week later in conjunction with the school's Fall Break. After the open date, Southeast will play two more OVC road contests at Tennessee Tech on Oct. 24 and defending league champion Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 31.

Southeast will conclude the season with three straight home games at Houck Stadium that will all begin at 1 p.m. Jacksonville State will pay a visit on Nov. 7 while the game against Murray State on Nov. 14 wraps up OVC play.

"If we're doing things the way we want to, having those final three games at home will be a good situation for us," Samuel said. "Two of those final three are conference games so if we're in the running, playing in front of our home fans could be a big help to us."

In the season finale on Nov. 21, the Redhawks will renew their rivalry with Southern Illinois in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Houck Stadium. This will mark the first time Southeast and SIU have played since 2005 and the first time in Samuel's tenure that the two schools have faced each other.

"I like that we're playing SIU again," Samuel said. "The history of this rivalry makes it a big deal."

Start times for the games at Cincinnati, UT Martin, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech will be announced at a later date.