Final Stats

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Redshirt-freshman Mike German threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and Trabis Ward ran for 135 yards and two TDs to lead Tennessee State (2-4, 1-2) to a 55-3 win over Southeast Missouri (1-4, 1-2) Saturday night at LP Field.

Tonight's 52-point loss matched Southeast's largest in league play. The Redhawks also suffered a 52-0 defeat on the road against then-OVC member Middle Tennessee on Oct. 26, 1991.

The Tigers roared to 28 first quarter points and never looked back to get head coach Rod Reed his first career OVC win. Reed was 0-9 all-time in league play prior to tonight.
 
TSU piled up 265 yards of total offense in the game's first 15 minutes, scoring four times on plays of 25 or more yards.
 
Dante' Thomas scored on a 27-yard run to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 11:37 remaining.
 
After a Southeast punt, TSU started at its own 12-yard line and marched 88 yards in eight plays. Ward capped the drive with a 40-yard run to push the Tigers lead to 14-0 at the 6:56 mark.
 
German and McNairl hooked up for TSU's next two scoring strikes. German first hit McNairl on a 25-yard touchdown pass. McNairl fumbled the ball, but the play was ruled a touchdown as the official indicated the ball broke the plane.
 
TSU's John Jones forced a fumble on Southeast's next possession and Detorrius Shipley recovered at the Redhawks 30-yardline.
 
German then completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to McNairl just inside the pylon in the front left corner of the end zone, giving the Tigers a 28-0 advantage with 1:25 on the clock.
 
TSU continued to pull out all the stops, this time, catching Southeast off guard with with a squib kick. Steven Godbolt recovered and the Tigers again had excellent field position at the Southeast 39-yardline.
 
Four plays later, Jamin Godfrey kicked a 31-yard field goal at the 13:49 mark of the second quarter.
 
The Tigers added 10 more points on a 38-yard field goal by Godfrey and a 5-yard run by Ward to take a comfortable 41-0 lead at the half.
 
Southeast possessed the ball for only 8:24 and was held to a mere 13 total yards on 17 plays in the first half.

TSU ran 53 plays for 406 yards, while posting a 21:36 mark in time of possession during its stifling first half. McNairl also caught six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, while German threw for 236 yards and two TDs in the game's first 30 minutes.

The Tigers put the exclamation point on their impressive win with 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Southeast managed to avoid the shutout when Drew Geldbach made a 30-yard field goal with 6:51 left.

German completed 20 of his 34 pass attempts, while Ward averaged just under eight yards per carry. McNairl added seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

TSU registered 536 yards of total offense. The Tigers outrushed the Redhawks 258-89 and held a 278-69 advantage in the air.

Trey Lewis led Southeast with 37 yards on 6 carries. Matt Scheible completed 5-of-13 passes for 35 yards. Scheible needs 30 more yards to break Southeast's all-time career record in total offense.

Defensively, Blake Peiffer paved the way with 10 tackles, his fourth double-digit tackle performance in five starts this season.

Southeast remains on the road to face Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 15.