Sept. 19, 2009

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By Jeff Honza
Southeast Missouri State Sports Information

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Eastern Illinois University (3-0, 1-0) turned the ball over four times, but scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to escape with a 23-14 win over Southeast Missouri State (1-2, 0-1) Saturday night in front of a crowd of 9,053 at Houck Stadium.

EIU trailed, 14-7, at the half, but rallied to pull off its come-from-behind win. The Panthers beat the Redhawks for the sixth-straight time and improved to 13-4 all-time against Southeast.

"We played extremely hard," said Southeast head coach Tony Samuel. "We also gave up a couple big plays and they came back to haunt us. Overall, the effort was great and the defense never backed down."

University of Florida transfer Mon Williams dashed 65 yards to tie the game at 14-14 with 10:33 left in the third quarter. Williams' touchdown run capped a 3-play, 93-yard drive for the Panthers.

Southeast then took over on downs at its own 10-yardline. On the first play of the drive, Henry Harris mis-handled Matt Scheible's pitch. Scheible picked up the ball in the end zone and threw it out of bounds. The Redhawks were penalized for intentional grounding, which resulted in a safety, giving the Panthers a 16-14 edge.

EIU later sealed the win with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jake Christensen to Erik Lora at the 13:28 mark of the fourth quarter.

Southeast managed to get into EIU territory just one time in the second half and Doug Spada missed a 35-yard field goal at the end of that drive. The Redhawks were also held to just 50 yards rushing in the game's last 30 minutes.

EIU struck first when Christensen hooked up with Lorence Ricks for a 42-yard touchdown pass on the Panthers fifth play from scrimmage.

Southeast answered by marching 77 yards on 13 plays to tie the game at 7-7 on a 1-yard run by Scheible with 4:44 remaining in the first quarter.

Harris' career-long 47-yard run helped set up the Redhawks next score. Southeast went 99 yards in seven plays to take a 14-7 lead when Harris hit paydirt on a 9-yard run at the 1:31 mark of the second quarter.

Defensively, Southeast forced turnovers on three-straight EIU possessions in the first half, all of which came inside the Redhawks 25-yardline.

J.J. Sanchez jarred the ball loose from Williams and Maurice Lyles recovered at the Southeast-22.

Shortly after Jimmy Potempa's 24-yard run gave EIU a 1st-and-10 at the Southeast-20, Christensen fumbled the snap and Tyler Epstein recovered.

EIU then had a 1st-and-Goal at the Southeast-3 following a 52-yard pass play from Christensen to Ricks. Potempa, however coughed up the ball when he was hit by Justin Woodlief and Lyles recovered.

The Panthers other miscue came on a 2nd-and-Goal at the Southeast 1-yardline early in the third quarter. Josh Gipson knocked the ball out of Potempa's hands and Blake Peiffer secured it.

"We practice going after the football," said Samuel. "I thought our guys did a really good job of stripping the football and getting to it."

EIU registered 523 yards of total offense to Southeast's 381.

Christensen, a former starting quarterback at the University of Iowa, completed 19-of-26 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

Williams led the Panthers running game with 119 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries, while Ricks caught three passes for 101 yards and a TD.

Meanwhile, Scheible completed 17-of-35 passes for 171 yards. He also rushed for a game-high 75 yards on 15 attempts.

Walter Peoples and Bradley Brown led the Redhawks receiving corps. Peoples had four receptions for 57 yards and Brown hauled in two catches for 55 yards.

Linebackers Philip Klaproth and Woodlief led the Redhawks with 10 tackles each. Woodlief took the field for his first career start. Lyles had two fumble recoveries, while Peiffer and Epstein added one apiece.

Southeast, which fell to 4-15 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference-openers, has been outscored, 50-10, in the second half of its last four games against EIU.

Southeast hits the road for four of its next five games. The Redhawks return to action at UT Martin on Sept. 26. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., CT.