Samuel gives 2 quarterbacks playing time

Tony Samuel used two quarterbacks quite a bit when he was the head coach at New Mexico State and he has said all along he wouldn't mind doing the same thing in his first season at Southeast Missouri State.

Samuel finally pulled the trigger on that idea Saturday night as sophomore Markus Mosley saw his first real action of the season.

Starting senior Kevin Ballatore and Mosley both threw first-half touchdown passes to help the Redhawks build a 19-0 lead as they held off visiting Samford 19-14.

"We wanted to play two quarterbacks," Samuel said. "It was probably a shot in the arm for Markus."

Mosley, who saw some action last year as a true freshman, had this season only seen mopup duty in the late stages of a 38-7 loss at Jacksonville State on Sept. 16.

Saturday, Mosley was sent in on Southeast's third offensive series, after Ballatore had thrown a 7-yard touchdown pass to Stevelan Harper on the Redhawks' second series.

Mosley fired a perfectly placed 37-yard touchdown pass to Samora Goodson.

Mosley also played the fourth series and one series in the second half. He finished 3 of 5 for 54 yards. Ballatore, who also led Southeast's third touchdown drive, was 5 of 10 for 48 yards.

Defensive game

Samford finished with just 215 yards, while Southeast had only 211 yards.

The Redhawks had 175 yards in the first half, while the Bulldogs had 158 yards in the second half.

Senior tailback John Radney, who started because of sophomore Tim Holloman's absence (ankle injury), gained 69 yards on 19 carries for Southeast. Redshirt freshman Tony Anderson added 43 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Defensively, according to unofficial press box statistics, senior linebacker Seth Harrell had nine tackles while junior linebacker Adam Casper added eight.

Senior end Edgar Jones had two more sacks, bringing his season total to eight. He entered play Saturday ranked second nationally.

Noteworthy

• Southeast still has not committed a turnover this season, while forcing 11 after intercepting two passes Saturday, by Harrell and freshman cornerback Todshon Jones.

* Senior offensive guard and deep snapper Austin Russell did not play because of a concussion. Junior college transfer Richard Kazarian started at guard while freshman T.J. Smith handled the deep snapping.