As we prepare for Saturday night's final regular-season game, at home against Samford, I am reminded of the tremendous contributions of this year's seniors. We are currently 7-4 and finished 4-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference with an opportunity to finish as high as second and no lower than third.

The winning season and last week's upset win at Eastern Kentucky would not have been possible without the contributions of our seniors who suffered through the bad seasons, but persevered and helped us turn this program around. I am thankful for all they have done.

On offense we have three seniors who have made great contributions.

Iven Brown is in his fourth year in the program. He has battled through a number of injuries, including two broken legs. This season he has been a valuable contributor on special teams and has responded well when we have inserted him at running back, scoring three touchdowns.

Keiki Misipeka is a player who took a chance on us and we took a chance on him coming in to play only his senior season after a transfer from Hawaii. It has turned out to be a good decision for both parties. Keiki has made great contributions to this football team, and not just as a running back with over 700 yards gained and 12 touchdowns. He always has a smile on his face and has been a real inspiration for all of our players.

The amazing Ponder

What can I say about Willie Ponder? We also took a chance on him because he had been out of football for two years before joining our program. He responded with All-American performances that helped put us on the national map. Being on the Payton Award Watch List puts Willie in the elite of Division I-AA football. He has rewritten our receiving record book and holds the record for single-season reception yardage in the OVC.

Willie is a star, but he is a team player. He not only catches the ball, but blocks, plays on special teams and has even played defense a few plays when needed. He is worried about the team and not his statistics and that is why the character of this team is what it is.

Several of our seniors on defense have been bothered by injuries this season, but all have contributed when they were able.

Todd Frazier played very well on special teams and as a backup linebacker early in the season but then suffered a broken hand. He could have just ended his season at that point, but he wanted to play and battled to come back and saw action in last Saturday's great win over Eastern Kentucky.

Demar Winston got off to a great start this season but then was hit by a bad ankle sprain that really limited his availability. He has worked hard and was back for special teams play last week.

Prince Anderson came into the season with knee problems and then suffered foot and ankle injuries. He continues to work hard and will see a lot of action Saturday night.

Isaac Huddleston, a key special teams player, has been out for most of the season with injuries, but he is available now for special teams and as an extra defensive back.

All of these players could have just relaxed and missed the rest of the season, but they battled back to contribute to our success.

James Jennette is a player who has battled injuries throughout his career, but this season he has been relatively injury free and has had a great year anchoring our defensive line. He has shown great leadership for our younger players.

It looked like Jermaine Motley would not be eligible this season, but he continued to battle through the various NCAA committees and was finally cleared to play just prior to the Middle Tennessee game. He had kept himself in shape and has been a valuable defensive lineman for us. He came from Marshall and understood my philosophy on defense and has been able to share that with our other players.

Alex Alameda has not seen a whole lot of action during his career, but he has been a valuable special teams player.

McKee hangs in

One more senior, West McKee, was a key player for us on the offensive line and he started quite a few games at center last year, but he has been forced to miss his entire final season because of recurring back problems. West has remained in the program to help out wherever possible and has been a big asset.

The seniors have turned this program around and a bright future is ahead for the players who will be returning next season.

Saturday's game is very important to us because we need to continue to improve and build on the victory at Eastern Kentucky.

If we beat Samford and finish 8-4 we will have an outside chance at gaining a playoff berth. A lot of things have to fall right for that to happen but crazier things have happened. But if we do beat Samford, we will continue to practice next week with the hopes that we will receive an at-large bid to the playoffs.

We can control our part of the equation by winning Saturday against a very good Samford team that can really put points on the board.

I hope you will brave the predicted cold temperatures and join us at Houck Stadium at 6 p.m. We need your help to close the regular season on a very positive note. We will try to create enough excitement to keep you warm. Thanks for your great support this season.

Tim Billings is the football coach at Southeast Missouri State University.