Redhawks sharpen claws in open week

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tony Samuel said the Redhawks enjoyed a productive week of practice during their open date.

Samuel hopes that pays off when the Redhawks return to action Saturday at Eastern Illinois.

"I thought we had a great week [of practice]," Samuel said Monday during his weekly news conference. "The energy in practice was very good for an off week."

Samuel said the Redhawks went back to basics, working on plenty of fundamentals, with a particular emphasis on special teams.

"All the ones that gave us trouble [in the first six games]," Samuel said.

That includes kick coverage, as the Redhawks have had two kickoffs returned for touchdowns against them.

"Eastern [Illinois] likes to come after punts. We worked on that," Samuel said.

The Redhawks spent a small part of last week concentrating on Eastern Illinois before switching their focus to the Panthers on Sunday.

Southeast junior Walter Peoples, the Ohio Valley Conference's leading receiver, said the practices were intense.

"We really got after it. We had some good practices," Peoples said. "Everybody was really into it."

Samuel seconded that.

"From an off-week standpoint, we got after it pretty good. The kids got after it," Samuel said. "Our kids are not backing down. They're working hard."

The Redhawks have not played a game since suffering a 38-17 loss at Jacksonville State on Oct. 4.

Southeast (2-4, 0-2) is tied for seventh in the nine-team OVC with six contests remaining.

Surprisingly, Eastern Illinois (2-4, 0-2) also is tied for seventh.

The Panthers have been among the conference's dominant squads in recent years. They lost a total of two OVC games in the three seasons leading up to this one.

But Samuel pointed out that the Panthers' two OVC defeats have been to a pair of potent squads in Jacksonville State and Tennessee-Martin.

"They may be 0-2, but they're still a good football team," Samuel said.

Southeast, which trails the all-time series against Eastern Illinois 11-4, has not beaten the Panthers since 2003.

The Redhawks gave the Panthers a battle last year, leading 16-14 in the third quarter before eventually falling 31-16 at home.

"That was a really physical game," Samuel said. "A couple big plays hurt us."

Tight OVC race

While there is still a long way to go in the OVC race, right now it is tight.

Tennessee State (2-0) is the only team without a conference loss, with Tennessee-Martin (3-1), Eastern Kentucky (3-1), Jacksonville State (2-1) and Murray State (2-1) siting at one conference loss.

"It's not surprising," Samuel said. "This league, since we've gotten here, has improved vastly."

Noteworthy

* Southeast junior punter Doug Spada continues to lead the nation with an average of 45.6 yards per punt.

* Southeast junior cornerback Eddie Calvin is tied for ninth nationally in interceptions per game. He has picked off four passes.

* Southeast senior linebacker Nick Stauffer is tied for 15th nationally in tackles per game. He has 63 tackles.