By Marty Mishow ~ Southeast Missourian

There were finally plenty of hugs and smiles all across Southeast Missouri State University's sideline at the end of a football game.

For the first time this season, the Indians were able to bask in the glow of victory, courtesy of Saturday's 30-17 homecoming triumph over Eastern Illinois in front of an announced crowd of 8,600 at Houck Stadium.

"We needed that one," Southeast coach Tim Billings said. "It feels wonderful."

The Indians, the Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite, evened their OVC record at 1-1 and improved to 1-5 overall as they snapped a three-game losing streak to the Panthers.

EIU, which has won or shared the past two OVC championships, fell to 1-4 as it lost its conference opener.

"Finally, man, a win," cornerback Dimitri Patterson said. "I'll tell you one thing, we were 0-5 but there's no team left on our schedule we can't beat. We can still win the conference."

Said quarterback Jack Tomco, who passed for 224 yards, "It feels good. We just knew it was a matter of time, but the whole team kept believing no matter what everyone else was saying.

"The way the conference is shaping up this year, if we keep winning, we'll be right in there."

As expected, the Indians' first win of the season was a struggle. Southeast and EIU engaged in a back-and-forth battle that was less than artistic -- the Indians had three turnovers and the Panthers four -- and was not decided until the game's final moments.

"We knew it was going to be a real tough game because they beat us the last three years," said tight end Ray Goodson, who led Southeast's receivers with eight catches for 108 yards and was named the Copi-Rite Player of the Game. "We just had to get the first win out of the way. Now we're ready to get rolling."

Billings was relieved two missed opportunities for touchdowns in the first half that resulted in short field goals did not come back to haunt the Indians. Twice they had the ball inside EIU's 1-yard line but could not get into the end zone.

"We missed some great chances early," Billings said. "But Eastern Illinois has a good football team and we knew this would be a tough game. We just needed to come away with a win."

The Indians struck first as safety Chaun Tate intercepted an Andrew Harris pass on the game's opening possession and returned it 15 yards to the EIU 42. Southeast failed on third-and-goal inside the 1, then a false start on fourth down wiped out Jamel Oliver's touchdown plunge. Derek Kutz came on to kick the first of his three field goals, a 23-yarder.

EIU answered with a 22-yard Steve Kuehn field goal on the first play of the second quarter.

Kutz banged home a 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter -- set up by linebacker Ricky Farmer's 21-yard fumble return to the EIU 38 -- for a 6-3 lead. But the Panthers answered with a 76-yard drive capped by Harris' 10-yard run, putting EIU up 10-6 with 4:33 left before halftime.

The first half ended in more frustration for Southeast as the Indians once again drove inside the EIU 1-yard line but had to settle for a 19-yard Kutz field goal with 11 seconds remaining. The Indians trailed 10-9 at the intermission.

"We just had trouble getting into the end zone," Tomco said.

Southeast solved that problem in an unconventional way early in the second half as Harris fumbled deep in his own territory under pressure from Patterson. Tackle Caleb Daniel scooped up the ball and eased into the end zone from 2 yards out.

"It's a great feeling to score a touchdown," Daniel said.

EIU answered on Andre Raymond's 1-yard plunge with 6:33 left in the third quarter as the Panthers went back ahead 17-16.

The Indians finally took the lead for good barely two minutes later with their best scoring drive of the game, a 72-yarder that ended with Oliver's 31-yard scamper and a 23-17 advantage.

EIU had plenty of opportunities the rest of the way but Southeast's defense held firm. The Panthers' final hope ended when linebacker Michael Irving hit Raymond for a 4-yard loss on fourth-and-1 inside the EIU 30 with under three minutes left.

Bobby Dorsainvil's 2-yard run with 59 seconds remaining iced the victory.

"We finally got the monkey off our back," Irving said. "This could be a snowball effect for us."

Added Kutz, "To finally win feels great. We came out and had fun. We've said all year that once we get the ball rolling, we'd be hard to stop."

Billings hopes that turns out to be true. He knows the Indians still have a long road ahead of them but they'll at least enter their next game -- Oct. 18 at Eastern Kentucky after having an open date -- with some confidence and momentum.

"We're starting to get better," Billings said. "Now we've got a week off to get healthy and get ready for Eastern Kentucky."