SE FOOTBALL'S LOSING STREAK STRETCHES INTO RECORD BOOK

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Southeast Missouri State University's football team tied a school record Saturday -- but it's not one the Indians will be particularly proud of.

By suffering a 34-13 non-conference blowout at the hands of Indiana State, the Indians notched their 12th straight loss dating back to last season.

The Indians thus equaled the program's all-time record for consecutive defeats, Southeast also having dropped 12 straight during the 1983 and 1984 seasons.

Southeast fell to 0-7 in 1999 while ISU recorded its initial victory of the season as the Sycamores improved to 1-5.

"It's 12 in a row. What can you say," said Southeast coach John Mumford. "We're not happy about it. It's not something we've gone out trying to do, obviously."

ISU, having lost three straight close games against nationally-ranked opponents, took out its frustrations on the Indians, much to the delight of a crowd of 3,390 at Memorial Stadium.

"We needed a win real badly," said ISU coach Tim McGuire. "But I really feel for John. He's a good friend and he's going through some tough times. His team played awfully hard, until the last play."

This one was pretty much over early as the Sycamores totally dominated the first half, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions and having a 284 to 79 edge in total yards over the opening two quarters.

The Sycamores' triple-option attack -- with a pass thrown in every once in a while -- sliced through the Indians' defense seemingly at will through the early going while ISU's defense did not let Southeast get close to the end zone in the first half.

"In the first half we didn't stop the pitch," said Mumford, whose squad trailed 28-0 at halftime. "We were late on the pitch. Their tendency on film had been to not pitch so much. Their quarterbacks had kept the ball a lot more."

ISU used good field position after a short Southeast kickoff to score on the game's opening drive. Quarterback Sheraton Fox snuck over from a yard out just 2:42 into the contest, capping a 52-yard drive and making it 7-0.

On ISU's second possession, fullback John Effinger's 1-yard run capped an 83-yard drive, putting the Sycamores up 14-0 with 3:05 left in the first quarter.

Late in the opening period, Southeast receiver Jerl Huling fumbled after making a first-down catch, ISU recovering at the Indians' 30.

The Sycamores quickly made the Indians pay for the mistake as backup quarterback Steve Englehart scored from three yards out, making it 21-0 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

ISU went up 28-0 less than three minutes into the second period as Englehart and halfback Matt Nelson hooked up on a 64-yard TD pass play.

ISU took advantage of another Southeast mistake to expand its lead early in the third quarter.

Southeast quarterback Bobby Brune fumbled with the Indians on the move and the Sycamores returned the ball to the Southeast 45. Halfback Jared Sessum scored from 4 yards out for a 34-0 lead with 8:57 left in the period.

The Indians, outgained in yardage 395 to 156 through three quarters, finally found some offense in the final period.

Brune and Leslie Weaver hooked up on 52-yard completion to highlight a 70-yard drive that ended with K.D. Koleosho's 3-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter, making it 34-6.

Rashad West, who played receiver earlier in the game, quarterbacked the Indians' final TD drive, which was capped by his 1-yard sneak with 2:37 remaining.

West's apparent 30-yard TD pass to Weaver -- who made several nifty cuts on his way to the end zone -- in the closing seconds was nullified when West was ruled to have thrown the ball from beyond the line of scrimmage.

With ISU reserve defenders on the field for much of the final period, the Indians were able to pile up 236 yards to finish with 392. The Sycamores wound up with 430 yards, 338 on the ground.

Koleosho had by far the best statistical performance of any Southeast running back this year, gaining 97 yards on 18 carries.

Brune completed 15 of 24 passes for 194 yards, with two interceptions. Of that yardage total, 117 came in the fourth quarter.

West was 6-for-10 for 69 yards, and he also caught two passes.

Corey Chester had five receptions for 45 yards while Weaver caught four passes for 88 yards and Huling had three receptions.

Defensively, Southeast linebacker Donovan LaViness was credited with 14 tackles according to unofficial press box statistics. David Bowling and Isaac Powell each had nine tackles while Brian Hinton got his second interception of the season.

Three ISU runners gained more than 50 yards, led by Englehart with 77 and Fox with 68.

Not only did the Indians lose again, but they received a scare early in the second half when defensive lineman James Jennette went down with an injury on a goal-line play.

Jennette remained on the turf for nearly 15 minutes before being removed on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital.

"James hit heads with Brad Richardson and he got a tingling sensation in his hands and down the back of his neck," explained Mumford. "James had full movement of his extremities on the field and he was fully awake, but as a precaution they took him to the hospital.

"X-rays were negative and James should be fine, although I'm sure he'll be really sore. He's a tough kid and before he left the field, he told me he'd be back. It was a scary time for all of us."

Mumford said that the plans were for Jennette to return to Cape Girardeau with the team following the game.