Media day optimism carried plenty of weight this year

Media day for Southeast Missouri State University's football team Thursday was unlike any the Indians have held since 1995.

For the first time in almost 10 years, the Indians showed up for their annual schmooze-fest with reporters at Houck Stadium as a winning squad.

What a strange twist that was.

During every media day since 1995 -- which is the last time Southeast was coming off a winning season -- all the Indians would profess their optimism and firm belief that this would finally be their year. Except it never would be.

But shoot, that's what takes place at every media day across the country no matter what shape a program is in. As bad as Ohio Valley Conference doormat Tennessee-Martin has been in recent years -- and the Skyhawks have ranked as one of the nation's worst Division I-AA teams -- even their players talk the talk at media day.

That's what the preseason is all about -- renewed hope because everybody is undefeated. But it generally doesn't take long for the downtrodden to come back down to earth.

At most of their media days over the past decade, the Indians talked big -- there's nothing wrong with that -- then usually limped to the finish line with three or four wins. Last year, the Indians said the same stuff at media day. But a funny thing happened on the way to another losing season -- they stunned much of the Division I-AA football world by going 8-4 and ranking 23rd nationally.

So when the Indians puffed out their chests and showed off their guns (biceps) Thursday, it certainly had a much different ring than during past media days. With 19 returning starters and a No. 16 preseason national ranking, Southeast has plenty of merit to base its confidence on.

Now the key for the Indians is to make sure things don't turn out the same way they did the last time a Southeast football team went to media day as a winning program.

That was in 1995. The Indians were coming off a 7-5 season in 1994 -- their first winning record on the Division I-AA level -- and optimism for Southeast football was at a fevered pitch, much like it is now.

But the '95 group went just 5-6, and then no other Southeast team won more than four games until last year when coach Tim Billings and his staff orchestrated the amazing turnaround during their third season with the program.

Although Southeast faces a brutal schedule that features two Division I-A opponents and no Division II teams -- which won't make it easy to better last year's record -- something tells me the 2003 Indians won't be taking any backward steps.

It's hard to imagine anybody but Jack Tomco -- who turned in the best season by a quarterback in school history last year -- opening the season as the Indians' starting quarterback.

But Billings has said that he's not adverse to using several quarterbacks -- kind of like relief pitchers in baseball -- at various times during the season, so it will be interesting to see how that unfolds.

In any case, having three talented quarterbacks is sure a nice situation for Southeast coaches to be in. It definitely beats the alternative.

Southeast football fans who watched Thursday night's NFL preseason game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots had to wait a long time, but they finally got to see former Indians star Willie Ponder catch a pass.

Ponder, an All-American wide receiver for the Indians last year and a sixth-round draft choice of the Giants, made a 16-yard reception in the closing minutes.

By all accounts, Ponder has performed well so far during training camp as he attempts to earn a spot in the NFL. Hopefully he'll make it.

The regular season doesn't begin until Aug. 29, but area soccer fans will have an early chance to catch the 2003 Southeast women's team when the Busch Soccer Club from St. Louis visits Houck Stadium next Sunday for a 2 p.m. exhibition match.

The Otahkians, who begin practice this week, appear primed for another big year as they shoot for their third consecutive OVC regular-season championship.

The season didn't end ideally for Cape Girardeau's American Legion baseball team -- Ford & Sons was eliminated Friday after a third-place finish in the state tournament in Moberly.

But what a great postseason ride it was for Cape, which swept through district and zone tournaments before running into a rugged field at state.

And the disappointment of not winning a state title aside, if you had told Cape's coaches and players that they wind up the season in Moberly -- regardless of the outcome once they got there -- you can bet they would have taken it in a second.

A final record of 29-16 and the program's first state tournament appearance since 1995 are no small accomplishments. And with many of this year's top players eligible to return next season, a repeat performance is not out of the question.

It's nice to see that the unbelievable numbers former Southeast pitcher Todd Pennington put up in Class A ball this year were rewarded when the Cleveland Indians recently promoted the right-handed reliever to their Class AA team, the Akron Aeros of the Eastern League.

Pennington, a product of Shawnee (Ill.) High School who is in his third professional season, was 2-1 with 18 saves and a 0.78 ERA for Lake County (Ohio) before being moved up. He had averaged more than two strikeouts per inning and made the South Atlantic League All-Star team.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.