Southeast learns tough lesson, but it still may able to compete

The Southeast Missouri State football team learned the hard way Saturday that Jacksonville State is no Austin Peay or Missouri-Rolla.

Those two relatively cushy opponents had allowed the Redhawks to begin the Tony Samuel era with the program's first 2-0 record since 2002, as Southeast outscored the pair by a combined 82-36.

But one of the Ohio Valley Conference's premier programs denied Southeast its first 3-0 start since 1958, as host Jacksonville State rolled to a 38-7 victory in Saturday's OVC opener.

And the score was actually a bit closer than the game itself. JSU totally dominated physically, holding a whopping total yardage advantage of 473 to 163, including 393 to 70 through three quarters, after which Southeast trailed 31-0.

Still, as ugly as Saturday's performance was, Southeast fans should not necessarily despair.

After all, the Redhawks -- picked last in the OVC's preseason poll -- entered the contest as heavy underdogs. It's doubtful that many outside the program expected Southeast to pull off the upset.

The Redhawks didn't even come close, but it's just one OVC game, and at least Southeast now has one of the league's best teams out of the way early.

That's the good news. The bad news is that Southeast faces the OVC's other two expected top dogs in its next three conference tests, visiting defending champion Eastern Illinois Oct. 7 and hosting preseason favorite Eastern Kentucky Oct. 21.

By that time the Redhawks should have a pretty clear indication of whether they might be a surprise OVC contender or whether the most they can hope for is a middle-of-the-pack finish, which still wouldn't be too bad for Samuel's first season in Cape Girardeau.

Before all that takes place, however, Southeast -- after an open date -- hosts Samford Sept. 30 in what appears to be a winnable matchup.

A victory there and the Redhawks would head to Eastern Illinois primed to take another shot at an upset.

Stay tuned.

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It's hard to take much out of comparing scores, but Austin Peay's 17-10 loss at Samford on Thursday night had to raise a few eyebrows around the OVC.

The Bulldogs needed a late touchdown to avoid a significant upset. They were picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll, but that might have been as much by default as anything.

I say that because, after the expected big three of Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Illinois and Jacksonville State, there doesn't appear -- on paper at least -- to be much difference between the remaining six conference teams, Southeast included.

Since the Redhawks beat Austin Peay 38-13 -- although the halftime score was 10-10 -- and Samford had to squeeze out a victory over the Governors, you've got to think Southeast has a decent shot at defeating the Bulldogs.

But, like I suggested earlier, comparing scores can be a confusing deal. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens Sept. 30.

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Former Southeast All-American Willie Ponder had a nice debut with the Seattle Seahawks last Sunday.

Ponder, who was signed by the Seahawks after the New York Giants released him prior to the season, averaged 29.3 yards on three kickoff returns -- including a long of 41 yards -- as Seattle beat the Detroit Lions 9-6.

Ponder is in his fourth NFL season, the first three spent with the Giants. He led the entire NFL in kickoff returns in 2004.

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Jackson native and ex-Southeast All-American tight end Ray Goodson is now in the business of helping young athletes attempt to reach their potential.

Goodson recently opened Shock Performance Enhancement at 1166 Greenway Drive in Jackson. He told me he's going to work on strength, speed and agility with boys and girls ages 10 and older. Both group and individual sessions are offered. And he has hired renowned Cape Girardeau trainer Jason Strickland to help with the aspiring athletes.

Goodson, who played this year for the Arkansas Twisters of Arena Football League2, emphasizes that youngsters interested in any sport will benefit from training at Shock Performance Enhancement.

It sounds like a pretty good deal. For more information, call Goodson at 243-5050.

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While the Southeast football team started OVC play Saturday, the university's volleyball and women's soccer squads are preparing for their conference openers, as both begin with two home dates this week.

Volleyball hosts Tennessee-Martin on Friday night and Murray State on Saturday afternoon, while soccer entertains Murray State on Friday night and Tennessee-Martin on Sunday afternoon.

Volleyball also plays its initial home match of the entire season this week, facing Bradley on Wednesday night. The Redhawks had their first 12 matches away from Houck Field House, and after a slow start they have heated up.

The Redhawks captured the Memphis Invitational last weekend for their first regular-season tournament title since 1999. They had posted four consecutive victories before losing at Southern Illinois on Tuesday night.

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One game does not make a season, but you had to be impressed with the St. Louis Rams' 18-10 win over the Denver Broncos in last Sunday's opener.

While the Rams offense struggled in the red zone -- all the points came on field goals from the reliable Jeff Wilkins -- the defense showed the kind of aggression under new coordinator Jim Haslett that was sorely lacking last year.

It's probably wise to not get too carried away by the performance, because plenty of teams have looked good in their first game only to fizzle out the rest of the way.

It will be interesting to see what the Rams do today in their first road test at San Francisco. While the 49ers appear improved, this is certainly a game St. Louis should win if it has designs on a nice bounce-back season after last year's disappointment.

But don't expect things to be easy. After all, the 49ers somewhat stunningly beat the Rams twice last year even though San Francisco was one of the NFL's worst clubs.

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I didn't really agree with Ohio State being ranked No. 1 among college football teams, since the Buckeyes lost so much off their defense from last season.

But Ohio State certainly proved its worth last Saturday with an inmpressive 24-7 win at defending national champion Texas.

In my previous column I lauded the golfing exploits of Tiger Woods, who is probably going to wind up as the greatest player his sport has ever seen.

Well, now I've got to give it up for the star of the other major individual professional sport.

Like Woods, Roger Federer already ranks among the best tennis players ever -- and, like Woods, Federer figures to have plenty of more outstanding years ahead of him.

After beating Andy Roddick with surgeon-like precision in last weekend's U.S. Open final, Federer now has won nine major championships, including three this year. There is no telling how many more he'll add to the list.

What a magician Federer is on the court, and he also appears to be one of his sport's classiest acts off it.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.