Southeast players emotional but proud after loss in first playoff appearance

CHENEY, Wash. -- Seniors Henry Harris and Joshua Jackson beamed with pride during their postgame interviews despite an end to Southeast Missouri State's dream football season Saturday.

The Redhawks players talked about helping spark one of the biggest turnarounds in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision and turning a downtrodden program into a champion.

"I think the most memorable thing would be that we got here and from where we came from," Jackson said. "A lot of people don't really understand the transformation that happened in this team. I mean, we went from a bunch of guys just running around on the field to football players."

Harris and Southeast football coach Tony Samuel nodded their heads in agreement as Jackson talked about the Redhawks' season that culminated in the program's first playoff appearance in its 104-year history.

Examining the road to Saturday's 37-17 loss to EWU in a second-round playoff game explains the reason for Southeast's sense of accomplishment. The Redhawks went 2-9 and finished last in the Ohio Valley Conference last season. That quickly became a distant memory after the Redhawks started stringing together victories this season.

The team won nine consecutive games during the season and claimed the OVC championship, a first in the program's history. Southeast, which finished 9-3, entered Saturday's game ranked fourth all-time in a one-year turnaround on the FCS level.

"We used to be a laughingstock, and now we're someone to contend with," Southeast senior Bryan Curry said. "I definitely think it's something to be proud about."

The lack of tears in the interview room didn't mean the players weren't emotional after the loss. Harris and fellow senior Aaron Grimes were the last two Southeast players to exit the field as the Redhawks slowly trudged out of the stadium to their locker room.

"When it ended, I cried a lot," Southeast senior Maurice Lyles said. "But you got to look at it on the bright side. We made history. No matter what anybody says, we did our thing this season. We went from nothing to something real fast. I'm proud of my team."

The players chose to focus on the success of the season instead of dwelling on Saturday's defeat. Even Samuel chose to focus on the success of the season.

"I'm very proud of what went on this season," he said. "I'm very proud of how these kids developed. People have no idea what we go through to be sitting here in front of all these people, the biggest press conference in our career here at Southeast Missouri State University. We're ranked in the nation. All we did was believe in each other and live in the moment."

Repeating the success will be a challenge because the Redhawks will lose 20 seniors. Fifteen seniors started Saturday. Plus Samuel's contract expires after this season, although he refused to talk about his contract situation when asked after the game.

"I don't know what the future brings," Samuel said as Southeast athletic director John Shafer stood in the back of the room with his arms folded. "All I know is I'm very, very proud of what went on here today."

Curry said it's the returning players' responsibility to learn from the Redhawks' first playoff experience.

"This year we made good strides," he said. "Guys coming back next year, they have to do the same."

kmorris@semissourian.com

388-3647