Sept. 1, 2001

Stats

YPSILANTI, Mich. - Last season only three Division I-AA teams upset I-A teams. On Saturday night, Southeast Missouri almost accomplished that feat.

The Indians (0-1) were either in the lead or tied for the games first 58:23, but Eastern Michigan (1-0) pulled out a late touchdown to squash Southeast's upset bid.

Southeast got on the board first when true freshman Derek Kutz kicked a 23-yard field goal at the 7:45 mark of the first quarter to give the Indians a 3-0 lead. The Eagles would tie the game late in the quarter on 33-yard field goal by Toller Starnes.

EMU's second kicker, Eric Klaban added a 46-yard field goal in the second frame, the only scoring of the entire quarter, to give EMU the lead going into halftime.

Southeast scored the game's first touchdown in the third quarter when redshirt freshman quarterback Jeromy McDowell hooked up with transfer Adrian Sanders on a 24-yard reception.

Klaban and Kutz exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter as Southeast held a narrow 12-9 lead late in the game. Just as it looked like Southeast was going to pull off the upset, EMU converted a fourth and 10 play that would have ended the game if not successful and would eventually score on a five-yard run by C.R. Roberson with 1:47 remaining. Southeast had one final chance, but a EMU squib kickoff bounced off a Southeast player and the Eagles recovered and ran out the clock.

McDowell had a successful first game for the Indians, completing 17-35 passes for 222 yards, a touchdown and only once interception.

Running back Curtis Cooper turned in the first 100-plus yard rushing day in nearly two years for Southeast, gaining 129 yards on 26 carries.

The new wide receiving tandem of Willie Ponder and Sanders was also successful for the Indians. Sanders caught seven balls for 70 yards and the lone touchdown, while Ponder got six passes for 120 yards.

The Southeast defense also showed improvement over last season, allowing only 159 yards on the ground, a vast improvement over last year's squad that allowed 269 rushing yards per game.

Although his team ended up with the loss, Head Coach Tim Billings was generally pleased with his team's effort. "We were as good or better of a football team than them today," Billings said. "They just came out and beat us in the end."

Southeast will open the home portion of its schedule next weekend against regional rival Southern Illinois. Gametime is set for 6:00 p.m. at Houck Stadium.