Oct. 31, 2009

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By Tyler Koonce
Southeast Missouri State Sports Information

RICHMOND, Ky. - In a defensive battle, Eastern Kentucky (5-3, 5-2) held on for a 20-6 victory over Southeast Missouri State (1-7, 0-6) Saturday at Roy Kidd Stadium. The Colonels rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns, including two scores from C.J. Walker. The Redhawks pulled to within seven points on a 17-yard touchdown catch by Walter Peoples with 4:05 remaining in the game but were unable to get any closer.

"We had a lot of energy and fought through a lot of adversity," head coach Tony Samuel said. "We had a couple of missed opportunities but the effort was there."

Eastern Kentucky got out to an early lead on the game's opening possession with a 9-yard touchdown run by C.J.Walker. The Colonels marched 76 yards on 13 plays in six minutes and six seconds. The drive included three conversions on third down as well as another on fourth down. The PAT attempt by Logan O'Connor failed to keep the score at 6-0.

After the Redhawks first drive resulted in a lost fumble, EKU moved 62 yards down the field to the Southeast 5-yard line before Blake Peiffer and Bryan Blanfort stopped Bruce Frieson for no gain on 4th-and-1 to force a turnover on downs.

On the ensuing possession, EKU came up with their own fourth down stop at the Southeast 23-yard line. Six plays later, Walker scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run. O'Connor added the extra point to give the Colonels a 13-0 lead with 10:26 remaining in the first half.

After a Redhawks punt, the Colonels moved down to the Southeast 5-yard line before the defense forced an incompletion on 3rd-and-goal. O'Connor came on to attempt a 23-yard field goal that was blocked by Philip Klaproth. It was the first time the Redhawks had blocked a field goal since Oct. 7, 2006, when Adam Casper batted down a 29-yard attempt at Eastern Illinois.

Following a three-and-out on offense, the Southeast defense came up with another big play. William Castro intercepted T.J. Pryor's pass at the Redhawks 16-yard line and returned it 44 yards. The pick was the second of the season for Castro to tie Aris Bowen for the team lead. It marked the fifth time since 2007 that a SEMO player returned an interception over 40 yards.

The teams traded possessions before halftime and headed to the locker rooms with EKU holding a 13-0 advantage.

On the opening drive of the second half, Southeast drove to the EKU 21-yard line before Matt Scheible was intercepted by Patrick McClellan in the end zone. The drive included two fourth down conversions by the Redhawks.

The defenses held on the next six possessions before the Redhawks were able to put together a scoring drive. Scheible connected with Peoples on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 4:05 remaining in the fourth quarter to cap a six-play, 50-yard drive in just under two minutes.

"That was one of the best catches I've seen since I've been here," Samuel said. "He showed a lot of explosion to close on that ball."

The extra point attempt by Curtis Huge was blocked, leaving the score at 13-6. The touchdown reception was the third of the season for Peoples, which leads the team.

EKU clinched the game when Frieson broke loose for a 28-yard touchdown run with four seconds remaining.

Southeast was outgained 339-244 in total yards, but held the Colonels to 156 passing yards. EKU finished 10-for-19 on third downs while the Redhawks went only 5-for-16 in the same category. Both teams had multiple fourth down conversions.

Southeast rushed for 149 yards, including 83 yards on 18 carries by Henry Harris. Mike Jones added 36 yards on the ground.

Scheible was 11-for-29 passing for 95 yards and a touchdown. He added 28 yards rushing.

Peoples led Southeast receivers with three receptions for 32 yards and his 10th career touchdown. He also made his 100th career reception on an 11-yard catch early in the fourth quarter.

Ashton Farmer, Miles Edwards and Harris all caught multiple passes.

Defensively, the Redhawks registered 10 tackles for loss, including four sacks.

"We were able to get pressure on them," Samuel said. "We got good penetration and bottled them up for the most part."

Justin Woodlief established a career-high with 16 tackles on the afternoon. He added 1.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

"He was very active," Samuel said.

Klaproth added 12 tackles in addition to the blocked field goal. Bowen finished with eight stops. Damian Smith finished with three tackles for loss (-19 yards), including 1.5 sacks (-14 yards). Maurice Lyles registered his first career sack and forced fumble on the same play during the first quarter.

Walker finished with 81 yards rushing and two touchdowns for EKU. Frieson added 54 yards on the ground and the game's final score.

Pryor was 16-for-22 passing for 156 yards with one interception. Garnett Phelps finished with a game-high five receptions for 31 yards.

Jordan Dalrymple led the EKU defense with nine tackles, including 1.5 for losses. Jake Tamaska and Chris Hall both finished with eight tackles each. Jaren Gooden made six tackles (five solo) and broke up three passes in the secondary.

Southeast will return home for the final three games of the season, beginning with Jacksonville State on Nov. 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Houck Stadium.