April 8, 2006

The Southeast Missouri State defense dominated with a 60-24 win over the offense in the final spring scrimmage on Saturday at Houck Stadium.

"One of our goals was to have good effort and I was pleased with our effort," said new head coach Tony Samuel. "The players played hard and I was pleased with the turnout of fans. We had a good atmosphere."

A crowd of 350 watched in football type weather as the defense intercepted four passes while limiting the offense to 314 yards in total offense. Adam Schwent returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown while Chris Nelson, Seth Harrell and Brian Kennedy all had interceptions.

Sophomore running back Tim Holloman had a big day for the offense with 13 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. He scored on a 42-yard run in the first quarter. John Radney also ran hard with five carries for 41 yards including one run of 32 yards.

Senior quarterback Kevin Ballatore was 12-21 passing for 141 yards and two TD's. The touchdown passes included a five-yard flip to tight end Joe Tuineau and an eight yard pass to Antonio Scaife.

"I thought Holloman and Radney both ran the ball well," Samuel said. "We have a lot of things to work on, but there were some good signs."

All-American punter David Simonhoff had eight punts for an average of 42 yards per punt.