Sept. 11, 2000

Football Game Information Illinois State at Southeast Missouri State

Date: Saturday, Sept. 16, 2000

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Houck Stadium, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Capacity: 10,000

2000 Records: Illinois State 1-1, Southeast Missouri 1-1

1999 Records: Illinois State 11-3, Southeast Missouri 3-8

The Coaches: Tim Billings of Southeast Missouri, 1-1 in 1st year as head coach Denver Johnson is 1-1 at ISU and is 22-13 as a collegiate coach

Radio: Southeast Radio Network anchored by K-103 FM in Cape Girardeau. Other network stations include KSIM in Sikeston and KWOC in Poplar Bluff. Erik Sean will do play-by-play with Mike Legg as the color analyst.

Internet: Southeast Radio Network broadcast can be heard over the internet at www.k103fm.com.

2000 Southeast Football Notes

The Teams: Southeast Missouri is 1-1 after a loss at Marshall and a road win over Southern Illinois. Illinois State is 1-1 with a 75-10 win over West Virginia Tech and a 52-0 loss to Northern Illinois. In the Sagarin Ratings of all Division I teams (I-A and I-AA) Southeast ranks 172nd nationally while Illinois State ranks 180th. Under the Sagarin formula, Southeast is a five point favorite.

The Coaches: Tim Billings, an assistant at Marshall the past 10 seasons, is 1-1 in his first year as head coach at Southeast. He also served as an assistant at Missouri and Oklahoma. Denver Johnson is 1-1 in his first year at Illinois State and is 22-13 in his fourth year as a collegiate head coach. The past three years he was 21-12 at Murray State. Johnson is 3-0 vs. Southeast.

Series Record: Illinois State leads the series 8-1 and has won the last six games. Southeast's only win was 26-20 in 1969.

Last Season: Illinois State won 55-7 at Normal. The Redbirds rolled up 475 yards in total offense while holding the Indians to 263 yards. ISU led 35-0 at the half.

Last Week: Southern Illinois built up a 31-0 lead in the first half, but Southeast came back to beat the Salukis 34-33 in one of the biggest comebacks in school history. The Indians outscored the Salukis 27-2 in the second half. Illinois State dropped a 52-0 decision at Division I-A Northern Illinois. The Huskies had 306 yards rushing and intercepted four Illinois State passes.

Brune is Co-OVC Offensive Player of the Week: Junior quarterback Bobby Brune was selected as co-winner of the OVC Offensive Player of the Week honor after leading Southeast's comeback against Southern Illinois. Brune replaced starter Rashad West who went down with an ankle sprain with 6:49 remaining in the second quarter and the Indians trailing 31-0. His first pass was a 67-yard pass play to Lelsive Weaver that set up Southeast's only first half touchdown. His last pass was a 63-yard touchdown pass to Weaver with 1:16 remaining in the game that gave Southeast the 34-33 victory. Brune was 16-25 passing for 230 yards and two TD's.

Cooper is OVC Newcomer of the Week: Junior college transfer Curtis Cooper was named the OVC Newcomer of the Week after returning three punts for 83 yards including a 63-yard return for a touchdown. He also had one kickoff return for 33 yards and five catches for 37 yards.

Brune Passes: Bobby Brune is ranked second in the OVC and 22nd nationally in passing efficiency. Brune has completed 19-23 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. As a team, Southeast ranks fourth in the OVC in passing offense with 205.5 yards per game.

Multiple Receivers: A total of 12 Southeast players have had catches in the first tow games. Corey Chester and Leslie Weaver lead the way with seven catches each. Other Indians with receptions include Tarik Simpson,Curtis Cooper, Ryan Roth, Jerl Huling, Andy Dunaway, Jake Hill Iven Brown, Byron White, Charles McElroy and offensive lineman Jonathan Jensen who caught a deflected pass in the SIU game.

Defensive Leaders: Joe Williams was officially credited with 20 tackles in the SIU game. He had nine tackles and 11 assists. Williams ranks second in OVC tackles with an average of 14 per game. Linebacker Charlie Sortor had 15 tackles in the SIU game including three tackles for losses of 21 yards and two quarterback sacks for 20 yards in losses. Sortor ranks fifth in OVC tackles with 11.5 per game.

Injury Updates: Southeast had only one injury during the SIU game. Quarterback Rashad West suffered an ankle sprain and his availability is day-to-day. He is probable for the Illinois State game. Jason Witczak missed the SIU game with a knee injury but may be able to punt this week. Offensive tackle Mike Green and defensive end Asim Thomas also missed the SIU game but should be ready for Illinois State. Mark Blissett, who missed the Marshall game because of an ankle sprain suffered in practice will play against SIU. Defensive tackle James Jennette, a preseason all-OVC honorable mention lineman, suffered a broken hand on August 15 and missed both the Marshall and SIU games. He is probable for the Illinois State game. K. D. Koleosho, last year's leading rusher, is still sidelined after having off-season knee surgery and defensive tackle Chad Gwilliam is out for the season with a back injury.

Kickers Hurting: Southeast entered the season with two experienced kickers, but both are injured. Veteran kicker Nick Reggio has a leg injury but did convert 4-4 PAT's against SIU. Marshall transfer Jason Witczak has ligament damage in his knee after suffering a pre-game injury at Marshall. He may be able to punt this week. Kyle East, a transfer from Western Kentucky, handled punting duties against SIU and punted four times for an average of 38.5 yards per punt He also had one blocked. Andy Cisne handled kickoff duties for Southeast.

Academic Casualties: Two Southeast starters were declared academically ineligible prior to the Marshall game. Defensive back Ed McCray and tight end Collie Moore will both miss the season with academic problems.

Six Captains: The football team has elected six captains, three on offense and three on defense. Offensive captains are quarterback Rashad West, offensive guard David Fielder and wide receiver Leslie Weaver. Defensive captains are defensive back Isaac Powell, linebacker Asim Thomas and Joe Williams.

Preseason All-OVC: Senior safety Isaac Powell, junior quarterback Rashad West and sophomore defensive lineman James Jennette received honorable mention preseason all-OVC. Powell had 80 tackles and three interceptions last season. West guided Southeast to three wins in four starts last season. He completed 56-98 passes for 917 yards