Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Kentucky

Date: Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000

Time: 6 p.m. (CDT)

Location: Roy Kidd Stadium (20,000)

2000 Records: Eastern Kentucky 2-1 (0-1 OVC), Southeast Missouri 2-2 (0-1 OVC)

National Ranking: EKU was ranked 13th nationally last week by The Sport Network

1999 Records: Eastern Kentucky 7-4 (4-3 OVC), Southeast Missouri 3-8 (2-5 OVC)

The Coaches: Tim Billings is 2-2 in his first year at Southeast Roy Kidd is 295-113-8 in his 37th year at Eastern Kentucky

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 providing color.

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

Football Game Day Notes

The Teams: Southeast Missouri is 2-2 after a loss to Marshall, a road win over Southern Illinois, a home win over nationally ranked Illinois State and an OVC home loss to Western Kentucky. Eastern Kentucky is 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the OVC after losing to Tennessee Tech, 9-3, last Saturday.

Series Record: Eastern Kentucky leads the series 10-0. The Colonels are 5-0 vs. Southeast at Roy Kidd Stadium and have outscored the Indians 163-23 in the five games.

The Coaches: Tim Billings, an assistant at Marshall the past 10 seasons, is 2-2 in his first year as head coach at Southeast. He also served as an assistant at Missouri and Oklahoma. As an assistant, Billings coached in five I-AA title games and in four bowl games. Roy Kidd is 295-113-8 in his 37th season at EKU.

Last Season: Eastern Kentucky beat Southeast 37-28 at Houck Stadium. In the closest game to date in the series, the score was tied 28-28 going into the fourth quarter. Bobby Brune completed 13-17 passes for 154 yards and two TD's as Southeast had 330 yards in total offense. EKU had 343 yards in total offense including a pair of touchdown passes by Waylon Chapman including a 53-yarder in the fourth quarter that put EKU on top for good.

Last Week: Southeast was beaten 38-14 by Western Kentucky's time consuming ground game. The Hilltoppers had the ball over 23-minutes in the second half and broke away from a tight 17-14 game with two long drives early in the fourth quarter. Eastern Kentucky was upset 9-3 by Tennessee Tech in the Colonels OVC opener. Eastern Kentucky entered the Tech game averaging 484 yards per game in total offense but managed only 193 yards against the Tech defense and turned the ball over three times.

Jake Hill Moves To Defense: Jake Hill, a transfer from Mississippi, has been moved from wide receiver to free safety where he will play behind Joe Williams. Leotis Belcher had been backup at free safety, but broke his hand in practice last week.

Witczak Honored Nationally: Southeast punter Jason Witczak was selected as the I-AA national Special Teams Player of the Week after his punting performance against Illinois State. He boomed 11 punts for 473 yards in the win over Illinois State. Witczak had four punts over 50 yards including one 63-yard punt. Witczak currently ranks second in OVC and 10th nationally in punting with an average of 42.81 yards per punt.

Southeast Ranks Nationally In Punt Returns and Fumbles Lost: The Indians are in the top 20 nationally in fumbles lost, ranking 13th nationally with just two fumbles lost in four games. The Indians are ranked 15th nationally in punt returns with an average 14.22 per return.

Indians Lead OVC In Punt and Kickoff Returns: Southeast leads the OVC in both punt and kickoff returns. The Indians average 22.17 yards per kickoff return and 14.22 yards per punt return.

Joe Williams Leads OVC in Tackles: Senior safety Joe Williams was credited with 19 tackles in the loss to Western Kentucky and has vaulted into a first place tie in OVC tackles. He has 59 tackles for an average of 14.8 tackles per game. Defensive end Charles Sortor ranks third in the OVC in tackles for losses with six for 26 yards. Corey Mathis has six tackles for losses of 13 yards.

Cooper High in OVC Stats: Junior Curtis Cooper ranks third in OVC punt and kickoff returns. He averages 20 yards per kickoff return and 14.22 yards per punt return. In all purpose yards, Cooper ranks sixth in the OVC with 109.3 yards per game.

Multiple Receivers: A total of 12 Southeast players have had catches in the first three games. Leslie Weaver and Corey Chester lead the way with seven catches each. Others 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.

Injury Update: In the Western Kentucky game, defensive end Charlie Sortor had a shoulder injury, kicker Andy Cisne a neck injury and quarterback Rashad West suffered a bruised sternum. All are probable this week. Freshman linebacker Travion Brock suffered a broken arm in Illinois State game and underwent surgery on Sunday, Sept. 17. He is out indefinitely. Defensive back Leotis Belcher broke his hand during practice on Tuesday, Sept. 19 and will be sidelined for at least three weeks. Freshman linebacker Justin Hayes suffered a sprained knee in the Illinois State and missed the Western Kentucky game. He is probable this week.

Southeast is 2-0 vs. Gateway: The Indians are 2-0 against Gateway Conference schools with wins over Southern Illinois and Illinois State. Southeast has one more Gateway foe on the schedule this season with a Nov. 11 game at Southwest Missouri. Prior to this season, Southeast was 3-13 vs. Gateway teams since the Indians move to Division I-AA in 1991.

Six Captains: The Southeast players have 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 safety Isaac Powell, defensive end Asim Thomas and strong safety Joe Williams.

NATIONAL HONORS: 9-16 - Jason Witczak, Special Teams Player of the Week

OVC HONORS:
9-11 - Bobby Brune, Offensive Player of the Week.
9-11 - Curtis Cooper, Newcomer of the Week.
9-18 - Jason Witczak, Specialist of the Week.

Preseason All-OVC: Senior safety Isaac Powell, junior quarterback Rashad West and sophomore defensive lineman James Jennette received honorable mention preseason all-OVC. Southeast was picked to finish seventh in a preseason poll of OVC football coaches and sports information directors.

Next Week: Southeast will play at Tennessee Tech while Eastern Kentucky will play at Western Kentucky.

Around the OVC: In other OVC action on Saturday, Western Kentucky plays at Murray State and Tennessee-Martin will be at Tennessee Tech.