Southeast Missouri State quarterback Matt Scheible tries to dodge Jacksonville State's Dimetrio Tyson during the fourth quarter of their game earlier this month at Houck Stadium.
The Southeast Missouri State football team followed last year's historic season with a losing record.
Southeast coach Tony Samuel believes the 2012 Redhawks can bounce back and be in the Ohio Valley Conference championship race although they will have one glaring hole to fill.
While the Redhawks will return many of their key players from this year, they must find a replacement for record-setting senior quarterback Matt Scheible, who started Southeast's last 36 games.
Samuel knows that won't be easy, but he thinks the Redhawks will be strong next season no matter who takes over under center.
"We have to replace a great quarterback. That's a big challenge. Scheible basically carried us this year," Samuel said. "We're going to be pretty good next year either way. We gained an awful lot of experience."
Southeast Missouri State's Spencer Davis eludes Murray State's Jarius Williams on a punt return during the third quarter Saturday at Houck Stadium.
Samuel believes experience -- or a lack of it -- was the biggest reason that the Redhawks went 3-8, including a seventh-place 2-6 in the nine-team OVC.
That came after the Redhawks went 9-3 overall and 7-1 in conference play to win the program's first OVC title and earn the program's first playoff berth on any level in 2010.
Southeast had to replace 14 starters from 2010, and the Redhawks couldn't fill all those holes well enough. Four of Southeast's six OVC losses were by eight points or less, including consecutive one-point defeats to end the year.
"People might think I'm crazy, but we weren't too far from being in the [title] hunt. That's about all you can ask for a young team," Samuel said. "We lost those kind of games two years ago. Last year we won them. It's all about experience."
The Redhawks ranked seventh in the OVC in scoring offense (23.2 points per game) and sixth in total offense (369.3 yards per game). Those figures weren't far off from last year, when Southeast averaged 26.9 points and 368.9 yards.
Southeast Missouri State coach Tony Samuel glances at the scoreboard during the final minutes of the Redhawks' game against Jacksonville State earlier this month.
Four of Southeast's five starting offensive linemen from 2010 were seniors. Every member of this season's unit should return in 2012.
Southeast also had to replace All-American record-setting tailback Henry Harris. Junior Levi Terrell was looking good with more than 300 yards before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury during the fifth game.
Junior Renard Celestin also was running well before missing the last several games with an injury.
Terrell, Celestin and all of Southeast's other running backs were underclassmen. Especially impressive was bruising redshirt freshman fullback Ron Coleman.
Coleman was the Redhawks' No. 2 rusher behind Scheible with 320 yards, their No. 3 receiver with 14 catches and No. 2 in touchdowns with five.
Southeast's leading receiver was sophomore D.J. Foster, who caught 25 passes and scored three touchdowns while averaging 14.1 yards per reception. But Foster missed four games, including the last three, due to a team suspension.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver/return man Spencer Davis, who led the OVC in all-purpose yardage, was a bright spot.
Davis caught 20 passes, second on the squad, while averaging 15.7 yards per reception. He also rushed for 250 yards on just nine carries, a whopping 27.8-yard average, and was third on the squad with four touchdowns.
All of Southeast's primary tight ends also were underclassmen.
As for who might replace Scheible, true freshman Trey Lewis from Sikeston, Mo., was the backup all year. He played sparingly in five games early in the season, basically in mop-up duty during blowouts.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Peoples, who has not played yet in a college game, also should figure into the mix.
Samuel said nobody has the upper hand to replace Scheible at this point. The coach said Southeast likely will sign two quarterbacks and he hopes to have one on campus for the second semester.
"It's a full-blown tossup," Samuel said. "It takes a special guy. ... Nothing we take lightly. Some young guy, you can't expect him to come in and do what Scheible did."
Southeast finished last in the OVC in scoring defense (37.5 points per game) and eighth in total defense (433.9 yards per game). Those figures increased dramatically from last year, when the Redhawks allowed 21.5 points and 317.1 yards.
The Redhawks' defense had more key senior contributors than the offense, but the unit also had a host of underclassmen, led by junior linebacker Blake Peiffer.
Peiffer, a Jackson High School graduate, set the school single-season record for tackles with 151, which led the OVC and ranked second nationally.
Southeast loses its next two leading tacklers but returns Nos. 4 and 5 in junior linebacker Darrick Borum and junior safety Tylor Brock.
Southeast's defense, like the offense, featured several promising freshmen who saw significant action.
Topping the list was true freshman cornerback Tim Hamm-Bey, who started several games and led the Redhawks in interceptions with two.
"You can see that talent," Samuel said about the various freshmen who contributed. "They haven't arrived yet, but they've got bright futures."
Both of Southeast's specialists were underclassmen -- junior kicker Drew Geldbach and sophomore punter Joe Vucic, who led the OVC and ranked 24th nationally with a 41.1-yard average.
In addition to Southeast's defense dipping dramatically this year, the Redhawks also fell off in creating turnovers.
The 2010 Redhawks forced 29 turnovers while losing 16 to lead the OVC in turnover margin. This year they had two fewer turnovers, 14, but forced only 14 to finish fifth in turnover margin.
Although Samuel likes the core group Southeast will have returning, he emphasized the importance of spring practice and the offseason training program. Many of the current players have not been through either with the Redhawks.
"They don't understand what it takes to get to a championship level," Samuel said.
Samuel also said Southeast needs to add some key pieces during recruiting, especially at quarterback and on the defensive line, but overall he likes the prospects for next year.
"We're a talented team that was young," he said. "We can be as talented as we've been. Now we have to make sure we put the chemistry together."
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