Nov. 16, 2002
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.- Jack Tomco completed 20-of-28 passes for 368 yards and Willie Ponder caught 11 passes for 195 yards as Southeast Missouri State rolled over Samford, 48-24, Saturday night at Houck Stadium. The Indians (8-4) kept their hope alive for an at-large bid to the Division I-AA playoffs.
The Bulldogs (4-6) lost their third straight game to a future Ohio Valley Conference team. Samford sophomore receiver Efrem Hill had a breakout performance against Southeast. Hill caught five passes for 102 yards and one touchdown. It was Hill's first career 100-yard receiving game. Senior wide-out Aryvia Holmes broke the Samford single-season record for receiving yards, which he set last season. Holmes caught five passes for 109 yards and one touchdown. He now has 1,068 receiving yards and 74 catches this season. Josh Kellett came off the bench to complete 15-of-26 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
Southeast Missouri outgained the Bulldogs 642-392 in yards.
Ponder's 11th catch of the game gave the Indians a 48-17 lead with 13:51 left in the game. Kellett led Samford on a seven-play 75-yard drive with 5:17 left in the game. Holmes caught a 10-yard touchdown to make for the final score.
Anthony Lumpkin intercepted Kellett on Samford's first possession of the second half. The Indians then drove 56 yards in nine plays. Keiki Misipeka scored on a 2-yard run pushing the lead to 41-17 with 10:31 left in the third quarter.
Southeast Missouri scored on its first possession of the game. Tomco hit Ray Goodson for a 7-yard touchdown to go ahead 7-0 with 10:52 left in the first quarter. Samford drove 62 yards in 12 plays on the ensuing drive. Chip Walters kicked a 21-yard field cutting the Bulldog deficit to 7-3.
The Indians extended their lead to 10-3 on a Derek Kutz 23-yard field goal with 14:52 left in the first half. After a Samford punt, it took the Indians one play to extend their lead. Tomco threw to Tarik Simpson for a 55-yard touchdown with 13:01 left in the first half.
Kellett replaced Ray Nelson, who got the start at quarterback on the third series. On Samford's fourth possession of the first half and facing fourth-and-five, Robert Evans ran nine yards on a fake punt to keep Samford's drive alive. Five plays later, Kellett hooked up with Efrem Hill over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown cutting it to 17-10.
Tomco threw his third touchdown of the first half with 8:10 left. He threw to Jamel Oliver for an 18-yard score to make it 24-10.
Southeast Missouri recovered a fumbled snap on Samford's next possession. Five plays later, Corey Kinsey dove in from three yards out to extend the Indian lead to 31-10 with 5:59 remaining in the first half. Adam Sallaz intercepted Tomco in the endzone on Southeast's next possession.
After the turnover, the Bulldogs needed just three plays and 48 seconds to go 80 yards. D.J. Stancil ran for 10 yards on first down. Kellett then hooked up with Holmes for a 68-yard reception down to the Southeast 2-yard line. Stancil then scored to make it 31-17 with two minutes remaining before the half.
Kinsey led all rushers with 101 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown. Jeff East completed 3-of-5 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown after replacing Tomco.
Samford wraps up the regular season at Youngstown State next Saturday.
