Joe Winters

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- UMR had an advantage in several statistical categories for a good portion of Saturday night’s game, but Southeast Missouri State was able to break away after UMR closed to within a score and came away with a 44-23 win over the Miners at Houck Stadium.

UMR had 474 yards of total offense to 401 for Southeast and had a six-minute edge in time of possession against the Division I-AA Redhawks, but the Miners were playing from behind all night after another slow start in the scoring column.

The Miners got a 38-yard pass completion from Joe Winters to Mike Greaving on the first play of the game, but the offense bogged down to a degree after that play as the Redhawks continued to pressure the quarterback throughout the opening quarter.

Thus, Southeast was able to build a 17-0 lead, getting a three-yard scoring run from Tim Holloman and a 12-yard touchdown run from John Rainey to precede a 27-yard field goal by Colin Schuerman early in the second quarter.

UMR got on the scoreboard by completing a 93-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Matt Padilla. The Miners got to the one when Nathan Binder made a diving catch of a Winters pass that covered 26 yards.

The Miners threatened again late in the half when they crossed midfield, but saw the drive stall outside of field goal range just before halftime.

In the third quarter, UMR was able to take advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty, picking up three first downs before settling for a 34-yard field goal from Tim Valencia to cut the Redhawk lead to 17-9 with 3:46 left in the period.

However, Southeast answered that score by breaking the game open with back-to-back scoring drives, first going driving 77 yards for a score, with quarterback Kevin Ballatore scoring on a seven-yard run on a naked bootleg to push the lead back to 15 with 54 seconds remaining. Holloman scored his second touchdown moments later on a 23-yard run to make it 31-9.

UMR did get another score after the Holloman touchdown, as Ashton Gronewold made a catch in the back of the end zone on a fourth down play with 8:45 to play. The Miners recovered an onside kick after the touchdown, but Winters threw an interception on a long pass to Landry on the first play to halt a chance to get to within a touchdown.

Southeast put the game away when Radney got his second touchdown of the night with 5:31 to play when he plowed in from nine yards away.

Winters moved past the 400-yard mark when he hit Padilla for 79 yards when the Miners got the ball back, then finished the drive with a one-yard scoring pass to Brandon Landry. The Redhawks (2-0) got the last score of the night when Radney raced 41 yards down the sideline with under two minutes remaining.

Winters finished the night by completing 29 of 55 pases for 419 yards -- the fifth straight game a UMR quarterback has exceeded the 400-yard mark -- and the two scores, with Padilla accounting for 194 all-purpose yards with 73 on the ground and a career-high 121 receiving. Gronewold led the Miners with eight catches.

UMR fell to 0-2 and will play Lincoln (0-3) next Saturday in Jefferson City, Mo., at 2 p.m.