Southeastern travels to Texas A&M-Commerce… Southeastern will open the 2012 season on Sept. 1 with a 2 p.m. matchup against for conference-rival Texas A&M-Commerce in Commerce, Texas.
The Savage Storm are coming off a 2-8 season and will be looking to snap an eight-game losing streck that ended the 2011 season after beginning it with a pair of wins. The game is also the first of the season for the Lions.
Against the Lions… Saturday marks the 19th meeting all-time between Southeastern and Texas A&M-Commerce. The series dates back to a 1919 meeting which ended in a 0-0 tie. SE would win four of the next five before suffering back-to-back losses in 1934 and 1939. Eight of SE's nine wins came int he first 13 meeting, with TAMUC winning four of the last five contests. In 2007 the Lions took a 41-39 decision in triple-overtime, matching SE's longest foray into OT.
Southeastern celebrates 100th season of football… The 2012 seaosn will mark the 100th season of competition for SE football which fielded its first team in 1909. Southeastern has fielded a team every year since then except for the span between 1943 and 1945 during World War II. SE has played 946 games over that span, posting a 452-450-44 record.
Notes from last time out… dropped its eighth-straight game since opening the season 2-0, falling 16-9 to Harding to end the year with a 2-8 record... all eight of SE's losses have come by two touchdowns or less, with five of them being 10 points or less, with the largest margin of defeat being 16 points... SE's last three losses have been by seven points or less... CJ Kirk turned in his third 100-plus yard game of the year and second in-a-row with 120 yards on 28 carries with one touchdown...
SE outgained OBU 424-to-378... Izzy Eziakor and Houston Slemp each posted double-digit tackle totals... The OBU contest was the first game all year the SE defense did not force a turnover in and just the second game where SE committed more turnovers than its opponent.
About the Coaches… Ray Richards (Northern Michigan, 1981) took over the reins for the Southeastern Oklahoma State football program prior to the 2005 season and quickly built on to SE's successful history. Richards has compiled a 36-37 record at SE and an overall career record of 50-67, with head coaching stints at Southeastern and Southwest Baptist University. The 2011 squad opened the year with back-to-back wins before going to a 2-8 season and a ninth place finish in the first season of Great American Conference play. SE had three all conference award winners, highlighted by first team selection Ryan Shelley who turned in the league's best single-game receiving mark with 225 yards against East Central. In seven seasons at SE, Richards' teams have produced 25 first team all-conference honors as well as 37 all-conference second team honors. His teams also won eight specialty awards in the LSC, including his own Coach of the Year nod following the 2005 season.
Guy Morriss (TCU, 1973) enters his fourth season as the head football coach at Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2011. Morriss became the 18th football coach in A&M-Commerce history on January 7, 2009. Despite battling a myriad of injuries and setbacks in 2011, Morris' A&M-Commerce team saw a handful of bright spots. The Lions participated in the Lone Star Football Festival at Cowboys Stadium on September 17, becoming the first Division II team to suit up in the world's preeminent sporting venue. The Lions saw a pair of players rack in All-Lone Star Conference accolades as Cory Whitfield was named first team with Taylor Fore being named honorable mention. The former head coach at Baylor University from 2003-2007 and the University of Kentucky from 2001-2002 brings an impressive background that includes a 15-year playing career in the NFL. Morriss attended Sam Houston High School in Arlington and later Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where he was a three year letterwinner and two-time All-Southwest Conference selection. The Horned Frogs' team captain, he was selected to play in four all-star games following his senior season (Blue-Gray Game, Senior Bowl, Coaches' All-America Game and College All-Star Game). Morriss was inducted into the TCU Hall of Fame in 1997.
SE picked Tied for Sixth in Preseason Poll... Southeastern football opens the 2012 football season in a four way tie for sixth place in the Great American Conference preseason poll released on Tuesday. The Savage Storm joins Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma State in the tie with each team earning 22 points in the poll which is voted on by the league's head coaches. The Storm defeated SAU early in the year by a 24-21 margin, but fell to SWOSU 23-20 and UAM 24-20.Parity is to be expected as SE only had one of its eight losses in 2011 decided by more than 10 points.Preparation for the 2012 season began on Aug. 9 with the opener slated Sept. 1 with a 6 p.m. start time at Texas A&M-Commerce. The home portion of the schedule opens Sept. 15 when the Savage Storm hosts Southern Arkansas at 6 p.m. Henderson State topped the poll with 57 points and four first place votes, while East Central and Ouachita Baptist tied for second with 54 points each. ECU logged three first place votes and OBU had two. Harding was tabbed fourth with 42 points, while Arkansas Tech came in fifth with 29.
The poll did not include GAC newcomers Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene.
GAC Preseason Poll TOTAL (1st)
1. Henderson State (6-4) 57 (4)
T2. East Central (8-3) 54 (3)
T2. Ouachita Baptist (7-3) 54 (2)
4. Harding (4-7) 42
5. Arkansas Tech (2-8) 29
T6. Arkansas-Monticello (5-6) 22
T6. Southeastern Okla. St. (2-8) 22
T6. Southern Arkansas (3-7) 22
T6. Southwestern Okla. St. (5-6) 22
SE Players earn Preseason All-American honors... Southeastern tight end Ryan Shelley has been named third team Preseason All-American by USA Football News. The organization also named Izzy Eziakor as a South Region All-Star. This marks the second-straight season that Shelley has earned some preseason All-American Recognition. Shelley, a senior from Irving, Texas, finished the season as SE's leading receiver in 2011, hauling in 44 catches for 532 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 12.1 yards per catch and 53.2 yards per game and turned in the conference's best receiving performance of the season, racking up 225 yards on 14 catches, both of which are current GAC bests. Eziakor was a second team All-Great American Conference selection a season ago, however, this marks his first preseason honor while at SE. Eziakor, a junior from Wiley, Texas, was second on the team in tackles a season ago with 70 stops on the season. He also added 2.5 tackles for loss, an interception and seven pass breakups. He turned in a season-best 13 tackles against Ouachita Baptist, and posted eight-or-more tackles in six games on the year.
Inside Southeastern Sports every Saturday Morning... Southeastern and KXII have teamed up to give Savage Storm fans a new place to get their Southeastern sports fix, a new half hour show entitled Inside Southeastern Sports that will air on KXII stations.
The 11 a.m. showing will be available on channel 12 and channel 12.1 for viewers with newer digital televisions. It is also available on channel 2 (or channel 84 for digital cable subscribers) on Durant Cable, as well as channel 12 on DISH Network. MyTexoma can be found over the air on channel 12.2 for viewers with newer digital televisions, as well as channel 53 for Durant CommuniComm Cable subscribers. The show will feature Southeastern coaches and players and will cover the full range of sports that SOSU offers.
"This is a great opportunity for Southeastern," said Athletic Director Keith Baxter, "Having our coaches and student-athletes on television will give fans a chance to get to know them better, while the exposure will be good for the university as a whole."
Savage Storm on the Air… All Southeastern Oklahoma football games will be broadcast on either KLBC 106.3 FM or KSEO 750 AM out of Durant. Michael Westbrook, the "Voice of the Storm", will serve as SOSU's play-by-play announcer with Jim Reagan joining him in the booth. This week's game will be broadcast on KLBC. Tune in thirty minutes prior to each game for the "Ray Richards Show" as Westbrook sits down with the Savage Storm head coach each week.
