Turnovers Doom SE in 9-7 Loss

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern's defense put together one of its best performances of the season, holding Arkansas-Monticello to 202 yards of total offense, but it was not enough to offset four fumbles and a safety in a 9-7 loss on Saturday afternoon at Paul Laird Field.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 1-5 overall on the season heading into an Oct. 19 road trip to Southern Arkansas for a 2:30 p.m. contest.
 
"Our defense is awesome," said head coach Tyler Fenwick. "They played their butts off. That's all they do, they go out and go to work. We turn it over and they go back to work. They get it done."
 
"When you keep turning the ball over," he continued, "And you keep giving the ball back to them then it's going to snowball."
 
The SE defense took the field without four regular starters, including tackling leader Conner Swope, but put together a clinic against the pass, holding the Boll Weevils to 43 yards through the air on 8-of-20 passing.
 
The 202 yards allowed is the lowest this season by 53 yards and the best effort since holding Southwestern Oklahoma State to 201 yards of offense at the midway point of the 2018 season.
 
Josh Mulumba led all tacklers with 12 on the afternoon, including one for a loss and also added his second interception of the season.
 
Ja'Lon Freeman and Scooter Baker each added 10 tackles, while Alexce Marshall chipped in seven with a team-best 1.5 tackles for loss.
 
The Storm finished the game with eight tackles for loss and four pass breakups, three of them by Jeremiah Baltrip.
 
As good as the defense looked, the offense had its struggles throughout the contest, most noticeably hanging onto the football as the Storm had eight total fumbles, losing four of them.
 
Southeastern finished the day with 307 yards of total offense, splitting it almost evenly down the middle with 155 yards on the ground and 152 through the air.
 
Rashod Polk finished just shy of his second 100-yard outing, turning in 95 yards on 17 carries, while Ryan Taylor added 65 yards on the day on eight totes, mostly on the strength of a 62 yard run which is the longest play of the season.
 
Polk finished with the team's only touchdown.
 
Rollin Kinsaul was 13-of-23 through the air for 100 yards while Daulton Hatley added a 4-for-4 effort for 52 yards.
 
The duo was sacked a combined three times.
 
Katrell Blakely was the top target for both, finishing the contest with a career-high 83 yards on seven catches. Felton Hatcher hauled in five catches for 39 yards.
 
The teams traded fruitless drives for the first quarter and were nearly 10 minutes into the second quarter before UAM struck first as Devontae Dean got loose for a 31 yard touchdown run with 5:05 to play in the first half to take a 7-0 lead.
 
That advantage would hold till halftime as a Storm field goal try from 42 yards out with 12 seconds left in the half was wide left.
 
The teams again traded drives before the Boll Weevils would move the ball to the SE 22 yard line before missing a 39 yard field goal.
 
On the ensuing drive the Storm would hand off six straight times, with Taylor taking the third run 62 yards to the UAM nine yard line and Polk would punch it in from a yard out three plays later to knot the game up at 7-7 with 2:50 to go in the third.
 
The score would remain tied into the fourth with the Storm driving into the Weevil red zone before a fumble ended the drive.
 
The defense would stop the ensuing UAM possession but the Storm were backed up on their own 10 yards line to start their next drive.
 
Hatley was then called for intentional grounding in the end zone as he was in the grasp of UAM's CJ Everett, recording a safety to fall behind 9-7. It was the first safety given up by Southeastern since surrendering one to Oklahoma Baptist Sept. 17, 2016.
 
Mulumba would pick off a Caleb Canady pass on the ensuing Boll Weevil drive to regain possession with 8:18 to play, but the next two Storm possessions would end on fumbles as UAM was able to run out the clock and steal the win 9-7.