Season in Review - Part 2

Southwestern came to town with only one win, but had lost a heartbreaker in the final seconds at Tarleton the week before and appeared ready to compete. Southeastern struck quickly to try to shut down any hope. McCain fired two touchdown passes (one to Ty Hull and one to Laury) and Cole Jones connected on two field goal attempts. The Storm owned a 20-0 lead at the half.
However, the Bulldogs weren’t ready to lay down just yet. Three touchdown passes by Steve Day, assisted by a couple of breakdowns in the secondary, in the next 16 and a half minutes and the SOSU lead became a one point deficit. Momentum had shifted and the season seemed to be on the line.
SOSU went three-and-out on its next two possessions, but Will White stepped and pinned the Dawgs on their own 2. The defense came up big, forcing a punt, which Jerome Hewitt returned 54 yards for the go-ahead score. The two-point conversion failed, but the 2008 season still had life.
Jones made his third FG on the day (his best day of the year) to ice the game. Southeastern won 29-21 and was now 2-4 overall and more importantly 1-0 in the North.
The trip to Edmond to face the rival Central Bronchos had much on the line. The Storm boasted a six game winning streak over the Bronchos, which was not lost on them. A new coach and a new attitude were what the Storm was facing on the road.
SOSU came out early and looked to continue the winning. McCain found Laury for a 31 yard touchdown pass and the Storm were on top 7-0 at the end of the first. And then everything changed.
Central transfer quarterback Brandon Noohi had played his previous seasons in Durant and apparently wanted to let his former teammates know what they were missing. He accounted for five Central touchdowns – three passes and two that he himself ran in. From the second quarter on, the Bronchos scored 41 unanswered points. The final would be 41-7, UCO. Southeastern’s chances of a fifth consecutive North division title were diminished greatly and now the Storm would have to depend upon another North team taking down the Bronchos.

Now 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the North, Southeastern would get to depart from the divisional schedule and travel to San Angelo to regroup before the schedule’s home stretch. It would prove to be just what the doctor ordered.
Angelo St. came into the game 3-4 overall, but had defeated the two teams from the North that they had faced.
The Storm defense, which had been improving throughout the season, was once again a key factor in the game. And the offense found creativity that had been lacking the week before.
Seniors Cameron Sparks and Craig Andrus both led the team with 9 tackles and this would be Andrus’ coming out party. Bernard Daniel had an interception to go with two fumble recoveries and was tabbed as the North Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. It was the second time this season, Daniel had received the honor – he got the nod following the ENMU victory as well. These noteworthy achievements were part of a fantastic overall effort by
the defense, who completely kept the Rams off the scoreboard. Final score: SOSU 35, ASU 0. The shutout was the first for the Storm in nearly two years.

Back to Durant came the Storm again, hoping to generate back-to-back wins for the first time in 2008. Northeastern was in town for Homecoming and SOSU couldn’t have been happier. It was my opinion that Eastern New Mexico was the worst team that the Storm would face this season. I stand corrected. Though this was not Southeastern’s best performance (based upon the potential of the team) the defense did rise to the occasion again and were assisted by poor decisions by nearly everyone in a green uniform.
For the second straight week, the Storm defense held its opponent out of the endzone, allowing only 3 points on the day. Bernard Daniel and Craig Andrus each reached double-digits in tackles, 12 and 11, respectively. And Sparks added two more interceptions bringing his season total to 5.
Brandon McCain topped the 300 yard-mark passing for the first time in 2008 with 301 and had four TD passes. One went to Nichols, who had 129 yards receiving. The other three went to fellow members of the backfield: Laury snagged two and Junior fullback Marcus High brought in his first receiving TD of his career.
Southeastern now officially owned a winning streak with the 28-3 victory and moved to 2-1 in the North.


The Storm then hit the road for the final time as they crossed the Red River once again to face the only North division team on the south side of that river. A rivalry seems to be in the making with Texas A&M-Commerce because of the proximity of the two schools and because of the intensity and competitiveness in recent contests. In the previous three years, the games were decided by a total of four points and in 2007 went into 3 overtimes. A&M-C is also the only divisional opponent to have notched more than one victory over the Storm in the last four years.
With the stage set and both teams still in the running to repeat as North champs, the game did live up to the expectation that it would go down to the wire. It did indeed. The Lions struck first gaining three points from a field goal and the Storm would counter quickly with a McCain to Hull touchdown, which was set up by a 67 yard Baylen Laury run – his longest carry of the season. Each quarter following saw alternating touchdown scored by each team. It would be a case of whichever team scored last would win. The Storm scored last, but the win would be preserved by the defense.
A big defensive stand capped by an interception by Johnny Seals looked like it would seal the deal. But the Storm gave it back on a mishandled hand-off attempt and Commerce would have one more shot with 89 seconds remaining.
The Lions drove inside the red zone and set up shop, first and goal at the 2. The Storm defense had done well on goal line stands in 2008, but none was bigger or more exciting than this one. Four Lions plays would result in minus three yards. SOSU shut down Lions’ QB Terry Mayo’s option look on fourth down with :13 on the clock and secured the 28-24 victory. Now 3-1 in the North, the Storm was also 5-5 overall and at .500 for the first time since the season began. With three straight in the win column, somehow 1-4 seemed like a long time ago and a winning season could still be achieved. Southeastern would go back to Paul Laird Field to close out the campaign.
And the season ender, as it has been for so many years was arch-rival East Central. A piece of the division title was still possible, but really unlikely, as it would depend on Northeastern defeating Central, who was currently on a six-game winning streak and 4-0 in the North. But more than that was on the line: a 6-3 record in the conference and a 6-5 record overall – a winning record; something that eluded the Storm last season, even with the share of the North division title. And far beyond even those motivational factors, this was East Central. You play all season to win this game.
The Tigers led 10-0 at the break and 17-7 midway into the third. It was Rocky Phillips’ sack and safety that started to turn the tide back in the direction of the Storm. Then came the fourth quarter and the outburst of points.
43 point were put up in the final period and the Storm owned 29 of them. Brandon McCain tossed four touchdown passes and even received a pass to convert the final two-point play which would give Southeastern a 38-31 lead with two minutes left. The defense closed out the season appropriately enough when Sparks intercepted ECU’s Marcus Johnson in the endzone and put the win in the books.
Southeastern finished the 2008 season at a respectable 6-5. Coach Richards and his staff claimed their third winning season in four years in Durant. And though Central would win in Tahlequah and take the North this season, 4-1 in the division was very solid.
The Storm closed the book on a up and down season. It was one with more highs than lows. It was a successful year.