The Omnibus

Issue date: 9/7/07 Section: Sports

Nick Smart's 14 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns were not enough to hold off a Harding University comeback. The 43-40 loss sent SBU to an 0-1 record heading into their matchup with Division I-AA school Southeast Missouri State University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the campus of SEMO in Cape Girardeau. SBU's first home game will be Sept. 22 against Missouri Southern State University.

A one-yard touchdown run by Ardell Briggs with 32 seconds left in the game gave Harding University a late 43-40 win over Southwest Baptist University Aug. 30. The loss denied SBU their first road win since 2005.
"It goes back to what I said in pre-season," said Interim Head Football Coach Keith Allen. "We've got to win the 'big three' battles of big plays, turnovers and penalties. We didn't do a good job of that tonight, and it cost us."
In the realm of big plays, the SBU defense allowed a 44-yard touchdown pass by Harding's David Knighton three plays after SBU's Steve Gachette threw his third touchdown pass of the game to give SBU a 31-28 lead in the fourth quarter.
SBU overcame the error with Gachette's 10-yard touchdown pass to Lamarc Windham followed by a 34-yard field goal on the next drive to give SBU a 40-35 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Harding won the battle of field position in the remaining moments and completed a 19-yard pass on a third and 15 play to set up the winning touchdown.
SBU may have walked away with an 18-7 halftime lead had two SBU turnovers not led to two HU touchdowns. Nine penalties for 64 total yards in the second half also aided the Harding comeback.
Though SBU saw a 1-0 start slip through their hands, they did answer several questions about themselves.
The defense showed significant improvement with a stellar third down defense in the first half. Excessive amount of time on the field and penalties inflated Harding's 377 total yards.
Additionally, Gachette's 379 passing yards and four touchdown passes appears to have solved the SBU quarterback quandary.
"I was very impressed with Steve's performance against Harding," said Allen. "[Offensive Coordinator Robby] Brown and the offensive coaching staff put a great game plan together to protect Steve and allow him to excel at what he does best. I wouldn't say we were shocked by his performance. We knew he was blessed with athletic ability."
SBU will need to improve on these two qualities Sept. 8 if they are to win at Southeast Missouri State. SEMO, a Division I-AA school, is coming off a 58-3 beating against Division I-A Cincinnati Aug. 30. SEMO Head Coach Samuel the Southeast Missourian newspaper that the Bearcats are a much improved team and is concerned about SBU's explosive offense.
The Bearcats will faceoff against SEMO at 6 p.m. Sept. 8 on the campus of SEMO in Cape Girardeau.

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