History is not on the side of the boys from Cape Girardeau.

Since Southeast Missouri has never won at Eastern and lost nine of its last 11 against the Panthers, the Redhawks are trying a different approach.

Under Tim Billings, SEMO had always been a wide-open passing attack that tried to outscore its opponents. But after hiring Tony Samuel in 2006, the Redhawks are attempting a more physical approach to both sides of the ball.

“Power-oriented running game, good quarterback and two good tailbacks,” said Eastern acting head coach Mark Hutson.

SEMO’s game plan will be to slow down the tempo of the game and physically dominate the Panthers at the line of scrimmage.

Eastern will have to deal with 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end Edgar Jones, who comes to Charleston with a I-AA best eight sacks this season and is a big reason why the Redhawks are plus-11 in turnover ratio.

“Edgar was one of the first guys to buy into our system,” Samuel said. “He’s a very determined individual.”

Last week, Jones had two sacks against Samford in the Redhawks 19-14 win.

“We had problems with him, there’s no question about that,” said Samford head coach Bill Gray. “Best (football player) we’ve seen this year as far as up front.”

Eastern has allowed one sack in three games against I-AA opponents and both tackles Eric Johnson and Anthony Rubican will get opportunities at stopping Jones. The pair of 300-pounders only allowed three total sacks last season.

“(Jones) has given offensive lineman fits,” Hutson said. “He’s like a rocket coming off the football and with that size he’s able to use his athletic ability.”

Eastern will attempt to neutralize the Redhawk pass rush with a healthy dose of running the football with senior Vincent Webb Jr. The Panthers star tailback ranks third nationally in rushing with 135 yards per game.

“Vincent is having an outstanding year for us,” Hutson said. “He’s always had outstanding vision but this year he’s really improved his power running.”

Last season, Webb ran for a season-high 148 yards with three touchdowns and left SEMO searching for answers in a 48-24 road win.

“That kid is pretty good,” Samuel said. “If we can slow him down and try and see if they can throw the ball, we’ve got a chance.”

Eastern returns to O’Brien Stadium for the first time in a month and the Panthers have won seven of their last eight Ohio Valley Conference games in Charleston.

“I know the players are excited and after being on the road for three weeks, yes, there’s excitement,” Hutson said. “We know that as defending champion we will receive everyone’s best shot.”

Special teams and field position will be a big key in the game as Southeast Missouri comes in with the nation’s best punter but only if they can protect him. Redhawks’ David Simenhoff is leading the country with an average of 47.4 yards per punt but the Redhawks had two punts blocked against Samford.

“Last week we had two punts blocked, that’s not good,” Samuel said.

“It’s that old-school Nebraska style of winning games,” said Eastern defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni. “Control the football, don’t turn it over and win the field position battle – that’s been their winning formula all year.”