Tennessee State junior quarterback Antonio Heffner will miss the remainder of the season and undergo surgery on Friday after suffering an ankle injury Saturday at Eastern Kentucky.

Tigers coach James Webster said Heffner did not break any bones, but his ankle bent to the inside and two bones separated and pulled the ligament off the bone.

Heffner led the Ohio Valley Conference with 1,486 passing yards and was the second most efficient quarterback behind Eastern quarterback sophomore Bodie Reeder.

Heffner threw 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions in addition to rushing for 337 yards in seven games this season.

Starting in place of Heffner will be freshman Calvin McNairl. McNairl replaced Heffner against the Colonels and finished 7-of-16 for 45 yards, and he had 69 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Webster said McNairl possesses the all the qualities Heffner has as quarterback, and that is one reason he was recruited.

“We obviously had plans to bring him along slowly, spot playing him,” Webster said. “But with the injury to Heffner now, he (McNairl) has to go out there and he has to be the man.”

Eastern coach Bob Spoo said his team would not prepare differently for Tennessee State with Heffner not under center.

“They’ve got the same football team with that exception,” Spoo said. “We have to stop some fine football players. We just have to prepare the same way normally if he had been playing.”

However, Heffner is not the only injury on offense Tennessee State will have to accommodate. Webster said starting running back Javarris Williams is day-to-day after suffering a side injury against the Colonels. Webster said Williams was kicked in the side during a block, and although no bones were broken, he is experiencing a lot of pain and swelling.

Williams is the leading rusher for the Tigers with 678 yards and five touchdowns on 131 carries.

Webster said Saturday’s game against the Panthers presents more of a challenge than Eastern Kentucky did because last week the Tigers’ offensive threats were healthy.

“Right now we know for sure we don’t have Heffner and probably won’t have Javarris,” Webster said.

Samford freshman runs wild

Chris Evans rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in Samford’s 28-25 loss to Austin Peay Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. The freshman from Alexandria, Ala., is third in the OVC with 751 rushing yards.

Samford coach Pat Sullivan said he wanted to establish a running game this season and Evans has had a good year for the Bulldogs averaging more than 100 yards per game.

“He’s a slashing type runner, a heavy guy that maybe doesn’t have the greatest speed in the world, but he’s got that quickness and that knack for hitting the hole,” Sullivan said.

However, Sullivan said the Bulldogs would need a balanced offensive attack of passing and throwing against Tennessee Tech this weekend.

“For us to have any kind of success this week, we’re going to have to do both,” Sullivan said. “We can’t go in and be a one-dimensional team against Tennessee Tech.”

“Chris Evans is a very good player, and they’ve relied on him to make a lot of big plays for them this season,” Tech coach Watson Brown said. “I think our defense has got their hands full.”

SEMO twins make move

Southeast Missouri junior quarterback Victor Anderson and his twin brother, wide receiver Vincent Anderson, are moving to the Redhawks’ secondary.

SEMO coach Tony Samuel said Vincent Anderson was moved to the secondary out of necessity because of several injuries to other defensive backs. He said Vincent Anderson was a highly recruited defensive back out of high school, so the decision was made to try him out in the secondary during the bye week.

As a receiver, Vincent Anderson led the Redhawks in receptions with 12 and he had 122 yards receiving. He has played in the secondary for the last three games, and Samuel said he made several good plays Saturday against Murray State and nearly intercepted a pass.

Victor Anderson played quarterback for SEMO in all seven games this season, but completed only 36.9 percent of his passes while throwing three interceptions and one touchdown.

Samuel said the coaching staff was going to approach Victor Anderson about making the switch for next season, but Victor Anderson volunteered after the game against the Racers now that junior quarterback Houston Lillard has recovered from an injury.

“We talked it over and figured if we’re going to do it, let’s do it now,” Samuel said.

Samuel said the Anderson twins are both big, athletic football players with a passion for the game. Both Andersons are 6-foot-2, but Victor weighs in at 215 pounds, 5 pounds more than his brother.