In a game that was tied three times and had seven lead changes, the Southeast Missouri State University football team was able to hold onto the final lead and win its first Ohio Valley Conference game of the season.

Senior kicker Drew Geldbach's 34-yard field goal in the second overtime put Southeast ahead 41-38 and was the game-winner after Tennessee Tech missed a field goal attempt on its subsequent possession.

"I just went out when my number was called, tried to do what I could," Geldbach said about the game-winning field goal. "The kick got tipped a little bit. Luckily I had enough behind it and it still went through."

Geldbach also kicked a 39-yard field goal with three minutes, 58 seconds left in the game to tie the score at 31 and send the game into overtime.

"This was my first overtime I've ever played in," Geldback said. "And the way I look at it you've just got to stay calm like you would any other day coming in."

The Redhawks largest deficit of the game came early in the second quarter when they trailed the Golden Eagles 17-7.

In the first half Tennessee Tech was led by junior wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers, who had 12 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Rogers transferred from the University of Tennessee after being dismissed from the team earlier this year. He was all-SEC last year.

Tennessee Tech senior quarterback Tre Lamb completed 23 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

Southeast's defense was able to chip away at Tennessee Tech's lead with under 10 minutes left in the first half. A 41-yard interception return by senior linebacker Darrick Borum and a 100-yard interception return by senior free safety Branden Spann allowed Southeast to take a 21-17 lead with 2 minutes, 42 seconds left in the second quarter.

"I just try to make plays that help my offense get the ball back and help my team win," Spann said. "That's the only objective, honestly."

The Golden Eagles led 24-21 at halftime. Southeast held Rogers to six receptions for 45 yards the second half. He finished the game with 18 receptions for 303 yards, both Tennessee Tech records.

"The only chance we had was if we wore him down a little bit," Samuel said. "He hadn't played a lot of games. We weren't sure how much camp he had."

Redshirt freshman quarterback Scott Lathrop credited the defense for keeping Southeast in the game.

Lathrop completed seven of 10 passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Southeast and Tennessee Tech combined for ten turnovers in the game. Southeast had five fumbles, three of which were recovered by the Golden Eagles.

"We still have to minimize our turnovers," Southeast coach Tony Samuel said. "We came up with some big ones, but we also had a couple that we can't have on a regular basis."

Senior running back Levi Terrell fumbled at the Tennesse Tech 19-yard line with 56 seconds left in the game after an interception by senior free safety Tylor Brock gave the Redhawks a chance to take the lead.

"It was just a mental error and I'm glad the defense came out and saved me from it or I probably would've gone into exile for a while," Terrell said about the fumble.

Terrell finished the game with a career-high 171 yards rushing on 25 carries. He also had a career-long 48-yard rush in the first quarter.

The Redhawks record improved to 2-2 for the season and 1-0 in conference. Tennessee Tech, one of three teams that tied for the OVC championship last year, is 2-2 and 0-1 in conference.

"It's a building block and we're going to start from here, but tomorrow we're going to put in some work and we're going to start preparing for our next opponent," Borum said.

Southeast's next game will be against Jacksonville State at 3 p.m. Saturday in Jacksonville, Ala.