Gameday blog: Southeast at Southern Illinois

Link to the game story.

The final: Southern Illinois 30, Southeast Missouri State 22

The Redhawks made a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.

SEMO's self-inflicted wounds created too deep a hole, as 14 penalties for 94 yards and some critical moments of failed execution left Southeast on the wrong end of the final score.

SIU carried it's halftime momentum — after a final-second touchdown to end the second quarter — by out-scoring the visitors 17-0 in a decisive third quarter.

Southeast didn't find the end zone until the fourth quarter, but when it did it drew back from 27-9 down to come within one possession after Darrius Darden-Box scored on a 29-yard pass from Hosket with 5:08 left to play. But that was all SEMO had left in the tank.

It was Darden-Box's first catch of the season and second TD of his career.

The Redhawks also scored to open the fourth quarter on a 22-yard connection between Hosket and favored target Kristian Wilkerson.

Southern Illinois got third-quarter TDs on a 44-yard strike from Straughan to Connor Iwema and a 47-yard fumble recovery by James Ceasar.

Straughan finished 16 of 34 for 265 yards and a TD for the Salukis. Jimmy Jones had three catches for 81 yards and Daquan Isom had 18 carries for 70 yards.

Southeast had two players break the 100-yard mark — Will Young doing it again on the ground with 22 rushes for 100 yards and Adrian Davis with six receptions for 103 yards.

At the half, Southern Illinois leads Southeast Missouri State 10-9.

The Redhawks have hurt themselves with penalties (five for 31 yards), many of which came at bad times. SEMO was flagged for three false starts, including two in third-and-manageable situations, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty unraveled a promising Southeast drive in the second quarter. The Redhawks started at their own 9-yard line and drove all the way to the Saluki 11 before the flag. SEMO ended up settling for a 36-yard field goal from Ryan McCrum with 3:55 left in the second quarter. It gave Southeast a 9-3 lead at the time.

McCrum also booted field goals of 23 and 36 yards in the first quarter.

Southeast did not trail until zeroes showed on the scoreboard and the teams headed to the locker room, with SIU's Jonathan Mixon running for a 1-yard touchdown as time expired. That capped a drive in which SEMO missed tackles on Saluki WR Darrell James on two different plays.

SIU got a 37-yard field goal from Matt Sotiropoulos after a third-down sack by Devin Alexander. The kick tied things at 3 at 6:47 of the first quarter.

James led Southern Illinois with three catches for 59 yards. Daquan Isom had nine rushes for 30 yards. Quarterback Josh STraughan was 11 of 21 for 110 yards. He was sacked twice.

Southeast quarterback Jesse Hosket was 5 of 15 for 49 yards. Will Young leads all rushers with 13 carries for 58 yards.

The Southeast Missouri State football team is set to take on Southern Illinois at 6 p.m. today at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

Trent Singer and Josh Mlot will provide updates from the game.

You can follow along on Twitter @semoballTrent or @semoballJosh for live updates throughout the game, and you don't have to have a Twitter account to see their posts.

A preview of the 82nd edition of this regional rivalry is available here. The Salukis (0-1) are coming off a season-opening loss against Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Florida Atlantic.

The Redhawks (0-1) enter the game after dropping a 35-17 decision to FBS opponent Memphis but were able to get a good glimpse of their talented wide receiving corps. Senior running back Will Young is coming off a 100-yard rushing performance against the Tigers.

You can read about the season opener here, as well as how well the Southeast defense performed here.