Gameday blog: UT Martin at Southeast

My view from the press box at Houck Field, as Southeast Missouri State squares off against UT Martin. (Trent Singer)

Jesse Hosket scored on a 12-yard run with 4 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and the Southeast Missouri State football team held a 7-3 lead over UT Martin at halftime during Saturday's Pink Up Game at Houck Field.

The Redhawks were out-gained 193-133 in the first half but sacked Skyhawks quarterback Dresser Winn three times.

Southeast got a stop in the red zone on the opening possession of the game when Mitch Mersman's 37-yard field goal attempt missed right.

A fumble by Eric Williams on the ensuing possession gave the Skyhawks a short field, but the Redhawks got two sacks to force UTM to punt it away.

Londell Lee muffed a punt after Southeast went three-and-out on its next possession, and the Redhawks marched 56 yards in three plays to take a 7-0 lead on Hosket's TD run.

Southeast got its second stop in the red zone during the second quarter when Ladarius Galloway was stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-goal at the 1.

UTM put together its lone scoring drive later in the period to cut its deficit to 7-3, settling for a 35-yard field goal by Mersman with 2:33 left in the quarter.

Hosket completed 4 of 6 passes for 52 yards, while Williams was the lead beneficiary, with three catches for 38 yards. Southeast running back Marquis Terry led the Redhawks on the ground with 56 yards on seven carries.

Justin Swift and Zach Hall each had six tackles and a sack to lead SEMO's defense.

Winn led the Skyhawks with 27 yards on 14 totes, while leading rusher Galloway was held to just 15 yards on seven rushes. Jaylon Moore had two receptions for 41 yards to lead UTM in receiving.

The Skyhawks were 5 of 10 on third down in the first half, while Southeast was 0 of 4. UTM dominated time of possession, accounting for 21:47 of the first half. Southeast had the ball just 8:13.

The Southeast Missouri State football team heads into the final stretch of its 2017 campaign when it hosts UT Martin for its Pink Up Game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Houck Field.

Southeast Missourian sports reporter Trent Singer will provide live updates from the game.

You can follow along on Twitter @semoballTrent, and you don't have to have a Twitter account to see the updates.

The Skyhawks (4-4, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference) are coming off a 27-10 win over visiting Eastern Illinois last week. UT Martin brings in one of the top defenses in the league. The Skyhawks are second in the OVC in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and passing defense. Offensively, they are led by the league's top rusher in Ladarius Galloway, who's averaging 90.6 rushing yards per game. Click here for a full preview of Saturday's game.

On the flip side, the Redhawks (2-6, 2-3 OVC) have dropped two in a row, including last week's 23-7 loss at OVC frontrunner Jacksonville State. Southeast finished with eight sacks defensively but was unable to sustain offense. The Redhawks had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter but instead settled for a field goal that was blocked for the second time of the game. Southeast quarterback Jesse Hosket finished with 190 yards passing and accounted for the team's only touchdown of the game, a 37-yard pass to wide receiver Zack Smith in the first quarter.