Semoball

SEMO football gaining confidence through the play of QB Daniel Santacaterina

Southeast Missouri State fifth-year senior quarterback Daniel Santacaterina awaits the snap against Austin Peay Saturday in Clarksville, Tenn.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

There were no Southeast Missouri State football fans that got in their cars Saturday for the 165-mile drive back to Cape Girardeau following the Redhawks’ 28-24 loss at Austin Peay and were feeling good. However, if they would have narrowed their focus some, most notably to the second half play of fifth-year quarterback Daniel Santacaterina, they HAD to have felt positive about that.

As Southeast came out of the locker room for the second half, Santacaterina dragged his 49.6 percent completion rate for the season with him and promptly led the offense to yet another three-and-out series.

The curtailed drive was Southeast’s seventh (of eight in the game to that point) of five or fewer plays.

“We believe in ‘Santa’ until the end of the world,” Redhawk senior offensive lineman Elijah Swehla said after the game. “What we need to improve is the offensive line giving him more time. If we give him more time, he is going to be the best quarterback in this conference by far.”

That is precisely how Santacaterina played following that series.

Throughout the rest of the game, Santacaterina completed 10 of his 12 attempts, three of which went for scores.

“It felt like it clicked,” sixth-year Redhawk coach Tom Matukewicz said of his quarterback’s play. “That energy (and) that emotion from him making plays was there.”

And so was the confidence.

Santacaterina hasn’t played well this season and there are several reasons for that, and Swehla alluded to one of them. However, against Austin Peay, Santacaterina was exhibiting intellect, toughness, maturity, and skill.

“He checked several plays,” Matukewicz said, “which is huge. He got us in great football position.

“It’s just like all great quarterbacks, you make people around you better.”

Santacaterina did that throughout last season, but he has struggled to reach that level this year.

Southeast lost four starting offensive linemen, its top tight end for the first two months of the season, its second-string tight end for the past three weeks, and the OVC Offensive Player of the Year in running back Marquis Terry from last season.

But the growth of the unit began to show Saturday.

“You could just tell the whole offense was gaining confidence because of how ‘Santa’ was playing,” Matukewicz said. “It even affected our sideline. It just felt like we had a lot more energy as he kept playing well.”

Climbing the ranks

One of the reasons Santacaterina felt so confident was that he could throw to fifth-year senior Kristian Wilkerson and feel good about the chances for completion.

Wilkerson caught five receptions for 122 yards and a pair of scores.

“It’s been fun to watch his growth and his maturity level,” Matukewicz said of the receiver. “He’s going to have a successful life because of how he goes about everything in his life.”

Wilkerson became the program’s all-time leader in reception yards (he has 2,745 so far) earlier this season. With seven more receptions and three more touchdowns, he’ll become the Redhawks’ all-time leader in receptions and receiving touchdowns.

“Everybody sees the catches,” Matukewicz said. “They see that they are wonderful, he is really good at the reception point, great with body control, but he has really picked it up on the blocking end too.

“He is really becoming a complete player and is fun to watch.”

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