The Southeast Missouri State football coaches preach physicality from the opening of training camp until the final game of the season and that toughness stems from work put in the weight room throughout the entire year.
That diligence shows on film and the Redhawks’ opposition has taken notice.
“The thing about (Southeast) is they are kind of built differently,” Murray State football coach Mitch Stewart said. “I look at them on tape and they look more like a Missouri Valley team.”
No. 13-ranked Southeast (8-3, 6-1 Ohio Valley Conference) will host the Racers (4-7, 2-5) Saturday at 1 p.m. and in actuality, Southeast is better than some of the Missouri Valley teams.
Southern Illinois is 5-2 and tied for second place in that league and the Redhawks beat the Salukis handily 44-26 to open this season.
It was the second consecutive season Southeast had beaten SIU.
“They are just big,” Stewart continued to say of the Redhawks. “They have big, fullback-type bodies and ‘backer type bodies and tight end type bodies.
“They are just a big ball club.”
Weary of Wilkerson
Stewart spoke of the arsenal of weapons that Southeast has at its disposal and he started with fifth-year wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson.
“That dude is a baller,” Stewart said. “That joker is a bowling ball of butcher knives and they do a good job of getting the ball to him.”
Wilkerson is the most productive pass-catcher in Southeast history and is in the midst of his finest season ever.
He has caught 55 passes (seven shy of last season) for 1,141 yards (247 yards more than last year), and nine scores.
Surging Southeast
The Redhawks strung together five consecutive winning seasons prior to moving into the NCAA Division I level in 1991 but have only had four such years since.
This season marks the first time Southeast has had consecutive winning seasons at this level and Stewart comprehends why.
“(Southeast) is a really, really good team,” Stewart said. “(Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz) has done a tremendous job there. It is a scary bunch when you turn them on tape and watch them in all three phases of the game.”
The Redhawks are tied with Austin Peay (8-3, 6-1) atop the OVC standings and a win by both teams will result in a share of the league title.
“I am really, really impressed with that ball club,” Stewart said of the Redhawks.
Tough league
Jacksonville State had won five consecutive OVC titles before falling to fifth place in the current standings, which Stewart said is a testament to the strength of the league.
“I’ve been saying for a couple of years,” Stewart said, “the league is just getting better and better and better. The personnel in the league, the athleticism in the league, all of that, the size in the league, it is just getting better.”
The Racers are in seventh place in the nine-team league but they are far from a pushover.
Murray State played Eastern Kentucky (a 34-27 loss), at Jacksonville State (a 14-12 loss), and Tennessee Tech (a 17-7 loss) very close.
“You just never know what you are going to find on a Saturday,” Stewart said. “You check your phone and see the scores in the league, it is what makes it so fun.
“On the other side of that, it is what makes it so difficult, as well.”
Making an argument
If both Austin Peay and Southeast win Saturday, they’ll share the OVC title, but the Governors will earn the automatic bid into the FCS Playoffs based on their 28-24 win over the Redhawks in October. Southeast would have to earn an at-large bid, which Stewart said is a no-brainer.
“We all just beat up on each other,” Stewart said of the league, “where you just don’t know. It makes it tough for that postseason and getting multiple teams in.
“But if we don’t get multiple teams in this year, that would be a tragedy.”
Posting a comment requires free registration:
Menu
