Semoball

Southeast Missouri State football gets convincing win over Tennessee Tech on Homecoming

Southeast Missouri State's Kristian Wilkerson runs with the ball as Tennessee Tech's Josh Cunningham tries to bring him down Saturday at Houck Field . SEMO won 31-3 on Homecoming.
Andrew J. Whitaker

There was no time to waste for the Southeast Missouri State football team.

Not on Homecoming.

The Redhawks jumped out to a 17-point lead in the opening quarter and were guided by a dominant defensive effort, defeating the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 31-3 on Saturday at Houck Field.

It's the second win in a row for Southeast (2-4 overall, 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference), which appeared rejuvenated coming off its bye week. During this stretch, the Redhawks have outscored the opposition 60-13.

"The defense did a great job turning them over, and then we didn't have any turnovers. Obviously, as a head coach, that's how you love it," said Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz, whose team had three takeaways in Saturday's win. "It talks about your preparation to be able to start a game like that, but then it also talks about your guts in how tough you are to finish a game even though you've got a couple-score lead. So I'm proud of that."

Southeast Missouri's Jesse Hosket looks to pass during the SEMO homecoming game against Tennessee Tech Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau. SEMO won 31-3.
Andrew J. Whitaker

Senior quarterback Jesse Hosket turned in a bounce-back performance following a two-game slump. He threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns on 13-of-27 passing (48 percent), while the offense produced 334 total yards in a balanced effort.

Hosket connected with tight end Eric Williams on a 7-yard TD with 9 minutes, 27 seconds to play in the first quarter before finding wide receiver Trevon Billington for a 4-yard strike at the 8:17 mark. Both scores came on third-and-goal.

"It tells you a lot about him because you get down there, and on third down, as a defense, that's exactly what you want. He had good protection and found the receivers and was able to connect," Matukewicz said. "That was great to see. I think we were 3-for-3 down there, so that was a great start."

The second touchdown was set up by a key defensive play deep in Golden Eagles territory. Redshirt freshman QB Adam Browner, who got his first career start after Andre Sale was held out of the game for disciplinary reasons, was flushed from the pocket and stripped by sophomore inside linebacker Zach Hall, allowing freshman defensive lineman Bryson Donnell to fall on the loose ball at TTU's 6-yard line.

"We talk about it all the time, 'A sack will stop a drive, but a turnover will win the game,'" Matukewicz said. "He had him, but he went for the turnover instead of the tackle and was able to get it out. We were all making fun of him because we thought the big boy should've picked it up. But he had 320 (pounds) rolling pretty good, and he's like, 'Coach, you don't want me to do that.' So he just fell on it.

"I thought we had to get a new ball because he got all the air out of it."

Southeast Missouri's Cameron Sanders runs the ball during the SEMO homecoming game against Tennessee Tech Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau. SEMO won 31-3.
Andrew J. Whitaker

A 22-yard field goal by Nicholas Litang gave Southeast a 17-0 lead with 7.4 seconds left in the first quarter.

TTU (0-7, 0-4) scored its only points of the game in the second quarter when Nick Madonia knocked a 37-yard kick through the uprights, cutting SEMO's lead to 17-3 with 2:07 remaining before halftime.

Senior safety Omar Pierre-Louis led the Redhawks' defense with two interceptions, the first of which came with just under 13 minutes left in the second quarter when Browner sailed a pass over the middle.

SEMO's secondary has accounted for five interceptions in its last two games.

"That's a credit to the coaching staff. They've gotten us ready," Pierre-Louis said. "They've stuck with us. They didn't put us to shame after we gave up big plays. The DBs, we all came together, and everybody focused in on what the coaches have been telling us to do. We were able to execute, not only last game, but this game as well. So that's a credit to the coaching staff.

"We did a great job defensively. Credit to the defensive line. They got home and got pressure on the quarterback. Good things happen when you're focused."

The Redhawks' defense encountered perhaps its biggest moment in the third quarter. Facing a 17-3 deficit, the Golden Eagles began finding rhythm on offense during their second possession of the second half. Browner moved the chains twice on third down before an incompletion on fourth-and-3 forced a turnover on downs at the SEMO's 44.

Southeast Missouri marching band wait to perform during the SEMO homecoming game against Tennessee Tech Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau. SEMO won 31-3.
Andrew J. Whitaker

"That was kind of the killer, and then our offense got going," Matukewicz said. "But the offense went two three-and-outs. The defense got a little tired.

"I was about to lose it. That third quarter, I was pretty hot because you had an opponent on the ropes. When you have them on the ropes, it's over if we go in there and knock them out, but we're messing around. It's a two-score game. They're right back in this thing if we don't swing on them right here, right now."

On a drive that began at the tail end of the third quarter and ended on the second play of the fourth, Southeast delivered its knockout punch.

On third-and-8, Hosket escaped the pocket and scrambled right, keeping his eyes downfield and delivering a 47-yard TD pass to wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson, who finished with a game-high 109 yards on seven receptions. The eight-play, 71-yard scoring drive moved the Redhawks ahead 24-3 with 14:15 remaining.

"Me and Kristian, we've just got a thing, man," Hosket said. "I feel like some of our best plays come on broken plays sometimes. We had a lot of touchdowns like that last year. Just keeping the play alive, offensive linemen holding their blocks and Kristian just making something happen downfield worked out for the good."

Southeast still wasn't finished. Later in the quarter, junior running back Cameron Sanders broke loose for a 70-yard TD run that sealed the final score with 6:57 left in the game.

The Redhawks finished with 173 yards rushing, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Sanders finished with seven carries for a career-high 102 yards, while junior RB Marquis Terry added 55 yards on 17 rushes.

"I'm super proud of him to keep battling," Matukewicz said about Sanders. "There's games he didn't even touch the football, and he could've pouted, obviously, BCD'd it -- blame, complain, defend. But he really just looked at himself and tried to be a little bit better."

Browner struggled immensely, finishing with just 95 yards through the air. He completed 9 of 27 passes (33 percent), while leading receiver Dontez Byrd was held to four catches for 44 yards.

The Golden Eagles were limited to 100 yards rushing, an average of 2.4 ypc. Yeedee Thaenrat led the way with 11 rushes for 55 yards, while Andrew Goldsmith chipped in 15 carries for 53 yards.

"It starts with a mentality, and it starts up front with the front seven," Hall said about stopping the run. "I think the front seven really set the tone early in the game, and I feel like the rest of the team followed that."

Hall finished with six tackles (five solo), including two tackles for loss. After missing last game, senior cornerback Rico McWilliams returned from injury and paced the Redhawks' defense with seven stops.

For Southeast, the win sets up a key matchup at 4 p.m. Saturday in Clarksville, Tennessee, against a much-improved Austin Peay squad. The Governors defeated Tennessee State 21-17 on Saturday, moving to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference.

"We've still got a lot more left in the season to go after," Pierre-Louis said. "We've just got to finish strong, finish empty."

Comments
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: