Slow start dooms Southeast Missouri State football to 38-31 loss against Austin Peay
Robert Smith ~ APSU Athletics
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- The Southeast Missouri State football team was simply never able to climb out of the hole it had dug for itself in the opening half.
Austin Peay finished with 524 total yards of offense, including 316 in the first half alone, as the Governors held off a second-half surge from the Redhawks and came away with a 38-31 victory Saturday on Homecoming at Fortera Stadium.
"The main message is we woke up too late and ran out of time," Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said. "For whatever reason, we played really, really bad in the first half, so we've got to fix that this week."
The loss snaps a two-game winning streak for Southeast, which moves to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while on the flip side, APSU continues its impressive turnaround campaign. The Govs have now won five of their last six games, improving to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.
After taking a 28-7 lead into halftime, APSU opened the second half with a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive, moving the chains three times on third-and-long to extend the series. Quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall ran across the goal line from 16 yards out with 9 minutes, 44 seconds left in the third quarter to cap the drive and give the hosts their largest lead of the game, 35-7.
Robert Smith ~ APSU Athletics
In his first career start, the freshman Oatsvall finished 13-of-22 passing for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 13 rushes for 66 yards.
"Those were big third downs. I think it was third-and-12, third-and-8," Matukewicz said. "They were both passing. They hadn't really showed on film to be able to pass or even try to pass, so that caught us off guard a little.
"At the end of the day, their players made plays on that drive, and ours didn't."
The Redhawks answered on the ensuing possession when wide receiver Zack Smith hauled in a 34-yard TD catch from QB Jesse Hosket on a post route over the middle, cutting APSU's lead to 35-14 with 5:52 to play in the quarter.
A 36-yard field goal by Logan Birchfield moved the Govs ahead 38-14 with 14:54 remaining in the game.
Southeast scored the final 17 points of the contest, beginning with a 16-yard TD pass from Hosket to tight end Eric Williams at the 12:38 mark of the fourth quarter. Matukewicz opted to take the extra point and cut the Redhawks' deficit to three possessions, 38-21, with 12:38 left on the clock, but it was a decision he regretted in hindsight.
"At that point, I was just trying to get back in the game," Matukewicz said. "If I had to do it over again, I would've gone for 2."
APSU took the ensuing possession and drove downfield before stalling out in goal-to-go territory.
The Redhawks took over at their own 9 and went 91 yards in seven plays, a drive that took just 2:12 off the clock. It ended on second-and-1 when Hosket rolled to his right and fired a 29-yard TD pass across his body to wide receiver Richie Eisenhart in the back of the end zone. That score trimmed the visitors' deficit to 38-28 with 3:28 left on the clock.
"That was just playing some backyard football," Hosket said about the play. "... Richie's great at getting open. He's got great hands."
Robert Smith ~ APSU Athletics
The Govs recovered the ensuing onside kick but turned the ball over on downs to end their series. With no timeouts remaining, Hosket drove the offense to the 10 before a sack on third down forced Southeast to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Nicholas Litang, sealing the final score with 17 seconds left on the clock.
The Redhawks attempted their second onside kick but were flagged for offsides, and the Govs kneeled the ball once to end the game.
Hosket finished with the most passing yards in a single game by a Redhawks quarterback in nine years. The senior threw for 348 yards and three TDs on 25-of-44 passing and had no turnovers for the third game in a row.
"I thought he played well," Matukewicz said about Hosket. "I thought he had poise, ran the clock well. It was just a really good game."
It was a tumultuous first half for a Govs squad that baffled the Redhawks' defense, gashing the visitors with a number of big plays, including a 52-yard TD pass from Oatsvall to running back Daryl Rollins-Davis that moved APSU ahead 7-0 with 8:33 left in the first quarter.
Southeast responded on the ensuing possession when Hosket snuck it in from 1 yard out, capping an 11-play, 65-yard drive that tied the game at 7 with 1:45 to play in the period.
"That was a really good drive. That was certainly something to build on," Matukewicz said. "We just had too many three-and-outs on offense. It came down to just the big plays we gave up on defense in the first half."
The Govs quickly regained a 14-7 lead on the next possession when Kentel Williams bursted through the middle of the defense for a 74-yard TD run with 58 seconds left in the quarter.
Oatsvall connected with wideout DJ Montgomery for a 10-yard score to conclude a 63-yard drive before a 56-yard run by Williams set up Ahmaad Tanner's 1-yard TD run with 41 seconds left before halftime, giving the Govs a 28-7 advantage at the break.
APSU averaged 11.7 yards per play in the first half, while Southeast was held to 3.7 ypp.
"We put a lot of scheme in, and unfortunately, I did a bad job preparing our defense," Matukewicz said. "We thought we were going to see something we didn't. Our guys didn't handle it well, and so in the second half, we just scrapped it and went back to just Day 1 install -- the stuff we run our program on -- and ran it.
"We gave up 10 points in the second half, so the kids at least got better. The things that were more concerning were that we missed tackles for the first time, dropped balls, the stuff that tells you that you weren't mentally ready and focused to play."
Williams finished with a game-high 148 yards on eight carries, averaging 18.5 yards per carry. The Govs racked up 325 yards rushing, their most in conference action.
"You've got to give them credit. They did a great job," Matukewicz said. "We thought they were going to make a left turn, and they took a right turn. At halftime, we got adjusted.
"We kind of woke up. That's what I'm proud of. At least we still finished this game. It was 35-7 at one point, and so most teams are going to shut it down there. I appreciate the way our team fought back."
Marquis Terry was held to 62 yards on 18 carries to pace SEMO's rushing offense, while Eisenhart finished with four receptions for a game-high 88 yards. Smith added 66 yards on three catches.
The Redhawks continue their two-game road stretch with a matchup against No. 3 Jacksonville State at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Gamecocks rallied to beat host Eastern Illinois 30-14, improving to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play.
"The best thing we can build on is that we continued to fight, but after a game like this, you move on," Matukewicz said. "We didn't play well. We've got to find out how to start better, but to figure out who to blame, you'll spend all day because there's all kinds of blame.
"I think we'll look at it and start our normal process. We'll look through the film, find out what we can do better and then just focus on us. That'll be my biggest thing. We've got to block, tackle, catch -- all the things that good football teams do. We need to get back to just fundamental football."