Southeast Missouri State football pulls away in second half against Tennessee State to claim fifth consecutive victory

Southeast Missouri State quarterback Daniel Santacaterina throws the ball during a game Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Justin Swift reached out and snagged the interception, changing the complexion of the game in an instant.

Less than a minute into the second half, the Southeast Missouri State linebacker hauled in an under thrown pass near the goal line, and the offense did the rest, driving down the field for a touchdown and a 17-point lead.

Southeast Missouri State defensive tackle Clarence Thornton tackles Tennessee State quarterback Micheal Hughes during a game Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Before Swift's pick, Tennessee State had a chance to the cut the lead to single digits after a long run set them up inside the SEMO 10-yard line. Instead, the Tigers never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way as No. 24 SEMO cruised to a 38-21 win over the Tigers in front of 3,481 fans at Houck Field on Saturday.

"That was the sequence that turned the game," Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said. "That's basically a 14-point swing."

SEMO (7-2, 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference) extended its winning streak to five as TSU (3-4, 2-3) suffered its fourth loss in the last five games.

Marquis Terry rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown, eclipsing 1,000 yards on the year with two regular-season games left. The senior now has over 2,000 yards in his Division I career after spending his first two years at a junior college.

Kristian Wilkerson had three touchdowns and 129 yards on eight receptions, his second straight multi-touchdown and 100-yard plus game, and Daniel Sancaterina threw for 306 yards and four scores.

It was the Wilkerson-Santacaterina connection that SEMO turned to after the Swift interception.

Santacaterina found Wilkerson for a short gain, and the junior did the rest, breaking a couple tackles for a 16-yard score and a 31-14 lead.

Southeast Missouri State offensive lineman Nate Korte lifts wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson into the air after a touchdown Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, during a game against Tennessee State at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Later in the quarter, those two connected again for a 9-yard TD pass.

It wasn't always so comfortable with SEMO holding a 10-point edge at halftime. At the start of the third quarter, Tennessee State's Te'kendrick Roberson broke off a 69-yard run to put the ball at the SEMO 6.

"A lot of times you give up and let the score go in," Matukewicz said. "That's why we talk about, 'Hey, you've got to fight for every point.' You end up getting him down and turned over."

The turnover came on third-and-goal with pressure forcing TSU quarterback Micheal Hughes to his left, and his off-balance throw went right to Swift.

"That was a really big play," SEMO linebacker Zach Hall said. "Swift made a play, and I think he flipped the field."

With two of the top three scoring offenses in the OVC squaring off, there were plenty of fireworks. The two teams combined for 992 yards and 59 points, with 56 coming in the second and third quarters.

A 40-yard Kendrick Tiller field goal were the only points of the opening period as SEMO led 3-0 after 15 minutes.

SEMO's offense was the first to come alive. It started less than a minute into the second quarter with a 37-yard pass from Santacaterina to Kristian Wilkerson, who broke a couple tackles en route to the end zone.

The defense followed with a three-and-out, and it took the offense just one play to score with Terry running untouched up the middle for a 37-yard touchdown a 17-0 lead.

"Always big to start fast, get confidence going early," Santacaterina said. "Good starts usually equate to victories."

TSU responded, sandwiching two touchdowns around an 8-yard Terry touchdown catch to cut SEMO's lead to 24-14 at halftime.

Swift's interception and Wilkerson's two touchdown catches, the second coming after a Hall pick, gave SEMO a 38-14 lead.

TSU cut that lead to 17 on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Hughes to Steven Newbold late in the third, but that was as close as the Tigers got.

TSU came in averaging 33 points a game, third in the conference, and moved the ball with 508 yards of offense, but SEMO held them to 21 points on five red-zone trips.

"We had a rough start to the season," Hall said of the defense. "But we're starting to come along as far as takeaways and getting off the field."

Now, SEMO turns its attention to next weekend's trip to Murray State. The Racers suffered their second conference loss of the season Saturday, falling to previously winless Tennessee Tech 27-24.

The Redhawks haven't lost since opening the conference slate with a defeat at Eastern Kentucky.

They'll look to continue that run next week, knowing that two more victories secure the program's first OVC title since 2010.

"Every game for us is a playoff game ever since like five weeks ago," Santacaterina said. "So it's not hard to get going. You have no choice. Every game is a must-win game."

Injury report

Wide receiver Jerrick Orr and defensive lineman Reggie Miles both sat out with injuries for the second straight week. Matukewicz said he expects both to play next week against Murray State and could not disclose the nature of their injuries.