Redhawks Lose in Final Seconds to Tennessee State, 32-31

Saturday, November 19

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

1:00 PM

Southeast Missouri State University

3-8 , 3-5

Tennessee State

7-4 , 4-3

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Tennessee State	10	3	6	13	32
Southeast Missouri	7	3	10	11	31

Will Young ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns in his final game at SEMO Saturday

Photo by: Marc Mahnke

11/19/2016 5:15:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Statistics PDF

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Patrick Smith caught 11 passes for 166 yards and scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner with 16 seconds left as Tennessee State (7-4, 4-3) edged Southeast Missouri (3-8, 3-5) Saturday at Houck Stadium.

TSU trailed, 31-25, after Ryan McCrum kicked a 26-yard field goal with 2:48 remaining.

Ronald Butler threw passes of 23 and 28 yards to Smith on the front end of the Tigers game-winning drive. Butler then completed a 13-yard pass to Steven Newbold on a third-and-5. Following back-to-back incompletions, TSU faced a third-and-10 when Butler delivered a 14-yard strike down the seam for the decisive score.

"We could have played 12 men on defense and still would have had a hard time with Patrick Smith," SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz said. "Their skill is better. They out-executed us and their skill showed up."

TSU and SEMO combined for 40 points in the second half with 24 coming in a wild fourth quarter.

Smith scored both of his touchdowns in the final period which began with his 1-yard catch from Butler that put TSU ahead, 25-20, with 13:37 left.

After Alex Knight's 33-yard punt hit Marcus Deanes, JJ Flye recovered the fumble at the TSU 16-yard line. Four plays later, Will Young hit paydirt on a 4-yard run to and Jesse Hosket completed a pass to Stephen Dunn on the two-point conversion giving SEMO a 28-25 advantage at the 7:13 mark.

Tiger punter Austin Rowley bobbled a low snap and took off with a lot of room in front of him. Cape Girardeau native Al Young, however, dropped Rowley short of a first down. McCrum's field goal followed the big defensive play.

TSU built a 13-10 advantage at halftime after scoring 10 points in the first quarter and three in the second.

Young capped the game's opening drive with a 33-yard run to get SEMO an early 7-0 lead.

The Tigers countered with 10 unanswered points using a 1-yard touchdown pass from Butler to Mahlon Medley and a 46-yard field goal by Lane Clark to take a 10-7 advantage.

Both teams traded field goals in the second quarter with McCrum splitting the uprights from 20 yards out and Clark connecting from 49 yards away.

Smith averaged 15 yards per reception to lead TSU's offense which finished with 475 total yards.

Earl Harrison picked up 168 yards on the ground and had a 66-yard touchdown run called back for taunting. Butler completed 18-of-34 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Hosket threw for 129 yards and ran for a touchdown. Hosket scored on a 35-yard run on a third-and-15 immediately after a delay of game penalty with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Young added 89 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

Defensively, Roper Garrett and Chad Meredith paved the way with 13 and 10 tackles, respectively. Garrett and Meredith finished as the top two tacklers on the team this season.

SEMO honored 28 seniors prior to kickoff, its largest senior class since 2012.

The Redhawks end the season with three of their eight losses decided by three or less points.