Terry Breaks SEMO and OVC Rushing Records in 48-44 Win Over Southern Illinois

Saturday, September 15

Carbondale, Ill.

6:00 PM

Southeast Missouri State University

2-1

Southern Illinois

1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Southeast Missouri	14	3	17	14	48
Southern Illinois	10	10	7	17	44

Photo by: Michael Dann

9/15/2018 11:28:00 PM | Football

Box Score Highlights Final Statistics Photos

Redhawks win "War for the Wheel"

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Preseason All-American tailback Marquis Terry rushed for a school and Ohio Valley Conference record 311 yards and scored four touchdowns, while tight end Austin Crump hauled in a game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left to give Southeast Missouri (2-1) a 48-44 win over rival Southern Illinois (1-2) Saturday.

SEMO won the first installment of the "War for the Wheel," and as a result, takes the authentic ship's wheel trophy back to Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks racked up 531 yards of total offense behind Terry's record-setting night.

"It was an amazing game with huge momentum swings," said SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz. "Our sideline had great belief the whole time and I'm so proud of the way this team played tonight. It's a great feeling and it's wonderful to see the joy on these players faces. I'm going to enjoy this one!"

Terry, who had an upset stomach prior to the game, went off for 166 yards in the first quarter alone. He ended up with a staggering 438 all-purpose yards, also a SEMO and league record.

While SIU had no answer for Terry all night, it was redshirt-sophomore tight end Crump who made the biggest catches of his career to date. Crump never scored a touchdown in his life until he made a 7-yard reception to cut SIU's lead to 10-7 with 2:25 left to play in the first quarter.

Then, when SEMO had the ball in the final 30 seconds, Crump made his 14-yard reception on a clutch throw by Daniel Santacaterina on third-and-5. The decisive play came after the Salukis took a 44-41 lead with 1:52 remaining. SIU picked up a pair of first downs on fourth-down plays, one by way of a SEMO penalty and another on a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Sam Straub.

"It feels good," said Crump. "Daniel made a great play and everyone did their job. We prepared hard all week and believed the whole time that we could win this game."

The 86^thmeeting between longstanding rivals SEMO and SIU featured 89 points, 1,078 total yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 lead changes between the teams. The teams combined for 55 points in the second half.

After Crump's touchdown in the first quarter, Terry ripped off a 74-yard run on the first of his four touchdowns to give the Redhawks their first lead at 14-10 with 1:09 in the first quarter.

SEMO, however, trailed 20-17 at the half after Nicholas Litang kicked a 29-yard field goal.

The Redhawks forced a turnover on the opening kickoff of the second half when Octavius McClatchey hit James Caesar. Backup running back Mark Robinson recovered the fumble at the SIU 29.

Two plays later, Terry scored on a 23-yard run to put SEMO ahead, 24-20, just 50 seconds into the third quarter.

After D.J. Davis hit paydirt on a 1-yard plunge, the Redhawks regained the lead again, this time on an 11-yard run by Terry. That TD capped a 5-play, 77-yard drive, giving SEMO a 31-27 cushion at the 6:23 mark.

Litang's 38-yard field goal polished off a 17-point third quarter as SEMO went up seven, 34-27, with 2:55 on the clock.

It was SIU, which countered with 17 points of its own in the final 15 minutes.

Straub threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Raphael Leonard to grab the Salukis a 37-34 lead on the end of a 77-yard march.

Terry's final touchdown, consisting of 10 yards, finished off an 8-play, 75-yard drive and gave SEMO a 41-37 advantage with 4:25 to play.

Leonard caught his second 8-yard touchdown pass of the fourth quarter to get the Salukis their last lead at 44-41 before the dramatic ending.

Terry, who ran for 202 yards the week before against Dayton, averaged 10.4 yards per carry on 30 attempts. In addition to his 311 rushing yards, Terry caught one pass for 13 yards and returned five kickoffs for 114 yards. His 311 rushing yards beat the OVC's single-game rushing record by one yard – 310 by Murray State's Steve Chaney in 2005. Meanwhile, his 438 all-purpose yards bested Austin Peay's Kentel Williams' 399 in 2016.

"This is a very special win for our program," said Terry. "I am thankful for the gift God has given me and I always want to play for something bigger than myself. This was a team win and everyone had a big part in it."

Santacaterina completed 18-of-31 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns, while Crump wound up with 23 yards on three catches. Kristian Wilkerson and Zack Smith, who made some clutch catches down the stretch, topped the Redhawks with four receptions apiece.

Defensively, SEMO forced four turnovers. Zach Hall, DJ Freeman and Al Young each had an interception, and Robinson recovered a fumble. Bydarrius Knighten and Hall paved the way with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.

The Redhawks open OVC play at Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 22.