CLARKSVILLE, Tenn.– Austin Peay (4-2, 2-0) made a big stop on a fourth-and-3 to secure a wild 28-24 win over #20 Southeast Missouri (3-3, 1-1) Saturday afternoon at Fortera Stadium.
 
Down four, SEMO needed to get to its own 41-yard line on fourth down, but Mark Robinson was tackled a yard short by Pat Walker and Jau'von Young.
 
APSU took over on downs, picked up a couple key first downs, and ran out the final 4:19 of play.
 
"It was a crazy back-and-forth football game and it was tough sledding," said SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz. "We knew we were going to have to make big plays and did make big plays, but a turnover and fourth-down stop in the fourth quarter hurt us."
 
APSU held a 7-3 halftime lead before things turned into a shootout in the second half. The Redhawks and Governors combined for 42 points in the third and fourth quarters.
 
Trailing, 14-3, Kristian Wilkerson caught two touchdown passes in the third quarter to regain a 17-14 edge for the Redhawks. Wilkerson scored on receptions consisting of 25 and 12 yards. Both passes came from Daniel Santacaterina.
 
Santacaterina was intercepted by Trent Taylor at the start of the fourth quarter. Taylor returned his pick 35 yards to the SEMO 17-yard line. 
 
The Governors later capitalized on the turnover when JaVaughn Craig hit Ahmaad Tanner for an 11-yard strike to put APSU ahead, 21-17.
 
SEMO and APSU exchanged touchdowns on their ensuing drives.
 
The Redhawks covered 52 yards in nine plays and grabbed the lead again when Santacaterina threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Alston with 9:52 to play.
 
APSU then went 72 yards in eight plays and Tanner hit paydirt on a 2-yard run for the final score of the contest. 
 
SEMO struggled to move the football against APSU's tough defense early.
 
The Redhawks, whose average field position was their own 21-yard line, went 3-and-out on three possessions, punted five times and threw an interception on their seven first-half drives.
 
Kendrick Tiller kicked a 22-yard field goal for the first points of the game as SEMO took a 3-0 lead with 3:56 left to play in the first quarter. Santacaterina threw a 45-yard completion to Wilkerson to get the Redhawks to the APSU 34-yard line. 
 
A three-yard rush by Santacaterina later put SEMO at the Governors 8-yard line before Tiller's field goal capped the 9-play, 74-yard march.
 
APSU pulled ahead early in the second quarter when Tanner broke loose for a 23-yard touchdown run to finish off a Governors drive that began at the SEMO-45. Tanner's score gave the Governors a 7-3 lead.
 
Santacaterina completed 15-of-24 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. As a result, he went over 4,000 total yards in his two-year SEMO career.
 
Wilkerson had five catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. He went over 100 receiving yards for the third time this season and ninth game in his career. Wilkerson is now second all-time at SEMO with 27 receiving touchdowns.
 
SEMO put up 124 rushing yards against APSU, which entered the game with the Football Championship Subdivision's best run defense. The 124 yards were the second-most the Governors allowed on the ground this season.
 
The Redhawks conclude their hard two-game road stretch at #17 Jacksonville State on Oct. 19.