West Virginia State (2-0) vs. #23 Southeast Missouri (1-2)

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019
Kickoff: 1 p.m., CT                                                                                                 
Stadium: Houck Field (10,000)
Surface: Field Turf
Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 86 degrees
Series History: First Meeting
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (26-36 overall; 25-36 at SEMO; 18-21 OVC). John Pennington (13-15 overall; 13-15 at WVSU).

Media Coverage
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM & ESPN 1220 AM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser, Rusty Hendricks)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter: @SEMOFootball
Southeast Missouri Notes (PDF)

Redhawks Host West Virginia State
#23 Southeast Missouri (1-2) plays host to NCAA Division II member West Virginia State (2-0) during Family Weekend Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT, at Houck Field.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean, Rick Wieser and Rusty Hendricks will call the action. Video will be available online at ESPN+. Live stats can be accessed online at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOFootball.

Red Out
Southeast Missouri is strongly encouraging fans to wear red for Saturday's game. The matchup with West Virginia State is a "Red Out."

Non-Division I Opponents
The Redhawks have a non-Division I opponent on their schedule for the first time in four years. Southeast Missouri last faced NCAA Division II member Shorter University (Ga.) in week four of its 2015 campaign. Shorter won that game, 26-21, on Sept. 26 in Cape Girardeau. SEMO holds a record of 15-1 against non-Division I teams since it went NCAA Division I in 1991. The Redhawks have beaten Kentucky State (1993, 1994), Lambuth (1997), Truman State (1998), Quincy (2001, 2009), Arkansas-Monticello (2001), Missouri S&T (2006), Southwest Baptist (2007, 2009), Central Methodist (2011), Mars Hill College (2012), Urbana (2013) and Missouri Baptist (2014) for their wins against non-Division I competition.

Series History
This year marks the first meeting between Southeast Missouri and West Virginia State.  West Virginia State is an NCAA Division II affiliate and member of the Mountain East Conference. It is located in Institute, West Virginia, seven hours and 25 minutes from Cape Girardeau.

Family Weekend
The Redhawks are 4-1 in Family Weekend games under head coach Tom Matukewicz. Here is a look at Matukewicz's history in Family Weekend games as Southeast Missouri's coach.
9/20/14    #3 Southeastern La.    W, 24-23
9/12/15    Southern Illinois    W, 27-24
9/17/16    Indiana State    L, 24-27
9/30/17    Eastern Kentucky    W, 29-10
9/8/18    Dayton    W, 40-21

Home Winning Streak
The Redhawks are on an eight-game winning streak at Houck Field. Southeast Missouri went undefeated at 6-0 in Cape Girardeau a year ago and won its season-finale at home in 2017 before starting this year with a 44-26 home-opening victory over Southern Illinois (Aug. 29). It is currently the longest home winning streak in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Reynolds Breaks Single Game Record
Junior punter Jake Reynolds punted a Southeast Missouri single game record 14 times for 576 yards in the Redhawks road loss at Missouri (Sept. 14). Reynolds averaged 41.1 yards per punt and had a long of 52 against the Tigers. He dropped two of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Reynolds, who ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 42.1 yards per punt, broke his own previous record of 11 punts in SEMO's FCS Playoff win over Stony Brook a year ago.

Starting Streaks
Inside linebacker Zach Hall and defensive back Bydarrius Knighten have each started 27-consecutive games. Wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson has logged 18-straight starts, while outside linebacker Justin Swift and quarterback Daniel Santacaterina follow with 17 and 16, respectively.

Last Time Out
The Redhawks were shutout by Football Bowl Subdivision and Southeastern Conference member Missouri, 50-0, on Sept. 14 in Columbia. It marked the first time Southeast Missouri was shutout in 90 games. SEMO last went scoreless in a game on Sept. 17, 2011 (at Purdue, 59-0). The Redhawks had just 94 yards of total offense, their third-fewest mark in total yards as an NCAA Division I program.

Racking Up Sacks
Southeast Missouri led the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks each of the last two seasons. The Redhawks finished with 29 sacks in 2018. SEMO has accumulated 133 sacks for an average of 22.2 per season under head coach Tom Matukewicz. The Redhawks twice finished a season with over 30 sacks (31 in 2015; 37 in 2017) during that span. Matukewicz's 2017 (2nd) and 2015 (4th) teams are among the school's top four single season leaders in sacks. SEMO has recorded a sack in 15-straight games. The last time the Redhawks went without a sack was at Arkansas State on Sept. 1, 2018.

Calhoun and Williams Log First Start 
Derrick Calhoun made his first start of the season at outside linebacker and Eric Williams started at tight end for the first time in 2019 at Missouri (Sept. 14). Calhoun had two tackles in his first career start, while Williams made his fourth career start and first since 2017. 

Strauss Gets First Catch 
Redshirt-freshman tight end Caleb Strauss made his first career reception as nine different receivers that caught a pass at Missouri (Sept. 14). Strauss caught a 5-yard pass from Daniel Santacaterina on the final play of the first quarter. 

Three Quarterbacks See Action 
Three Southeast Missouri quarterbacks saw action in the Redhawks latest loss to Missouri (Sept. 14). Daniel Santacaterina completed 7-of-22 passes for 45 yards. Backup Joe Pyle completed 2-of-6 passes for 13 yards. And redshirt-freshman Jacob Buie completed two passes in his first career game as a Redhawk. 

Santacaterina Goes Over 3,000 Passing Yards
Redshirt-senior quarterback Daniel Santacaterina went overr 3,000 passing yards in his Southeast Missouri career in the Redhawks season-opening win over Southern Illinois (Aug. 29). Santacaterina completed 14-of-24 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown, and ran for two more scores. He is 10-6 as SEMO's starting quarterback. Santacaterina has thrown a touchdown pass in 14 of his 16 starts and now has 3,251 passing yards in his career.

Tiller Hits 55-Yard Field Goal
Junior kicker Kendrick Tiller kicked a 55-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game, 10-10, at halftime against #13 Montana State (Sept. 7). Late in the first half, MSU intercepted a Daniel Santacaterina pass, but a roughing the passer penalty gave the Redhawks a first down at the Bobcats 38-yard line. Tiller's kick just cleared the crossbar on the next play. His 55-yard field goal, currently the longest in the Football Championship Subdivision this season, was a career-long and tied for the second-longest in school history. It was also a Bobcat Stadium record.

Kick It and Get It
Southeast Missouri first-year kicker Adam Krause, who joined the Redhawks from Western Kentucky, kicked and recovered his own onside kick in the fourth quarter against #13 Montana State (Sept. 7). Krause's kick went 11 yards before he recovered the ball. The last time SEMO recovered an onside kick was against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 17, 2018.

Big Game Hall
Reigning Football Championship Subdivision and Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Zach Hall is off to a great start in 2019. Hall opened the season with 19 tackles against Southern Illinois (Aug. 29). He notched at least 19 tackles in a season-opener for the second year in a row. Hall finished with a career-high 22 tackles in the Redhawks 2018 season-opener at Arkansas State. He had seven solo stops, assisted on 12 other tackles and collected 15 first-half tackles against the Salukis. Hall also added two tackles for loss and a sack. The 19 tackles are the most in a game in the Football Championship Subdivision this season. In week two, Hall tallied 10 tackles at Montana State (Sept. 7) for the 17th double-digit tackle game of his career.

Balanced Attack
Southeast Missouri's backfield trio of junior Mark Robinson, sophomore Zion Custis and redshirt-freshman Geno Hess has been impressive thus far. Hess presently leads the Redhawks with 184 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. Robinson follows with 123 yards and two touchdowns on a team-high 35 attempts. Meanwhile, Custis, who made his first career start at #13 Montana State (Sept. 7), follows with 115 yards on 27 touches. All three are averaging 3.5 or more yards per carry. Hess is sixth (61.3 ypg) and Robinson is 10th (41.0 ypg) in the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing. As a team, the Redhawks are fifth in the league in rushing with 150.7 yards per game.

Alexander and Hilburn Out for Season
Graduate starting inside linebacker Devin Alexander and fifth-year senior tight end Bud Hilburn suffered season-ending inuries during Southeast Missouri's 38-17 loss at Montana State (Sept. 7). Alexander tore his tricep and had surgery days before SEMO's game at SEC member Missouri, while Hilburn injured his knee. Both started the Redhawks first two games of 2019. Anderson ended his career with 65 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and one interception in 24 games and 10 starts with the Redhawks.

Hayti Native Ivory Winters Joins Redhawks
Running back Ivory Winters recently joined Southeast Missouri from Big Ten Conference member Indiana and is eligible immediately. Winters was with the Hoosiers for one game in 2019 and was added to the Redhawks roster on Sept. 4. A two-time All-State selection at defensive end and All-State honoree at running back, Winters led Hayti High School to its first state championship and a 15-0 mark in 2018. The Class 1A Offensive Player of the Year ran for 59 touchdowns and 2,786 yards on 199 carries, and scored 388 points as a senior. He was ranked the No. 15 prospect in Missouri by ESPN and the No. 49 running back nationally by 247Sports.

110 To Go
Zach Hall is on pace to break Southeast Missouri's all-time career tackles record. Hall, who broke the school's single-season record with 168 tackles last season, is 110 away. Robert Haggerty (1993-96) presently holds the all-time career record with 424 stops. Hall has 315 tackles.

Games With a Catch
Senior wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson has caught a pass in 18 consecutive games. Wilkerson had six receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown against Southern Illinois (Aug. 29). He finished with over 100 receiving yards in a game for the seventh time in his career. Wilkerson followed that up with 77 yards and a touchdown on six catches at #13 Montana State (Sept. 7). He leads the Redhawks with 238 receiving yards.

Ranked Redhawks
Southeast Missouri enters the week ranked 23rd in the STATS Media and 25th in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS Coaches Polls. Here are the Redhawks rankings this season:
Preseason
Athlon Sports    #19 (June 4)
Street & Smith's    #22 (July 9)
STATS Media    #17 (Aug. 5)
AFCA FCS Coaches    #18 (Aug. 19)
        STATS Media    Coaches
8/26/19    #17    #18
9/2/19    #12    #13
9/9/19    #19    #20
9/16/19    #23    #25

Rock Solid Defense
Southeast Missouri, which has all but one starter back on defense, led the Football Championship Subdivision in turnover margin (+1.85), turnovers gained (36) and interceptions (23) in 2018. The 2018 defense also scored five touchdowns which rated third in the FCS. Linebacker Zach Hall broke the school's all-time single-season record with 168 tackles. SEMO outscored its opponent 144-40 (+104) in points off turnovers during the 2018 campaign as well. In the time Bryce Saia has been defensive coordinator, SEMO has finished among the top two in the Ohio Valley Conference in either red zone defense, sacks, turnover margin, third down defense or interceptions.

FCS Rankings
Southeast Missouri ranks among the top 20 leaders in the Football Championship Subdivision in the following categories after three games this season.
Team
•    1st in Fumbles Lost (0)
•    10th in Punt Returns (16 ypr)
Individual
Kendrick Tiller
•    t1st in FG Percentage (1.000)
Zack Smith
•    8th in Punt Returns (15.6 ypr)
Bryson Donnell
•    19th in Fumbles Recovered (1)

OVC Rankings
Southeast Missouri ranks among the top five leaders in the Ohio Valley Conference in the following categories after three games this season.
Team
•    1st in Onside Kicks (1-1, 1.000)
•    t1st in Field Goals (2-2, 1.000)
•    2nd in Punt Return Average (16.0 ypr)
•    2nd in Interceptions (2)
•    2nd in Red Zone Offense (9-10, 90%)
•    2nd in 4th Down Conversions (66.7%)
•    2nd in Pass Defense (216.7 ypg allowed)
•    3rd in Pass Defense Efficiency (130.6)
•    3rd in Red Zone Defense (13-16, 81.2%)
•    3rd in Kickoff Coverage (39.7 net avg.)
•    t3rd in Sacks (4)
•    4th in Punting (35.2 ypp)
•    4th in Turnover Margin (+0)
•    t4th in Sacks Allowed (8)
•    5th in Rushing Offense (150.7 ypg)
•    5th in Kick Returns (20.0 ypr)
•    5th in First Downs (48)
Individual
Jake Reynolds
•    3rd in Punting (42.1 ypp)
Zach Hall
•    1st in Tackles (32, 10.7 per game)
Justin Swift
•    t4th in Tackles for Loss (3.5)
Marcus Lucas
•    t4th in Passes Defended (3)
•    t4th in Interceptions (1)
Al Young
•    t4th in Interceptions (1)
Bryson Donnell
•    t4th in Fumbles Recovered (1)

Matukewicz vs. Ranked Opponents
Southeast Missouri head coach Tom Matukewicz is 5-10 all-time against ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponents. Matukewicz's five wins came against #3 Southeastern Louisiana (2014), #20 Tennessee State (2014), #13 Eastern Illinois (2016), #4 Jacksonville State (2018) and #15 Stony Brook (2018). The Redhawks wrecked JSU's 36-game winning streak in Ohio Valley Conference play when they upended the Gamecocks last season. 

Let's Do This
Coming off a historic 2018 campaign that resulted in a 9-4 overall record, second-place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference and just its second NCAA Playoff appearance, Southeast Missouri has the pieces in place to put together another winning season. No SEMO football team has posted back-to-back winning seasons during the school's NCAA Division I history. In fact, the Redhawks have just four winning seasons since moving to Division I in 1991 and each came eight years apart (1994, 2002, 2010, 2018). SEMO last completed back-to-back winning seasons in 1989 (7-4) and 1990 (7-3). 

Senior Class
The Redhawks senior class, which consists of 20 players, has won a total of 16 games since 2016, the second-most by any senior class during the school's NCAA Division I era. The 2010 class is presently the winningest group of seniors with 18 victories (2007-2010). 

The Chase is On
Redshirt-senior quarterback Daniel Santacaterina is 16 touchdown passes away from breaking Southeast Missouri's all-time career record. Santacaterina threw for 30 touchdowns as SEMO's starting signal-caller. Jeff Brown (1983-87) presently holds the all-time career record with 45 passing touchdowns.

Wilkerson Closes In
Redshirt-senior wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson is in position to break three of Southeast Missouri's all-time career records. Wilkerson needs 21 catches to get the record in pass receptions, 116 yards to establish the new mark in receiving yardage and five touchdowns to become the school's all-time career leader in receiving TDs. He currently ranks third in pass receptions (161), fourth in receiving yardage (2,428) and third in receiving touchdowns (25). Darrell Philon (181, 1988-91) holds the record in pass receptions, Willie Ponder (2,543, 2001-02) holds the record in receiving yardage and Paul McRoberts (29, 2012-15) has the record in receiving touchdowns.  

Ball Security
Southeast Missouri lost only one fumble in 2018, the fewest in the Football Championship Subdivision and Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks fumbled the ball just seven times on a single-season school record 891 plays. SEMO has not lost a fumble in 12-straight games and 16 of its last 17 contests.

About West Virginia State
NCAA Division II affiliate West Virginia State visits Cape Girardeau for the first time Saturday. WVSU, a member of the Mountain East Conference, is 2-0 this season. The Yellow Jackets beat Glenville State in their conference opener, 33-30, after scoring the winning touchdown on a 10-yard pass from Austin Hensley to AJ Barrette with 40 seconds left. WVSU beat Frostburg State, also by three points (20-17) for its other win this year. The Yellow Jackets had 100 yards in penalties each of their first two games of 2019.