Southeast Missouri had four takeaways and scored 14 fourth-quarter points to stun #14 Jacksonville State on Oct. 19, 2019.
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SEMO beat JSU in Jacksonville for the first time in its NCAA Division I history. The Redhawks defeated the Gamecocks in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1963 and 1964. And, with the win, the Redhawk seniors became the all-time winningest senior class in program history.
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"A win like this means everything for our program as the seniors left their legacy becoming the winningest class in program history," said SEMO head coachÂ
Tom Matukewicz. "Defensively, that was as good of performance as I've ever been around."
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The Redhawks wrecked JSU's 32-game winning streak in regular-season home games, a year after ending the Gamecocks 36-game winning streak in OVC contests.
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SEMO's senior class recorded its 19th win since the 2016 campaign and surpassed the 2010 class' total of 18 victories. The Redhawks gave Matukewicz his program-best sixth win over a ranked opponent, as well.
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Tied, 7-7, at halftime,Â
Kendrick Tiller kicked a 24-yard field goal to put SEMO ahead with 8:44 left to play in the third quarter. Tiller's field goal came afterÂ
Justin Swift jarred the ball loose when he sacked Zerrick Cooper andÂ
Bryson Donnellrecovered at the JSU-12.
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On a day where it was tough to throw the football, the rain subsided enough forÂ
Daniel Santacaterina to throw a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.
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After SEMO's defense held on fourth down, the Redhawks took over on downs at their own 25-yard line. Immediately following a false start penalty, Santacaterina completed an 80-yard touchdown pass toÂ
Kristian Wilkerson.Â
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Wilkerson's 29
thcareer receiving touchdown tied a school record and widened the Redhawks lead to 17-7 with 4:21 to go in the fourth quarter. The 80-yard play tied SEMO's fourth longest reception in school history.
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JSU answered on its ensuing drive by covering 79 yards in 10 plays and scoring on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Jamari Hester in just under two minutes.
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SEMO, however, delivered the dagger whenÂ
Aaron Alston caught a 38-yard pass from Santacaterina, broke multiple tackles and plowed his way into the end zone at the 1:47 mark. Alston's touchdown gave the Redhawks a 24-14 advantage.
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Neither team scored for the first 28:53 of play.
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SEMO, which had 19 yards on its first 18 plays offensively, overshadowed that with outstanding defense forcing two turnovers and a fourth-down stop.
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On JSU's first drive,Â
Zach Hall dropped Jaelen Greene for no gain on a fourth-and-1 at the SEMO 27-yard line.
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Following a SEMO punt,Â
Ryan Ochoa forced a fumble when he hit Cooper.Â
DJ Freeman recovered at the 50-yard line, but nothing came of the turnover.
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The Redhawks registered their next takeaway in the second quarter whenÂ
Bydarrius Knighten intercepted Cooper's pass in SEMO's end zone on a fourth-and-11.
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SEMO, after punting on six-straight drives, scored the game's first points with 1:07 remaining in the first half.
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Santacaterina threw a 22-yard pass downfield toÂ
Eric Williams for a first down at the JSU-25. Three plays later, Santacaterina tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Wilkerson to put SEMO ahead 7-0.Â
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JSU responded with a 7-play, 72-yard march in a quick minute to tie the game. Cooper plunged forward for a 2-yard touchdown and Bryant Wallace followed with the PAT as time expired bringing the score to 7-7 at the half.
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Santacaterina completed 12-of-28 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns. He went over 4,000 passing yards in his Redhawk career.Â
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Wilkerson added 129 yards and two touchdowns on three catches.
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Defensively, Swift finished with a game-high 12 tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and a breakup to lead SEMO. As a team, the Redhawks recorded a season-high five sacks.
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