Southeast Missouri (2-5) at #13 UT Martin (5-1)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021
Kickoff: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Martin, Tenn.
Facility: Graham Stadium (7,500)
Surface: FieldTurf 
Series: Tied, 18-18
Last Meeting: SEMO 21, UTM 16 (Apr. 3, 2021 | Martin, Tenn.)
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (40-47 overall; 39-47 at SEMO; 31-26 OVC). Jason Simpson (91-77 overall; 91-77 at UTM).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean)
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: UTMSports.com
Twitter: @SEMOfootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Redhawks Head to #13 UT Martin
Southeast Missouri (2-5) faces its third ranked opponent this season when it travels to #13 UT Martin (5-1) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., CT at Graham Stadium.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will be on the call. Watch on ESPN+. Live stats are available at UTMSports and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOfootball.

Against Ranked FCS Foes
The Redhawks are 8-30 against ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponents since 2004. The Redhawks are looking to end a five-game losing streak in such contests. SEMO last beat a ranked FCS team in 2019 when they toppled then-#14 Jacksonville State, 24-21, on Oct. 19, 2019 in Jacksonville, Alabama. The last time SEMO beat a ranked non-conference FCS opponent was in the first round of the 2018 FCS Playoffs (28-14, vs. #15 Stony Brook, Nov. 24 in Cape Girardeau).

Brickyard Game
Saturday's contest against #13 UT Martin is a Brickyard Game for the Redhawks. Each time Southeast Missouri upends a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) or ranked Football Championship (FCS) opponent, those victories are laid to rest in the Brickyard, which resides in the Redhawks locker room. SEMO currently has a total of 10 Brickyard wins, six of which have come under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.

Non-Counter
This weekend's matchup with #13 UT Martin does not count toward the Ohio Valley Conference standings. OVC football playing members will play six conference games in a round-robin format as part of this year's official league schedule.

Series History
Saturday marks the 37th meeting between Southeast Missouri and UT Martin, schools located less than two hours apart. The all-time series is deadlocked at 18-18. SEMO won each of the last three games of the series, including a 21-16 victory at UTM on Apr. 3, 2021. The Redhawks are 9 10 against the Skyhawks in Martin, Tennessee.                                                                       

Redhawks in October
The Redhawks are 14-13 in October games under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. Over the last four years, Southeast Missouri has won eight of their previous 12 games in October. 

Climb to 1,000
Geno Hess enters the week with an Ohio Valley Conference best 762 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hess needs 238 yards to reach 1,000 this season. He has not run for 1,000 yards in a season in his Southeast Missouri career. In fact, the closest Hess came to that mark was when he had 666 yards in eight games a year ago. He presently holds a +5 advantage in rushing touchdowns over the next three players behind him in the OVC combined -- Peyton Logan (UT Martin, 1 TD), David Gist (Tennessee Tech, 4 TD), Devon Starling (Tennessee State, 1 TD).

Who Was the Last?
Marquis Terry was the last Southeast Missouri running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season when he finished with 1,229 in 2018. SEMO has had a 1,000-yard rusher in three of the last six years -- Marquis Terry (1,229 yards in 2018; 1,076 yards in 2017); Tremane McCullough (1,028 yards in 2015).

Single-Season Record in Sight
Geno Hess has 11 rushing touchdowns through seven starts this season and is eight away from Southeast Missouri's all-time single-season record with four games remaining. Henry Harris holds the record with 18 touchdowns in 2010.

Mr. Touchdown
With one more touchdown, Geno Hess will become only the fifth player in Southeast Missouri football history to score 30 or more career TDs. Hess presently stands tied for fifth on that list with 29 touchdowns. Walter Smallwood (36, 1965-68), Kristian Wilkerson (33, 2015-19), Paul McRoberts (30, 2012-15) and Henry Harris (30, 2008-10) are the others with that milestone.

Back to Work
Aaron Alston returned from missing three games with a knee injury against Murray State (Oct. 16). Alston had three catches for 61 yards as Southeast Missouri's second-leading receiver in that game. 

Massive Defensive Effort
Southeast Missouri recorded a season-high six takeaways in its win at Austin Peay (Oct. 9). Ty Leonard, Brandon Mincey and Dony'e Taylor each had an interception, while Jacob Morrissey, Taylor and Austin Carter all recovered fumbles. The outstanding defensive effort allowed SEMO's offense to begin five drives in APSU territory. 

Halftime Leads
Southeast Missouri led at halftime in three of its last four games and went 2-2 in those contests. The Redhawks did not allow a point in the first half against both Tennessee State (Sept. 25) and Tennessee Tech (Oct. 2). 

OVC Update
UT Martin presently stands as the only Ohio Valley Conference team with an overall winning record at 5-1. Southeast Missouri and UTM lead the league with two OVC victories apiece thus far. The Skyhawks are first in conference standings. 

Hess Clears 2,000 Rushing Yards
With his 176-yard effort against Murray State (Oct. 16), Geno Hess cleared 2,000 rushing yards in his career. Hess is ninth among Southeast Missouri's all-time career rushing leaders with 2,067 rushing yards. He became the ninth player in program history to get more than 2,000 career rushing yards.

On a Roll
Geno Hess ran for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries vs. Murray State (Oct. 16), his second-straight 100-yard rushing game and fourth this season. He scored a rushing touchdown in six-straight contests. Nine of Hess' touchdowns have come in the last four games alone.

Moving On Up
Geno Hess is tied for second among Southeast Missouri's all-time career leaders in rushing touchdowns. Hess enters the week with 29 career rushing TDs, including 11 in 2021. Twenty-three of those scores came since the start of the 2020 campaign. He is eight rushing touchdowns away from breaking SEMO's all-time career record of 36 presently held by Walter Smallwood (1965-68). 

Stormin' Norman
Freshman Bryce Norman, who started the last three games at inside linebacker, is Southeast Missouri's leading tackler through seven contests. Norman leads the Redhawks in total tackles (41), solo tackles (23) and forced fumbles (3). He finished as SEMO's top tackler in four games this year. Most recently, Norman accumulated 10 tackles for his first double-digit tackle game as a Redhawk. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference in forced fumbles and is ninth in the nation in that category. Additionally, he is second among OVC freshmen in tackles behind Eastern Illinois' Colin Bohanek (55).

Big Third Quarter
The Redhawks scored 21 points in the third quarter to take a 31-16 lead in their latest one-point loss to Murray State (Oct. 16). CJ Ogbonna (5 yards) and Geno Hess (12 yards) each scored rushing touchdowns, and Zack Smith caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Ogbonna. However, the Racers answered by scoring the final 16 points of the game, including a game-winning 35-yard field goal by Aaron Baum as time expired. SEMO has scored its most points in a quarter (66) during the third quarter in 2021.

Booker Steps Up
Outside linebacker Keandre Booker tallied a career-high eight tackles against Murray State (Oct. 16). Booker added 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack, as well. He started all seven games for the Redhawks this year.

Mincey and Hess Nab OVC Accolades
For the second time this season, Southeast Missouri had two players win Ohio Valley Conference weekly honors. Inside linebacker Brandon Mincey was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week and running back Geno Hess claimed Co-Offensive Player of the Week  on Oct. 10. A native of Miami, Florida, Mincey recorded six tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and one interception in the Redhawks 30-14 victory over Austin Peay (Oct. 9). He added five solo stops and was one of three Redhawks with a pick. Mincey helped key a SEMO defense that forced six turnovers against the Governors. Hess, who hails from Peoria, Illinois, ran for 116 yards and three touchdowns in that game. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry on 28 attempts. Hess ran for over 100 yards for the sixth time in his career and third this season.

Leonard Leads the Way 
Ty Leonard collected a career-high nine tackles to lead Southeast Missouri against Austin Peay (Oct. 9). All of Leonard's tackles were solo stops. He also returned his team-high second interception of the season for 27 yards.

Smith is Back
Wide receiver Zack Smith returned and led Southeast Missouri with five catches for 53 yards against Austin Peay (Oct. 9). Smith followed that up by finishing as the Redhawks' top receiver with six receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown vs. Murray State (Oct. 16). He missed four weeks with a foot injury prior to Oct. 9.

OVC Leader
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in kickoff returns (22.9 ypr), fourth-down conversions (6-of-9, 66.7 pct.), turnover margin (+6), red zone offense (24-of-24, 1.000) and onside kicks (2-of-2).

Multiple Quarterbacks 
Starting quarterback CJ Ogbonna and Jalyn Williams have been splitting time at quarterback. Williams completed 7-of-14 passes for 68 yards and ran for 54 yards on 13 carries, while Ogbonna completed 3-of-9 passes for 25 yards and a touchdown at Austin Peay (Oct. 9). Ogbonna played the entire game vs. Murray State (Oct. 16) completing 9-of-20 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for 36 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Southeast Missouri has used multiple quarterbacks in five of seven games this season.

Red Zone Perfection
Southeast Missouri's offense is perfect inside the red zone through four games this season. SEMO scored on all 24 of its chances inside the 20-yard line. The Redhawks have scored 147 of their 188 points in the red zone for 78.1 percent of their total scoring output. SEMO leads the Ohio Valley Conference and is tied for first in  the Football Championship Subdivision in red zone offense.

More Red Zone Success
The Redhawks have gone 17-straight games without turning the ball over inside the 20-yard line. In fact, Southeast Missouri's last turnover in the red zone came on an interception at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 16, 2019.

Takeaway Time
Southeast Missouri recorded five more takeaways in its recent win at Austin Peay (Oct. 9). SEMO leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 13 takeaways and boasts a league best +6 turnover margin through six games. The Redhawks have gone 20 of their last 21 games with a takeaway dating back to the 2019 campaign.

Don't Mess with Hess
Tailback Geno Hess ran for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns to lead Southeast Missouri to its first win of the season, a 47-14 victory over Tennessee State (Sept. 25). Hess averaged 8.2 yards per carry on 25 attempts. He scored touchdowns on runs of two, 63 and eight yards, respectively. Two of his touchdowns came in the third quarter. The 63-yard run was the third-longest of Hess' career. He became only the third Football Championship Subdivision player to rush for over 200 yards in a game this season joining Youngstown State's Jaleel McLaughlin (242 yards vs. Incarnate Word) and Montana State's Isaiah Ifanse (217 yards vs. Portland State). Hess leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks fourth in the nation with 762 rushing yards. He is also first in the nation and conference with 11 rushing touchdowns. Additionally, Hess ranks eighth in the FCS and first in the conference in rushing yards per game (108.9).

Keep it Going
Geno Hess has scored a rushing touchdown in nine of his last 10 games. Hess scored multiple touchdowns and ran for over 100 yards four times during that stretch. He had at least one rushing touchdown in his last six starts.

Top Scoring Threat 
Geno Hess is first in the Ohio Valley Conference and 13th in the FCS in scoring with 9.4 points per game. Hess scored 66 points on 11 rushing touchdowns.

Single-Game Rushing Marks
It's no secret that Tom Matukewicz's Southeast Missouri teams like to run the football. The Redhawks have established three of the program's top 11 single-game rushing marks in their NCAA Division I era during eight years with Matukewicz at the helm. Here is a look at those performances.
Rank    Game    Yards
8.    Tennessee State, Sept. 25, 2021    380
10.    at Southern Illinois, Sept. 15, 2018    352
11.    at Tennessee Tech, Nov. 8, 2014    348

More OVC Honors
Southeast Missouri won at least one of the Ohio Valley Conference honors for the second week this season. Geno Hess claimed OVC Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Kenny Doak was named Co-Specialist of the Week. They joined UT Martin's Keon Howard (Co-Offensive), Tyler Larco (Co-Specialist) and Zoe Roberts (Newcomer), and Eastern Illinois' Jack McDonald (Defensive) as the Sept. 26 honorees.

Doak Named Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week
Graduate kicker Kenny Doak became Southeast Missouri's first specialist to win a Stats Perform Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Special Teams Player of the Week honor on Sept. 27. Doak, who hails from Perkasie, Pennsylvania single-handedly outscored Tennessee State when he scored a career-high 17 points in the Redhawks 47-14 victory on Sept. 18. He did not miss a kick going 4-of-4 on field goals and 5-of-5 on PATs. Doak connected on field goals from 33, 40, 39 and 45 yards. He also averaged 54 yards on four kickoffs with one touchback. Doak's 17 points are the most by any kicker in the FCS this year. Prior to 2021, the closest any SEMO specialist came to a National Special Teams Player of the Week honor was when punter Jake Reynolds was honorable mention for the then-STATS Freshman of the Week (Oct. 16, 2017) and punter Alex Knight was honorable mention for the then-STATS Player of the Week (Oct. 5, 2016) awards. Samford quarterback Liam Welch (Offensive), Western Illinois safety Darius Joiner (Defensive) and William & Mary quarterback Darius Wilson (Freshman) rounded out this week's Stats Perform FCS national honorees.

Future FBS Games
Southeast Missouri's future Football Bowl Subdivision games include matchups with Iowa State (2022), Kansas State (2023), Arkansas State (2025) and Missouri (2028, 2030). SEMO's FBS opponent for the 2024 campaign is to be determined.

Transfer Quarterbacks
A transfer has started at quarterback in all seven of Southeast Missouri's season-opening games with Tom Matukewicz at the helm. Kyle Snyder (Ohio University, 2014), Tay Bender (Iowa Western, 2015), Jesse Hosket (East Central CC, 2016 & 2017), Daniel Santacaterina (Northern Illinois, 2018 & 2019) and Andrew Bunch (Nebraska, 2020-21) form that group. CJ Ogbonna is the third junior college transfer to start as SEMO's quarterback under Matukewicz.

100-Yard Games
Geno Hess ran for over 100 yards for the seventh time in his career when he gained 176 vs. Murray State (Oct. 16). Hess also ran for 116 yards at Austin Peay (Oct. 9, 2021),  205 yards vs. Tennessee State (Sept. 25, 2021), 156 yards at Tennessee State (Nov. 2, 2019), 128 yards at Southern Illinois (Oct. 30, 2020), 124 yards vs. Austin Peay (Mar. 14, 2021) and 104 yards vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 2, 2021).

Season 117
The 2021 campaign is Southeast Missouri's 117th season of college football. The Redhawks are in their 31st season at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. SEMO joined the FCS in 1991 and is 128-218 with two Ohio Valley Conference titles (2010, 2019) and three NCAA Playoff appearances (2010, 2018, 2019) as a Division I program.

Redhawk Graduates
A total of six Southeast Missouri players will be playing their 2021 season as graduates. Veterans Omardrick Douglas (OLB) and Zack Smith (WR) are both in their sixth year with the program. Shabari Davis (CB) returns for his fifth season and Terry Cook (OL) is back for his third year at SEMO. Maine transfer Kenny Doak (K) and Northern Illinois transfer Jordan Cole (OLB) are also in their final college football season with the Redhawks in 2021. 

From Walk-On to Scholarship
A trio of Southeast Missouri walk-ons were awarded scholarships prior to the 2021 season. Kicker/punter Adam Krause and running back Shamenski Rucker received their scholarships during the offseason, while quarterback Patrick Maddox was given his on the final day of the Redhawks preseason camp (Aug. 21). A total of 18 walk-ons have earned scholarships during Tom Matukewicz's eight years as SEMO's head coach. 

Unprecedented Success
In 2020-21, Southeast Missouri Athletics reached unprecedented success when it won its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Cup. The Commissioner's Cup is the league's ultimate symbol of overall athletic excellence in Conference-sponsored championships. SEMO accumulated 119 points and finished 7.5 points ahead of second-place Belmont (111.5) to win the coveted prize. Since the start of the 2019 calendar year, the Redhawks have won 11 conference championships, most in the OVC. Five of those titles came during a COVID-19 plagued spring in 2021. The Redhawks completed their remarkable 2020-21 campaign with a 93-42-1 (.688) record in conference regular-season play, their highest OVC regular-season conference winning percentage in school history. In addition, SEMO was the only OVC school that qualified for every conference championship last season.

2021 OVC Schedule
Ohio Valley Conference football playing members will play six conference games in a round-robin format as part of this year's official OVC schedule. OVC Directors of Athletics agreed to schedule additional games against OVC opponents outside the structure of the conference schedule as a way to play competitive games within the region. These designated matchups against OVC opponents will not count in the conference standings. Southeast Missouri will begin its OVC season at home against Tennessee State (Sept. 25). Murray State (Oct. 16), Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30) and UT Martin (Nov. 20) also come to Cape Girardeau although the home game with Murray State will not count in the conference standings. The away portion of the Redhawks schedule includes trips to Tennessee Tech (Oct. 2), Austin Peay (Oct. 9), UT Martin (Oct. 23) and Murray State (Nov. 13). The road game at UT Martin is designated as SEMO's other matchup that will not count in the OVC standings.

South Side of Houck Field Closed for 2021 Season
A recent structural assessment revealed that Houck Field's south grandstand structure has surpassed its original useful life and the rate of deterioration of the concrete structure has accelerated. The safety of the fans is of utmost importance and, as a result, Southeast Missouri made the difficult decision to cease the use of the south grandstand and press box area of the stadium. The decision results in modified gameday operations and reduced spectator capacity for the fall 2021 season. Houck Field will turn 91 years old on Oct. 3.

Construction Approved for First Phase of a New Houck Field
On September 24, 2021, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Governors approved action to begin the first phase of construction for a new Houck Field. The first phase of the project will include demolition of the existing south grandstand structure as well as construction of a new south seating bowl and concourse with new restrooms and concession areas. Current plans indicate this phase will be complete in time for the Fall 2022 season. Beyond the initial work to be completed, the remainder of the South Sideline project has two additional phases, which will be completed as funding is identified. Items to be incorporated in these phases include a locker room for the football and soccer teams, an athletic training space, centralized ticketing, and a two-level press box, equipped with operational areas and a new club level. Future plans for the Houck Field renovations will not be limited to the South Sideline rebuild. Additional phases will involve renovation of the North Sideline seating area and construction of a new field house. Southeast Missouri State University contracted with Hollis + Miller, an architecture and design firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. Hollis + Miller Architects were selected through a competitive Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process to provide professional architectural, engineering, scheduling and planning services for stadium renovation and construction. Conceptual designs for a stadium renovation were completed in August 2019 and have served as the focal point of the Department of Athletics' plan to rebuild Houck Field.