Southeast Missouri (3-6, 3-1 OVC) at Murray State (4-5, 1-3 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, November 13, 2021
Kickoff: 1 p.m., CT
Location: Murray, Ky.
Facility: Stewart Stadium (16,800)
Surface: FieldTurf 
Series: MSU leads, 42-13-1
Last Meeting: MSU 32, SEMO 31 (Oct. 16, 2021 | Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (41-48 overall; 40-48 at SEMO; 32-26 OVC). Dean Hood (62-43 overall; 9-7 at MSU).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Rusty Hendricks)
Video: ESPN3/WatchESPN
Live Stats: GoRacers.com
Twitter: @SEMOfootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF)

Redhawks Visit Murray State
Southeast Missouri (3-6, 3-1) heads to Murray State (4-5, 1-3) for its final road game of the regular-season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT at Stewart Stadium. The Redhawks face the Racers following their bye week.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Rusty Hendricks will be on the call. Watch on ESPN3/WatchESPN. Live stats are available at GoRacers.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOfootball.

Series History
The Redhawks and Racers meet for the 57th time on the gridiron Saturday. Murray State holds a 42-13-1 lead in the series. Southeast Missouri won four of the last seven meetings with MSU. The Racers, however, edged SEMO, 32-31, on a field goal in the final seconds when these teams met earlier this season in Cape Girardeau (Oct. 16).

OVC Picture
Southeast Missouri controls its own destiny heading into its final two Ohio Valley Conference games of the season. SEMO is currently tied for second in the league standings with a 3-1 mark behind UT Martin (3-0). If the Redhawks beat Murray State (Nov. 13) and UT Martin (Nov. 20), they will claim a share of the OVC regular-season title and secure the conference's automatic FCS Playoff berth.

Red Zone Perfection
Southeast Missouri's offense is perfect inside the red zone through nine games this season. SEMO scored on all 28 of its chances inside the 20-yard line. The Redhawks have scored 163 of their 256 points in the red zone for 63.7 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. The Redhawks and Youngstown State (17-of-17) are currently the only two FCS teams perfect in red zone offense.

More Red Zone Success
The Redhawks have gone 19-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.

Hess Goes Over 1,000
With his 107-yard effort against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30), Geno Hess went over 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the first time in his career. Hess carried the ball 28 times and scored one touchdown vs. the Panthers. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks second in the nation with 1,006 yards. Hess and Sacred Heart's Malik Grant (1,039) are the first FCS players to go over 1,000 rushing yards in 2021. Marquis Terry was the last SEMO running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season when he finished with 1,229 in 2018. The Redhawks had a 1,000-yard rusher in four of the last seven years.

Davis Makes History 
Shabari Davis returned the opening kickoff of the second half against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30) 86 yards for a touchdown to ignite a 31-point stretch in the last 30 minutes which sent Southeast Missouri to a 38-15 victory. Davis became the first player in the Redhawks' NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision era to return an interception, punt and kickoff for a touchdown in a career. He also returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown vs. Murray State (Mar. 7, 2021) and ran back a punt 46 yards for a TD at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 16, 2019).

On a Roll
Geno Hess ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30), his fourth-straight 100-yard rushing game and sixth this season. He scored a rushing touchdown in eight-straight contests. Eleven of Hess' career-best 13 rushing touchdowns have come in the last six games alone.  

Second Half Kids
The Redhawks, after trailing 9-7 at halftime against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30), rallied for 31 second-half points to blow by the Panthers. Southeast Missouri has scored 20 or more points in the second half in five of its last seven contests. The Redhawks twice scored 31 points in the final two quarters (vs. Tennessee State; vs. Eastern Illinois). SEMO is outscoring its opponents, 166-152, in the second half this year.

Single-Season Record in Sight
Geno Hess has 13 rushing touchdowns through nine starts this season and is six away from Southeast Missouri's all-time single-season record. Henry Harris holds the record with 18 touchdowns in 2010. 

Haynes Does it Again
For the second time this season, punter Zach Haynes was named Ohio Valley Conference Specialist of the Week. Haynes averaged 54.7 yards on three punts in a 38-15 win over Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30). He twice pinned the Panthers at their own 1-yard line on punts of 76 and 51 yards, respectively. Haynes leads the OVC in punting with 52 yards per punt.

76-Yard Punt
Zach Haynes' career-long 76-yard punt against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30) is the longest in the Ohio Valley Conference and fifth-longest in the Football Championship Subdivision this season. His previous career-long was 64 yards vs. Murray State (Oct. 16). The 76-yard punt also ranks fifth all-time among longest punts in Southeast Missouri football history.

One More will Do It
With one more Ohio Valley Conference victory, Southeast Missouri will finish with a winning record in league play for a program record fourth-consecutive season. SEMO is presently 3-1 in conference action. It also finished at 4-3 (2020), 7-1 (2019) and 6-2 (2018) prior to this year.

40th Win for Matukewicz
The Redhawks 38-15 victory over Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30) marked the 40th win for Tom Matukewicz as SEMO's head coach. Matukewicz's 40 wins are the most among SEMO's head coaches during the NCAA Division I era. He also has a program-best 32 Ohio Valley Conference victories.

Redhawk Specialists
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference with four Specialist of the Week accolades. Kicker Kenny Doak (Sept. 26; Oct. 24) and punter Zach Haynes (Sept. 19; Oct. 31) each won the honor on two occasions.

Mr. Touchdown
With his 66-yard touchdown run against UT Martin (Oct. 23), Geno Hess became only the fifth player in Southeast Missouri football history to score 30 or more career touchdowns. Hess presently stands second all-time with 31 touchdowns (all rushing) and third in total 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 30 or more career touchdowns.

Interesting Note
Four Ohio Valley Conference players (Geno Hess, Ahmaad Tanner, Keon Howard, Zak Wallace) rank in the Top 16 nationally in rushing touchdowns. Hess is second with 13, Tanner and Wallace are 11th with nine and Howard is tied for 16th with eight. The OVC is the only conference with more than three players in the top 16 of those rankings.

Fit for a King
Wide receiver Johnny King has caught a touchdown pass in four-straight games.King had two receiving touchdowns for the first time in his career at UT Martin (Oct. 23). He scored on passes of 31 and 29 yards, respectively. King is Southeast Missouri's top receiver with 298 yards and five touchdowns this season. 

Jester Coming on Strong
Terrell Jester had 13 receptions for 164 yards in his last three games. Jester now leads the Redhawks with 19 receptions and is second on the team with 244 receiving yards.

Sack Attack
Southeast Missouri has recorded a sack in six-straight games and recently posted a season-high of three against Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30). The Redhawks are tied for third in the Ohio Valley Conference with 13 sacks for a loss of 116 yards. Jacob Morrissey tops the team with three sacks.

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 seventh among Southeast Missouri's all-time career rushing leaders with 2,311 rushing yards. He became the ninth player in program history to get more than 2,000 career rushing yards.

Moving On Up
Geno Hess is second among Southeast Missouri's all-time career leaders in rushing touchdowns. Hess enters the week with 31 career rushing TDs, including 13 in 2021. Twenty-five of those scores came since the start of the 2020 campaign. He is six 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 five games at inside linebacker, is Southeast Missouri's leading tackler through nine contests. Norman leads the Redhawks in total tackles (58), solo tackles (29) and forced fumbles (3). He finished as SEMO's top tackler in five games this year. Norman accumulated 14 tackles against UT Martin (Oct. 23) for his second-straight double-digit tackle game. He leads the Ohio Valley Conference in forced fumbles and is 17th in the nation in that category. Additionally, he is 10th among league leaders and second among OVC freshmen in tackles behind Eastern Illinois' Colin Bohanek (71).

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 nine games for the Redhawks this year.

OVC Leader
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in kickoff returns (25.8 ypr), punting (39.4 ypp), fourth-down conversions (8-of-13, 61.5 pct.), turnover margin (+5), red zone offense (28-of-28, 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 2-of-4 passes and ran for eight yards, while Ogbonna completed 13-of-24 passes for 194 yards and two  touchdowns at UT Martin (Oct. 23). Southeast Missouri has used multiple quarterbacks in six of nine games this season.

Takeaway Time
Southeast Missouri recorded five more takeaways in its win at Austin Peay (Oct. 9). SEMO leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 16 takeaways and boasts a league best +6 turnover margin through eight games. The Redhawks have gone 21 of their last 23 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 second in the nation with 1,006 rushing yards. He is also first in the conference and second in the nation with 13 rushing touchdowns. Additionally, Hess ranks sixth in the FCS and first in the conference in rushing yards per game (111.8).

Keep it Going
Geno Hess has scored a rushing touchdown in 11 of his last 12 games. Hess ran for over 100 yards five times during that stretch. He had at least one rushing touchdown in his last eight starts.

Top Scoring Threat 
Geno Hess is first in the Ohio Valley Conference and 17th in the FCS in scoring with 8.7 points per game. Hess scored 78 points on 13 rushing touchdowns. He surpassed his FCS leading 12 rushing touchdowns from a year ago.

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 ninth time in his career when he gained 107 yards vs. Eastern Illinois (Oct. 30). Hess also ran for 137 yards at UT Martin (Oct. 23) 176 yards vs. Murray State (Oct. 16), 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). He is tied for fourth in most 100-yard career games in program history.

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. 

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.

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.