CHARLESTON, Ill. – Geno Hess ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns and #19 Southeast Missouri (8-2, 4-0) scored 31 unanswered points in a 31-7 win over Eastern Illinois (2-8, 1-3) Saturday on a frigid day at O'Brien Field.
 
With temperatures dropping to as low as 27 degrees and snow on the ground, SEMO won its fifth-straight road game. The Redhawks put together another nice victory, this time doing so without starting quarterback Paxton DeLaurent who missed his first game with a foot injury.
 
SEMO gave Tom Matukewicz his 50th career win as a head coach. Matukewicz, in his ninth year at the helm, won 49 of those games with the Redhawks and picked up the other as Northern Illinois' interim head coach back in 2010.
 
After a slow start which saw both teams combine for under 100 total yards (95) in the first quarter, SEMO came alive to score 21-straight points and take a two-score lead.
 
Down, 7-0, Patrick Heitert entered the game and put together the first scoring drive of his career in impressive fashion.
 
Heitert, replaced starter CJ Ogbonna in his first career game under center, quickly completed his first two passes, including one for 30 yards to Johnny King down the far sideline. On third-and-7, Heitert then ran for his first career touchdown to tie the game with 9:45 left to play in the second quarter.
 
Turnovers by SEMO's defense on EIU's next two possessions led to 14 more points.
 
Mali Walton picked off Dom Shoffner and his turnover resulted in a 31-yard run by Hess which put the Redhawks ahead for the first time at 14-7.
 
Less than two minutes later, Keandre Booker intercepted a pass which SEMO capitalized to score again, this time using a 10-yard run by Hess to stretch the lead to 21-7 at the intermission.
 
The Redhawks polished off their eighth win of the season by tacking on 10 more points in the second half.
 
DC Pippin, after missing two field goals, connected on a 41-yard try with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Hess hit paydirt on a 1-yard run for his third touchdown of the day at the 9:15 mark in the fourth period.
 
Hess averaged 6.6 yards per carry on 30 attempts and broke SEMO's all-time record in 100-yard games with the 15th of his career. Hess has now broken five of his program's career records this season alone.
 
Heitert finished with 140 yards on 11-of-17 passes and ran for 31 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts.
 
Defensively, SEMO was outstanding. The Redhawks limited EIU to only 100 total yards, the second-fewest by any opponent in SEMO's NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks had two turnovers, as well.
 
Bryce Norman paved the way with a game-high 11 tackles and is now four away from 100 this year. The Redhawks added three sacks, two interceptions and seven tackles for loss.
 
SEMO's five-game road winning streak is the program's longest in its Division I tenure. Additionally, the Redhawks posted eight wins in a season for only the fifth time in school history.
 
The Redhawks host Murray State in their regular-season finale on Nov. 19.