#19/20 Southeast Missouri (7-2, 3-0 OVC) at Eastern Illinois (2-7, 1-2 OVC)

Game Information
Date: November 12, 2022
Kickoff: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Facility: O'Brien Field
Surface: Field Turf
Series: EIU leads, 18-11
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (49-51 overall; 48-51 at SEMO; 36-27 OVC). Chris Wilkerson (53-34 overall; 2-7 at EIU; 1-2 OVC).

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

Redhawks Hit the Road to Face Eastern Illinois
#19 Southeast Missouri (7-2, 3-0) faces Eastern Illinois (2-7, 1-2) in its final road game of the regular season Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., CT at O'Brien Field.

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 EIUPanthers.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOFootball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and Tennessee State meet for the 30th time Saturday. SEMO holds a slight 15-14 edge in the overall series. The Redhawks have won each of the last four matchups between the teams. Tom Matukewicz is 5-2 all-time against TSU.

Road Winning Streak
Southeast Missouri carries a four-game road winning streak to Eastern Illinois this weekend. SEMO won at then-#17 Southern Illinois (34-31, Sept. 10), Lindenwood (49-28, Oct. 1), Northwestern State (51-16, Oct. 22) and Tennessee State (42-0, Nov. 5) during that stretch. A win Saturday will give the Redhawks their longest road winning streak during their NCAA Division I Football Championship era.

Let's Get Another
A win Saturday will give Southeast Missouri eight victories in a season for only the fifth time in its NCAA Division I tenure. SEMO won eight or more games in 2002 (8-4), 2010 (9-3), 2018 (9-4) and 2019 (9-4).

Matukewicz Approaching 50 Wins
A victory over Eastern Illinois will give Tom Matukewicz his 50th career victory as a head coach. Forty-eight of Matukewicz's wins have come at Southeast Missouri while the other was at Northern Illinois. He is 49-51 all-time as a head coach.

Mr. Record Breaker
Geno Hess recently broke Southeast Missouri's all-time career rushing record at Tennessee State (Nov. 5). Hess ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers. He officially broke the record on his third carry of the game, a 9-yard rush during SEMO's second drive. Hess now has 3,475 yards surpassing Kelvin "Earthquake" Anderson (3,392, 1992-94) for the new mark.

Keep Them Coming
Geno Hess has broken four of Southeast Missouri's career records this season alone. Hess broke SEMO's all-time records in rushing touchdowns (44), total touchdowns (46), rushing yards (3,475) and points scored (276). One more 100-yard game will give Hess his program's all-time career record in that category.

Redhawks in the Top-25
Southeast Missouri is ranked in both the Stats Perform and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches Top-25 Polls. The Redhawks are #20 in the Stats Perform and #19 in the Coaches Poll as of Nov. 7. SEMO is ranked in both Top-25 polls for the first time since 2019. Currently, the Redhawks are the only Top-25 team out of the Ohio Valley Conference.
AFCA Coaches        Stats Perform
9/26 RV                    9/26 #24
10/3 #25                   10/3 #21 
10/10 #21                 10/10 #18 
10/17 #18                 10/17 #16 
10/24 #14                 10/24 #15
10/31 #20                 10/31 #22 
11/7 #19                    11/7 #20

Talking Streaks
The Redhawks have scored in 38 consecutive games, third-longest streak of that kind in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southeast Missouri has scored over 20 points in eight-straight contests.

Redhawks Shutout Tigers
Southeast Missouri's recent 42-0 blanking of Tennessee State (Nov. 5) marked the Redhawks first shutout in Ohio Valley Conference play since 1997 (31-0, at Austin Peay). The shutout was SEMO's second under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz following a 77-0 win over Missouri Baptist on Aug. 28, 2014, Matukewicz's first game as a FCS head coach.

Hess Goes Over 1,000 Again
For the second-straight year, Geno Hess amassed over 1,000 rushing yards. Hess presently has 1,054 yards in eight starts. He is among nine Football Championship Subdivision players with over 1,000 rushing yards in 2022. Here is that list.
Jaden Shirden, Monmouth    1,567
ShunDerrick Powell, No. Ala.    1,322
Jaleel McLaughlin, Youngstown St.    1,277
Bhayshul Tuten, N.C. A&T    1,149
Jacob Saylors, East Tennessee St.    1,102
Geno Hess, Southeast Missouri    1,054
Cameron Skattebo, Sacramento St.    1,050
Jarveon Howard, Alcorn    1,048
Aidan Borguet, Harvard    1,003

Hess Shares OVC Offensive Player of the Week Award 
Geno Hess earned Ohio Valley Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors on Nov. 6. A native of Peoria, Illinois, Hess ran for 136 yards, three touchdowns and broke his program's all-time career rushing record in SEMO's 42-0 win over Tennessee State. He carried the ball 18 time and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. He scored from 44, six and three yards out. Hess scored three or more touchdowns in a game for the seventh time and collected the 14th 100-yard rushing game of his career. Additionally, he went over 1,000 yards for the second-straight season. Lindenwood's Cade Brister (Co-Offensive), UT Martin's Rob Hicks (Defensive) and Tyler Larco (Specialist), and Tennessee Tech's O.J. Ross (Newcomer) rounded out the week's honorees.

Norman Closing in on 100 Tackles 
Linebacker Bryce Norman leads Southeast Missouri with 85 tackles through nine games this season. Norman recently finished with 12 stops at Tennessee State (Nov. 5). He recorded double-digit tackles four times this season and ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference in tackles.

Smith and Robbins Score First Career Touchdowns
Running backs Darrell Smith and Keveon Robbins each scored their first career touchdowns at Tennessee State (Nov. 5). Smith ran 56 yards and Robbins scored on a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter. Southeast Missouri had five rushing touchdowns against the Tigers.

Winning Season
Southeast Missouri claimed its sixth winning season in its NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision history with its 51-16 victory over Northwestern State (Oct. 22). SEMO moved to the Division I ranks in 1991 and is in its 32nd season of FCS football. The Redhawks put together winning seasons in 1994 (7-5), 2002 (8-4), 2010 (9-3), 2018 (9-4) and 2019 (9-4). Tom Matukewicz earned his third winning season in his last five years as the Redhawks head coach.

Sack Streak
Southeast Missouri recorded multiple sacks in seven of its last eight contests. SEMO finished with a season-best five at Lindenwood (Oct. 1). The Redhawks are tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference with 23 sacks. SEMO had only 16 sacks in 11 games a year ago.

OVC Picture
The Redhawks are tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 3-0 record. Southeast Missouri shares the top spot with UT Martin, which is also 3-0. UTM dropped out of both the AFCA Coaches and Stats Perform Media Top-25 Polls this week. SEMO and UTM do not play each other. If both remain undefeated at the end of league play, a coin flip will determine which team gets the automatic berth to the FCS Playoffs.

Weeks in Top-25
Southeast Missouri has been ranked in either the Stats Perform or AFCA Coaches Top-25 Polls a total of 25 weeks during Tom Matukewicz's tenure as the Redhawks head coach. SEMO's highest ranking with Matukewicz at the helm was 12th (2019) in the Stats Perform Media Poll and 13th (2019) in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

38 in a Row
Kicker DC Pippin has not missed an extra point in his Southeast Missouri career. Pippin is a perfect 38-of-38 in PATs dating back to last season. He made 36-of-36 through nine games in 2022 and is tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference in PAT kicking percentage.

Matukewicz Fourth All-Time in Wins Southeast Missouri
Head Coach Tom Matukewics ranks fourth all-time in program history with 48 wins. Matukewicz is the 13th head coach in SEMO's football tenure.
Kenneth Knox (1952-67)    88
Abe Stuber (1932-46)    72
Jim Lohr (1974-83)    52
Tom Matukewicz (2014-present)    48

Top-10 in the FCS
As a team, Southeast Missouri ranks among the top-10 in the Football Championship Subdivision in blocked punts allowed (1st, 0), punt return defense (1st, -1.17), fumbles lost (5th, 2), sacks allowed (8th, 1.0), turnovers lost (6th, 7) and total offense (9th, 477.1). Individually, Dalyn McDonald ranks among the top-10 kick return TDs (7th, 1); Paxton DeLaurent is sixth in total offense (299.1 ypg); Geno Hess is sixth in rushing yards (1,054), seventh in rushing yards per carry (7.0), seventh in rushing touchdowns (12), 10th in scoring (9.3 ppg) eighth in rushing yards per game (117.1) and eighth in total touchdowns (14); and Garrett Todd is fourth in punt return TDs (1).

Atop the OVC
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense (23.1 ppg allowed), rushing offense (209.0 ypg), rushing defense (112.1 ypg allowed), kickoff returns (22.3 ypr), PAT kicking (39-of-39, 1.00), sacks (23) fourth-down conversions (9-of-14, 64.3 pct.). Individually, Geno Hess is first in the OVC in rushing (117.1 ypg) and all-purpose yards (128.7 ypg), Johnny King tops the league in receptions per game (6.4), DC Pippin is first in field goals (13-of-18, 1.6 per game) and PAT kicking percentage (36-of-36, 1.00) and Dalyn McDonald is first in punt return average (6.1 ypr) and kick return average (26.4 ypr).