Southeast Missouri (1-3) at #23 Central Arkansas (3-2)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, October 7, 2023
Kickoff: 4 p.m., CT
Location: Conway, Ark.
Facility: Estes Stadium (10,000)
Surface: Field Turf
Series: SEMO leads, 8-7-1
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (52-55 Overall; 51-55 at SEMO; 39-27 Big South-OVC). Nathan Brown (33-27 Overall; 33-27 at UCA; 2-0 UAC).

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

Redhawks Travel to #23 Central Arkansas 
Southeast Missouri (1-3) travels to United Athletic Conference member #23 Central Arkansas (3-2) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m., CT at Estes Stadium.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will be on the call. Video can be accessed online at ESPN+. Live stats are available at EKUSports.com. Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOFootball.

Series History
Saturday marks the 17th meeting between Southeast Missouri and Central Arkansas SEMO returns the trip to Conway on the back end of a home-and-home series. The Redhawks beat the Bears, 35-27, on Sept. 24 in Cape Girardeau last season. SEMO leads the all-time series 8-7-1 and faces UCA in Conway for the first time in 38 years. The Redhawks are 3-4 all-time at Estes Stadium.

United Athletic Conference Teams 
Central Arkansas is the second United Athletic Conference team Southeast Missouri plays this season. SEMO dropped a 41-38 heartbreaker at Eastern Kentucky (Sep. 23). The United Athletic Conference football partnership began with a combined group that built the ASUN-WAC Challenge in 2021. Featuring an automatic qualifier (AQ) into the FCS Playoffs each for the past two years, the newly christened conference is in its third year with nine participating institutions and will add the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the fall of 2025 when it begins football sponsorship. The other UAC members are Abilene Christian, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State and Utah Tech.

Back in Action
The Redhawks are back in action following their bye week. After Saturday's visit to Central Arkansas, Southeast Missouri hosts Eastern Illinois during its Homecoming on Oct. 14.

Back-to-Back Heartbreakers
Southeast Missouri dropped its last two games by a combined four points, with each loss coming in the final seconds. SEMO led until the final 11 seconds of its game against #15 Southernn Illinois (Sept. 16). Desman Hearns stripped the ball away from running back Geno Hess and recovered with 1:46 left. On fourth-and-1, Nic Baker threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Izaiah Hartrup to give the Salukis a 26-25 win with 11 seconds on the clock. A week later, the Redhawks held a 38-31 lead with 2:34 left to play at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23). EKU marched 93 yards in 2:04 to tie the game with 30 seconds to go. On the second play of SEMO's ensuing drive, Paxton DeLaurent fumbled and the Colonels recovered at the Redhawks 29-yard line. Patrick Nations then kicked a game-winning 46-yard field goal as time expired giving EKU a 41-38 victory.

Brickyard Game
Southeast Missouri faces a ranked opponent for the third time in five games this season when it travels to #23 Central Arkansas. SEMO opened its 2023 campaign with a 45-0 loss at #16 Kansas State (Sept. 2) and fell, 26-25, at home against #15 Southern Illinois (Sept. 16). Each time SEMO upends a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) or ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponent, those victories are laid to rest in the Brickyard. The Brickyard resides in SEMO's locker room. The Redhawks have a total of 12 Brickyard wins, eight of which have come under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.

Norman Surpasses 200 Career Tackles 
With his 10 tackles at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23), Bryce Norman surpassed 200 in his career. Norman, a Preseason All-American and Buck Buchanan Award candidate, led Southeast Missouri in tackles each of his first two seasons as a Redhawk. He finished with 119 as the Ohio Valley Conference's second-leading tackler in 2022. The year before that, Norman registered 66 stops. So far this season, he is tied for first on the team with 24 stops. Norman has 209 tackles in his career.

Turnover Time
Southeast Missouri won the turnover battle in three of its first four games this season. SEMO has eight takeaways for a +6 turnover margin thus far. The Redhawks lead the Big South-OVC Association and rank fifth in the Football Championship Subdivision in that category. SEMO forced eight turnovers for an average of two per game.

Red Zone Offense
The Redhawks lead the Football Championship Subdivision and Big South- OVC Association in red zone offense through four games this season. Southeast Missouri scored on all 12 of its chances in the red zone. SEMO scored 10 touchdowns and kicked two field goals for a total of 76 points inside its opponent's 20-yard line.

50th Game for Hess
Geno Hess played in the 50th game of his Southeast Missouri career at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23). Hess ran for 43 yards on 11 carries against the Colonels. He has played in 50 games and made 32 starts at running back during his six-year SEMO career.

Another Big Game for DeLaurent
Paxton DeLaurent threw for a season-high 358 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more scores in Southeast Missouri's loss at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23). DeLaurent completed 31-of-43 passes and ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns. He threw touchdown passes of 13, 9 and 15 yards, respectively.

Tale of Two Halves
Southeast Missouri is outscoring its opponents, 77-52 (+25), in the first half this year. However, the second half has been a different story. Opponents hold a 77-31 (+46) advantage over the Redhawks in the final two quarters. Opponents have scored 44 of those points in the fourth quarter alone.

DeLaurent Climbing Record Lists
After his big performance at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23), Paxton DeLaurent cracked Southeast Missouri's top-10 career lists in passing completions, most touchdown passes and total offense. DeLaurent ranks 10th in both passing completions (318) and total offense 4,088 yards), and stands ninth in most touchdown passes (26).

Double-Digit Tackles
Since returning from his shoulder injury which kept him out the Lindenwood game on Sept. 9, Bryce Norman has posted double-digit tackles in two-straight contests. Norman recorded 12 tackles vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 16) and followed that up with 10 at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23). He finished with 10 or more tackles a total of 11 times in his career.

Interception Free
Southeast Missouri is one of six teams in the Football Championship Subdivision that has not thrown an interception this year. SEMO has gone interception free through four games. San Diego, Fordham, Brown, North Dakot and Cornell are the other FCS schools without an interception thrown.

DeLaurent Starts Strong
Paxton DeLaurent threw his first 160 passes without an interception this season. Most recently, DeLaurent completed 31-of-43 passes for 358 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another two scores at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23).

Vick Steps Up
Damoriea Vick finished with a career-high 135 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 23). It was the Vick's second 100-yard receiving game this season. He leads the Big South-OVC Association in receptions per game (9.0), receiving yards per game (90.5) and receptions (36). Vick also leads the Football Championship Subdivision in receptions per game and ranks 10th in receiving yards per contest.