Southeast Missouri (3-4) at Nicholls (3-3)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Kickoff: 2 p.m., CT
Location: Thibodaux, La.
Facility: Guidry Stadium (10,500)
Surface: Field Turf
Series: Tied, 1-1
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (54-56 Overall; 53-56 at SEMO; 41-27 Big South-OVC). Tim Rebowe (52-49 Overall; 52-49 at Nicholls; 45-25 Southland).

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

Redhawks Head to Nicholls
Southeast Missouri (3-4) makes a long trip to Southland Conference member Nicholls (3-3) for its final non-conference game Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m., CT at Guidry 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 GeauxColonels.com. Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOFootball.

Series History
Saturday marks the third meeting between Southeast Missouri and Nicholls. The series is presently tied, 1-1. SEMO beat the Colonels, 42-16, in Cape Girardeau last season. SEMO and Nicholls wrap up a home- and-home series as part of a scheduling alliance between the Ohio Valley and Southland Conferences.

Something in Common
The Redhawks and Colonels are both tied for first in their respective conferences this season. Southeast Missouri shares the top spot in the Big South-OVC Association with UT Martin, while Nicholls is in a three- way tie for first in the Southland with Incarnate Word and Lamar. Both SEMO and Nicholls are 3-0 in league play this year.

First Winning Streak
Southeast Missouri carries a two-game winning streak to Louisiana this weekend. SEMO beat Eastern Illinois (Oct. 14), 35-28, and Tennessee Tech (Oct. 21), 28-3, during that stretch. It is the Redhawks first winning streak of the 2023 campaign.

Redhawks Get First Road Win
The Redhawks picked up their first road win of the season when it beat Tennessee Tech, 28-3, on Oct. 21. Southeast Missouri ended a four-game road losing streak dating back to its FCS Playoff loss at Montana in 2022.

Flournoy Nabs Big South-OVC Co-Offensive Player of the Week Honor 
Senior wide receiver Ryan Flournoy became the first Southeast Missouri player to win a Big South-OVC Association weekly honor this season when he was named Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 23. A native of Hazelcrest, Illinois, Flournoy exploded for 203 receiving yards and one touchdown on six catches in SEMO's first road victory of the season at Tennessee Tech (Oct. 21). His 203 receiving yards marked a single-game high in the Big South-OVC this year. Flournoy averaged 33 yards per reception and scored on a career long 89-yard catch in the first quarter, the third-longest touchdown reception in SEMO football history. His 203 yards rank sixth-most in a game among Football Championship Subdivision players in 2023. Eastern Illinois quarterback Pierce Holley (Co-Offensive), Tennessee State's Terrell Allen (Defensive) and Jordan Gant (Freshman), and UT Martin's Aidan Laros (Specialist) rounded out the honorees.

Nice Job Defense
Southeast Missouri's defense shut out Tennessee Tech for three quarters and did not give up a touchdown. The Redhawks held TTU to only three points and kept the Golden Eagles under 100 rushing yards (98). SEMO had one takeaway and stopped TTU once on fourth down. The Redhawk defense has gone two- straight games holding its opponent under 100 rushing yards. The Golden Eagles' 244 total yards were also the fewest by an opponent against SEMO's defense this season.

Offense Hits Season-Bests
The Redhawks posted season-highs in both passing yards and yards per play during their win over Tennessee Tech (Oct. 21). Southeast Missouri finished with 363 passing yards and an average of 7.2 yards per play.

Heitert Plays Strong
Backup redshirt-freshman quarterback Patrick Heitert put together a strong performance at Tennessee Tech (Oct. 21). Heitert replaced starter Paxton DeLaurent who left the game with a shoulder injury early in the second quarter. Heitert completed 12-of-14 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown, and ran for 21 yards and another score. He threw his first career touchdown pass for seven yards to Dalyn McDonald capping a 13-play, 74-yard drive with 7:07 left to play in the second quarter. Heitert later scored on a 1-yard run with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Heitert to Start Under Center
Patrick Heitert will make his second career start as Southeast Missouri's quarterback at Nicholls Saturday. Heitert played in five career games. His other start was vs. Murray State in 2022. He takes over for Paxton DeLaurent who is out with a shoulder injury.

Conference Winning Streak
The Redhawks are on a nine-game winning streak in conference games dating back to the end of the 2021 season. Southeast Missouri won its final league contest that year and went undefeated at 5-0 against Ohio Valley Conference foes in 2022. So far this season, SEMO is 3-0 against league opponents.

Hess Goes Over 5,000 All-Purpose Yards 
A week after breaking Southeast Missouri's all-time career record in all-purpose yards, Geno Hess cleared 5,000 all-purpose yards in his six-year tenure. Hess ran for 48 yards and one touchdown, and caught two passes for 16 yards against Tennessee Tech (Oct. 21). He now has 5,026 all-purpose yards in his career.

Career-High for Clinkenbeard
Reserve wide receiver Jack Clinkenbeard established a new career-high with 64 receiving yards at Tennessee Tech (Oct. 21). Clinkenbeard had three catches, including a career-long 56-yard reception. He is third on the team with 240 receiving yards this season.

Road to 5,000 Rushing Yards
Geno Hess is 336 yards away from reaching 5,000 rushing yards in his career. Hess is the program's all-time leading rusher with 4,664 yards. No player in Southeast Missouri football history has ever rushed for 5,000 yards.

Red Zone Offense
The Redhawks lead the Big South-OVC Association and rank 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision in red zone offense through seven games this season. Southeast Missouri scored on all but two of its chances (23-of-25) in the red zone. SEMO scored 20 touchdowns and kicked three field goals inside its opponent's 20-yard line.

Active Conference Leaders
Redhawks Geno Hess, Paxton DeLaurent and Ryan Flournoy are presently active leaders in Big South-OVC Association categories. Hess is the conference's active career leader in rushing (4,664 yards), scoring (372 points), rushing touchdowns (60) and all-purpose yards (5,026). DeLaurent is the active leader in passing average per game (263.3), pass efficiency (140.1 rating) and total offense (4,839 yards). Flournoy tops the Association in receptions (5.76) and receiving yards (91.7) per game.

All Aboard the Hess Express
Geno Hess is 486 yards away from breaking the Ohio Valley Conference all-time career rushing record.Hess is Southeast Missouri's all-time leading rusher with 4,664 yards. Eastern Kentucky's Markus Thomas presently holds the record with 5,149 yards from 1989-92. Hess also owns SEMO career records in rushing attempts (801), rushing touchdowns (60), most 100-yard games (20), most 200-yard games (4), points scored (372), total touchdowns (62) and all-purpose yardage (5,026). He is the OVC's all-time leading scorer and career rushing touchdowns leader, as well.