Lindenwood (1-0) at #14 Southeast Missouri (0-1)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
Kickoff: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (8,000)
Surface: FieldTurf
Series: SEMO leads, 1-0
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (51-53 Overall; 50-53 at SEMO; 38-27 OVC). Jed Stugart (125-48 Overall; 34-24 at LU; 2-3 OVC).

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

Redhawks Host Lindenwood
#14 Southeast Missouri (0-1) hosts Lindenwood (1-0) in its first Big South-OVC Association game of the season Saturday. Kickoff of the MRV Banks Game Ball Brawl is slated for 6 p.m., CT at Houck Field.

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

Game Ball Brawl
Missouri schools Southeast Missouri and Lindenwood hook up for the second time in their rivalry deemed the "Game Ball Brawl." SEMO was the first Division I opponent to play at Lindenwood in the inaugural meeting between the teams a year ago. The Redhawks won that contest, 49-28, on Oct. 1. MRV Banks is the sponsor of the Game Ball Brawl and the rivalry trophy will be given to the winner following Saturday's game. SEMO and Lindenwood are the only Division I schools in Missouri that are conference rivals.

MRV Banks Named Sponsor of Game Ball Brawl
Southeast Missouri and Lindenwood have partnered with title sponsor MRV Banks for the Game Ball Brawl football rivalry matchup. The 2023 season marks the second year of the game that features the only Division I schools in Missouri which are conference rivals. The partnership begins with MRV Banks, which has branch locations in both Cape Girardeau and St. Charles. As part of the collaboration, MRV Banks sponsored the design and development of a custom Game Ball Brawl traveling trophy that will be retained by the winner of the game each season.

Open for Business
Lots of excitement will be swirling this weekend as fans get to experience phase one of the Houck Project for the first time in its entirety. The first phase of SEMO's new state-of-the-art project includes demolition of the original south grandstand structure and construction of a new south sideline, construction and replacement of the south sideline and grandstand of Houck Field as well as new seating, turf replacement, concession stands, restrooms, ADA access and associated HVAC, mechanical and other systems work. Houck Field has served as the home of Redhawk Football for 93 years.

Home Openers
The Redhawks are 5-4 in home openers under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. Last season, Southeast Missouri won its home-opener with a 42-16 drubbing of Southland Conference member Nicholls on Sept. 17. SEMO is 19-13 all-time in home-openers during its NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision tenure.

Conference Openers
Southeast Missouri is 12-19 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers. SEMO and Lindenwood hook up for the second-straight season to start conference play. The Redhawks are 7-2 in OVC openers with Tom Matukewicz at the helm. This year marks SEMO's 33rd season as a member of the OVC.

Redhawks Drop Season-Opener
With its loss to #16 Kansas State, Southeast Missouri fell to 10-23 all-time in season-openers during its NCAA Division I era. SEMO is 2-8 in such games under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz. Six of those season-opening losses were to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents on the road.

Conference Winning Streak
The Redhawks are on a six-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. Last season marked the first time in program history where SEMO went undefeated in conference play. The Redhawks have posted winning records in league play a program record five-straight years.

From Lindenwood to SEMO
Former Lindenwood star quarterback Cade Brister is in his first year as Southeast Missouri's defensive quality control coach and video coordinator. Brister, a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, threw for 3,065 yards and 27 touchdowns, and ran for 606 yards and another 11 scores in his final college season in 2022.

Season 119
The 2023 campaign is the Redhawks 119th season of college football. Southeast Missouri is in its 33rd season at the NCAA Division Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The Redhawks joined the FCS in 1991 and are 139-223 with three Ohio Valley Conference titles (2010, 2019, 2022) and four NCAA Playoff appearances (2010, 2018, 2019, 2022) as a Division I program.

New O-Line Starters
AJ Laux and Jamarcus Hill each made their first career starts on the offensive line at #16 Kansas State (Sept. 2). Hill started at left tackle and Laux started at the right tackle spot.

Redhawk Debuts
Sam Cook, Jeremy Walton, Khalani Riddick, Jamarcus Hill, Zi'Kef Johnson, Mitchell Sellers , Dorian Anderson and Marshakie Applewhite all played for the first time in a Southeast Missouri uniform at Kansas State (Sept. 2). Cook started at outside linebacker and finished with two tackles, including one for loss.

38 and Counting
Tom Matukewicz is 38-27 in Ohio Valley Conference games during his career as the Redhawks head coach. Matukewicz's 38 conference wins are most of any head coach in program history.

Taylor Gets First Interception
Antonio Taylor recorded his first career interception when he picked off Will Howard in the first quarter against #16 Kansas State (Sept. 2). Taylor returned his interception 20 yards into K-State territory. It gave SEMO a +1 turnover margin in that contest.

Flournoy Surpasses 1,000 Career Receiving Yards
Ryan Flournoy went over 1,000 receiving yards in his Southeast Missouri career when he caught 10 passes for 96 yards at #16 Kansas State (Sept. 2). Flournoy has 1,080 yards in 12 starts as a Redhawk.

Start Another Streak
The Redhawks went 41 consecutive games without being shutout until their 45-0 season-opening loss at #16 Kansas State (Sept. 2). It marked the first time Southeast Missouri was shutout in a season-opener since 1996 (29-0, at Illinois State).

All Aboard the Hess Express
Geno Hess is 1,042 yards away from breaking the Ohio Valley Conference all-time career rushing record. Hess is Southeast Missouri's all-time leading rusher with 4,108 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 (699), rushing touchdowns (53), most 100-yard games (17), most 200-yard games (4), points scored (330) and total touchdowns (55). He is the OVC's all-time leading scorer, as well.

Approaching 200 Tackles
Starting inside linebacker Bryace Norman is 15 tackles away from 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. The year before that, Norman registered 66 stops and enters the 2023 campaign with 187 career tackles.

Five in a Row
The Redhawks posted winning records in Ohio Valley Conference a program record five-straight seasons. Last year, Southeast Missouri finished 5-0 in league play en route to claiming a share of the conference title. It was the first time in program history where the Redhawks went undefeated in OVC action.

Up Next
Southeast Missouri remains home to host longtime rival Southern Illinois on Sept. 16. SEMO faces SIU in the War for the Wheel during Family Weekend.