Southeast Missouri State University
Central Arkansas
Redhawks Host Central Arkansas in Home-Opener Saturday
9/14/2026 3:23:00 PM | Football
Game Information
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026
Kickoff: 6 p.m., CT
Site: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (8,000)
Surface: FieldTurf
Series Record: Tied, 8-8-1
Last Meeting: UCA 38, SEMO 33 | 10/7/23 | Conway, Ark.
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Redhawks Host Central Arkansas
• Southeast Missouri (1-2) plays at home for the first time this season when it hosts United Athletic Conference member Central Arkansas (2-1) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., CT at Houck Field.
• SEMO begins a two-game home stand against UAC schools. After Saturday's matchup, the Redhawks welcome West Florida on Sept. 26.
• The Redhawks have five games at Houck Field this season.
• SEMO's other home matchups are with Western Illinois (Oct. 17), Gardner-Webb (Oct. 31) and UT Martin (Nov. 21).
Home-Openers
• The Redhawks are 8-4 in home-openers under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
• Southeast Missouri goes after its fifth-straight home-opening win after beating Nicholls, 42-16, on Sept. 17, 2022, Lindenwood, 45-7, on Sept. 9, 2023, UT Martin, 45-42, on Sept. 7, 2024 and North Alabama, 30-21, on Sept. 6, 2025.
• SEMO is 22-23 all-time in home-openers in its NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) era.
• The Redhawks averaged 40.5 points in their last four home-opening victories.
Series Tidbits
• This year marks the 18th meeting between Southeast Missouri and Central Arkansas.
• The all-time series stands tied at 8-8-1.
• SEMO is 5-3-1 against UCA at Houck Field.
• The Bears, however, have gone 8-1-1 in the last 10 games of the series.
• UCA fell to the Redhawks, 35-27, the last time it came to Cape Girardeau on Sept. 24, 2022.
Matukewicz vs. Central Arkansas
• Tom Matukewicz is 1-1 against Central Arkansas as Southeast Missouri's head coach.
• SEMO played a home-and-home series with the Bears in 2022 and 2023.
• The Redhawks beat UCA, 35-27, at home on Sept. 24, 2022 and fell to the Bears, 38-33, in Conway, Arkansas on Oct. 7, 2023.
• SEMO led, 30-6, with less than a minute left in the third quarter before UCA rallied for 32 fourth-quarter points to edge the Redhawks in the last meeting between the teams three years ago.
Keller Cracks Top-10 in Field Goals
• Justin Keller moved into a tie for 10th among Southeast Missouri's all-time career field goal leaders.
• Keller is 19-of-25 (76 pct.) in field goals during his career.
• He currently shares the 10th-place spot with Earl Wessel (19 FGs, 1988-89).
• So far this season, Keller made 6-of-8 field goals and ranks fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision in field goals per game (2.0).
PAT Streak
• Justin Keller has not missed an extra point in his career.
• Keller has made 38-consecutive PATs in his 38 attempts.
• He scored 95 points and leads the Redhawks with 23 this season.
Take it Away
• Southeast Missouri's defense forced a turnover in each of its first three games this season.
• The Redhawks had a season-high three takeaways (one interception, two fumble recoveries) at Southern Illinois (Sept. 12).
• SEMO has five takeaways and won the turnover margin once in 2026.
First Career Interception for Smitherman
• Safety Jayden Smitherman recorded the first interception of his career at Southern Illinois (Sept. 12).
• Smitherman caught the ball when KJ McRae tipped DJ Williams' pass early in the fourth quarter.
• Smitherman and David Jones each have one interception for the Redhawks thus far.
Brown Returns
• Running back Payton Brown returned from a quad injury last week at Southern Illinois (Sept. 12).
• Brown scored his first touchdown of the season on a 1-yard run to give Southeast Missouri a 10-0 lead with 3:59 remaining in the first quarter.
• For the game, Brown ran the ball 14 times for 27 yards and caught five passes for 32 yards.
From the Natural State
• Southeast Missouri has four players on its 2026 roster from Arkansas.
• Bryant Davis, Jr. (Benton), Robert Dover (Mountain Home), Matthew Ferguson (Alexander) and Brantlee Phillips (Mountain Home) are in that group.
Anthony, Jr. Excels
• Lindenwood transfer wide receiver John Anthony, Jr. made an impressive Southeast Missouri debut at Indiana State (Aug. 29).
• Anthony, Jr. caught six passes for 88 yards and a touchdown to lead the Redhawks.
• He caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Braylen Ragland in the third quarter giving SEMO a 10-point lead (17-7) at the time.
• Most recently, Anthony, Jr. finished with three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown at Southern Illinois (Sept. 12).
• Anthony, Jr. presently has 10 receptions for 219 yards and two touchdowns this season.
About Central Arkansas
• Central Arkansas is 2-1 this young season and comes to Cape Girardeau after getting a commanding 59-20 win over Central Oklahoma (Sept. 12).
• UCA opened the season with a road win at preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite UT Martin.
• Quarterback Donovyn Omolo has thrown for 573 yards and six touchdowns, and ran for 275 yards and another two scores in three starts.
• The Bears were picked fifth in the 2026 United Athletic Conference Preseason Poll behind Abilene Christian, Tarleton State, Austin Peay and Eastern Kentucky.
