Fans gather as SEMO hosts first-ever home playoff game

Ben Matthews, Tyler Graef

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Fans and tailgaters gathered in and around Houck Stadium as Southeast Missouri State hosted their first-ever home football game Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. After trailing 0-14 at halftime, the Redhawks rallied to defeat the Seawolves (28-14) and advance to the next round of playoffs.

Keaston King, far right, walks through tailgates on Bellevue Street with Rhonda Thornton, mother of Southeast Missouri State linebacker Clarence Thornton, on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Drew Christopher swings a hammer and makes contact with a nail while playing a game of "Stump" at a Houck Stadium tailgate Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Jude Michel, 5, far left, chases Jett Hubbard, 4, far right, as Ronnie Kate Michel sits on the lawn Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, outside Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
A photo of Southeast Missouri State linebacker Zach Hall sits inside the windshield of "The Knucklemobile" during a Bellevue Street tailgate Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)

Tyrese Johnson, 9, handles a miniature football before entering Houck Stadium to watch Southeast Missouri State face Stony Brook in a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Red Blazer crew member and Southeast Missouri State football tailgate veteran of over 17 years, Jack Trickey, center, speaks on a bullhorn while energizing fans at a Bellevue Street tailgate Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Ronnie Kate Michel reaches to retrieve her pacifier from Matt Schellingerhout's mouth during a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game between Southeast Missouri State and Stony Brook on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Southeast Missouri State fans cheer Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Southeast Missouri State cheerleaders wave pompoms as the band performs for tailgaters Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, on Bellevue Street in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)

Members of the Southeast Missouri State Golden Eagles laugh amongst one another as the end of the fourth quarter approaches Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Kellan Landgraf, 4, watches Southeast Missouri State play Stony Brook in a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Rod Hurt of Jackson points to the sky as members of the Southeast Missouri State defense sack Stony Brook's quarterback in the final minutes of the fourth quarter of a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game at Houck Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Southeast president Carlos Vargas cheers from the sidelines during the Redhawks' 28-14 victory over Stony Brook at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)
Southeast cheerleaders react to the third consecutive touchdown scored by the Redhawks during their come-from-behind 28-14 victory over Stony Brook at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)
A cheerleader dances with Southeast mascot Rowdy the Redhawk during Southeast's 28-14 victory over Stony Brook at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)
Southeast cheerleaders try to best mascot Rowdy the Redhawk in a push-up competition on the sidelines during Southeast's 28-14 victory over Stony Brook at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)
Southeast Missouri State president Carlos Vargas celebrates on the field after defeating Stony Brook in a Football Championship Subdivision playoff game Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018, at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau. (Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian)
Dave Rigdon flips Fisher Ford, 2, on the field as fans celebrate the Redhawks' victory in their first-ever postseason game at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)
Kolbe Barke, 3, left, dances with his brother Jackson, 6, who had received a pair of gloves worn by wide receiver Kobe Bryer at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)
Stephen Daniels shows off his fan gear as he waits for his cousin, Austin Crump, a Redhawk tight end, to return to the field at Houck Stadium Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. (Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian)