Defense shines in Southeast Missouri State football's first scrimmage

Defense was on display Saturday at Kirkwood High School's E.L. Lyons Stadium in St. Louis, as the Southeast Missouri State football team participated in its first intrasquad scrimmage.

The offense was stopped three times inside its own 15-yard line during the scrimmage, which also included a blocked punt, a blocked field goal, an interception and a safety.

The scrimmage also allowed Southeast to get familiar with its regular-season road slate. The Redhawks' schedule includes day-of trips to Southern Illinois (Sept. 10), Murray State (Sept. 24) and UT Martin (Nov. 12).

"We got to practice being on the road which is crucial to our early schedule," Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said in a press release. "I think defensively we just shut down the run and really had a good day."

Southeast had a number of chances to score deep in the red zone, but the defense held those opportunities in check.

Will Young and Cameron Sanders provided a burst in the running game on the opening drive before outside linebacker Omar Pierre-Louis thwarted the scoring chance by batting down quarterback Dante Vandeven's pass on third down.

Quarterback Jesse Hosket connected with wide receiver Darrius Darden-Box on a 55-yard pass that set the Redhawks up at the 10-yard line. The defense responded by stopping the offense on three straight plays, but Hosket later found wide receiver Tyler McLemore on a 94-yard pass to the 3-yard line. The defense, however, stood tall and kept the offense out of the end zone.

The drives ended with field goals by kicker Ryan McCrum from 33 yards and 25 yards out, respectively.

"I thought we had some explosive plays offensively, and those have been hard to come by in recent years," Matukewicz said.

The offense was able to score two touchdowns -- a 25-yard pass from Hosket to Oklahoma State transfer C.J. Curry and a 2-yard run by Vandeven.

McCrum added two more field goals, while kicker Kendrick Tiller also had a pair.

Cornerback Mike Ford, who led the Redhawks in interceptions a year ago, nabbed the lone interception of the day, while Steve Durosier blocked a field goal attempt by Tiller.

A number of fans and alumni were in attendance to watch the scrimmage, including Southeast Hall of Famers and former NFL players Dan Connolly, Eugene Amano and Angel Rubio.

"We wanted to get our brand out there, and it was nice to see a lot of our alumni today," Matukewicz said. "I appreciate all the support from our fans and alums."

Southeast, which is halfway through its preseason camp, returns to practice Monday and will be working toward finalizing its two-deep during the last week of camp.