Redhawks severely shorthanded heading into 'War for the Wheel' battle

The task that lies ahead for the No. 13-ranked Southeast Missouri State football squad is hard enough, let alone having to do it shorthanded.

The Redhawks (1-1) will host rival Southern Illinois (2-0) on Saturday at Houck Field (6 p.m., ESPN+) in the annual “War for the Wheel” series, and they’ll do it with a lot of familiar faces standing on the sideline watching.

“Football isn’t fair,” 10th-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz said, “and life isn’t either. We have a chance to be out seven starters. It’s not what you want, but there is nothing you can do about it.”

Matukewicz didn’t elaborate on specifically which starters would be out, but he did add that “there is a chance that we could only have five” missing the game.

One of those two is more than likely junior linebacker Bryce Norman, who didn’t dress for Saturday’s romp over Lindenwood after injuring his shoulder. However, following the victory over the Lions, Matukewicz intimated that he thought there was a possibility that once the swelling in Norman’s injured shoulder subsided, he could return to play against the No. 15-ranked Salukis.

Two starters not listed on this week’s depth chart were senior wide receiver Ryan Flournoy, who broke his wrist against Lindenwood and will miss a good portion of this season, as well as senior defensive lineman Lunden Manuel.

Norman is listed on this week’s depth chart as a starter, while former Kennett High School standout linebacker Latrevion Thompson did not dress against Lindenwood but is listed as a backup for this week.

Another normal starter, senior wide receiver Dalyn McDonald, who missed the season-opening game at Kansas State with a toe injury, and was injured on the opening kickoff against Lindenwood, is listed as a backup wide receiver this week behind sophomore Kyron Downing.

Shorter University transfer Dorian Anderson is projected to start in Flournoy’s place.

In the absence of Norman last week, linebackers Christian Fuhrman and Mali Walton paced the Redhawks in tackles, as Fuhrman had eight and Walton had six stops, an interception, and a quarterback hurry.

“He is very coachable,” Matukewicz said of Fuhrman. “He has a great motor. He cares and he makes others around him better.”

The junior defender matched his career-high of eight tackles and earlier this year, Norman credited Fuhrman with being a major influence on his development.

“It took some getting used to,” the humble and soft-spoken Norman said of being more of a vocal presence on the team this season. “I can thank Christian. He kind of brought me out of my inner shell.”

Fuhrman and Walton will man the weakside linebacker spot while (hopefully) Norman and senior Jacob Morrissey will line up at the middle linebacker position.

Fuhrman finished third on the Redhawks in 2022 with 65 tackles and was second on the squad with 7 ½ tackles for a loss.

“He had a really good season last year,” Matukewicz said of Fuhrman. “He doesn’t get the notoriety, but he has played well for a while now.”

Walton lined up against Lindenwood in Norman’s regular spot, and Matukewicz was very pleased with his play.

“He had an unbelievable pick and several nice plays,” Matukewicz said. “That is the kind of the story, it is ‘Next man up.’ We’re not going to complain about our situation. We’re going to develop the guys who will be in there.”