Redhawks suffer frustrating loss to bitter rival in final seconds

An experienced and successful college basketball coach once explained how he got over the frustration of losing a recruit to another program, whom he had spent years (plural) pursuing with zeal.

“You say (an expletive) 10 times out loud,” the coach said, “and then you move on.”

Southeast Missouri State football fans would do well to heed that wisdom in the wake of the Redhawks agonizing 26-25 loss to rival Southern Illinois on Saturday in front of an overflow crowd of nearly 9,000 people at Houck Field.

“We knew that it was going to be a great football game,” 10th-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz said, “and it was. These games always seem to go like this.

“At the end of the day, they made one more play than us.”

That probably isn’t an accurate assessment, because the No. 13-ranked Redhawks (1-2) made more positive things occur than the No. 15-ranked Salukis (3-0), who took back the coveted "War for the Wheel" trophy after losing it to SEMO in the final seconds a year ago in Carbondale.

The difference being, though, Southern Illinois made critical plays at the most opportune times.

The Salukis committed seven penalties while SEMO had just one flag thrown on it.

“One of my things is to play smart,” Matukewicz said, “and I’m telling you, there is probably only one play that I can think of that wasn’t. That is pretty impressive when there are 180 snaps out there.”

The Redhawk defense forced Southern Illinois into four turnovers (two interceptions and two fumbles) while SEMO had just one fumble. However, that mistake came with less than two minutes remaining and occurred at the Redhawk 38-yard line.

“You fumble (when running) a four-minute drill,” Matukewicz explained, “it’s pretty tough to recover from.”

That mistake, along with an incredible performance from Saluki senior quarterback Nic Baker, wiped out a lot of positives on the part of SEMO, but are not going to be dismissed by Matukewicz.

The Redhawk defense shut out Southern Illinois in the opening half, as the hosts took a 15-0 lead into the intermission. However, Southern Illinois “abandoned the run game and just started slinging it,” according to Matukewicz, and the SEMO defense struggled to contain the Saluki offense.

The Salukis had seven offensive series in the final 30 minutes of play and scored touchdowns on four, including a score from Baker to a Southern Illinois wideout with 11 seconds left in the game.

“Nic Baker just willed his team to a win,” Matukewicz said.

Baker had 54 passing yards at halftime and finished the game with 458 passing yards.

“Nic hasn’t thrown for 7,000 (career) yards because he’s terrible,” Matukewicz said.

The Salukis scored twice in the opening 6:28 of the third quarter to pull to within 15-13 before Redhawk runner Geno Hess stretched the margin to 22-13 with a nine-yard run.

SEMO kicker DC Pippen, who had an outstanding night, booted a 40-yard field goal early in the final period for a 25-13 SEMO lead. However, the final three Redhawk offensive series resulted in a punt and a fumble, before two incompletions ended the game.

In all, SEMO had 15 offensive series and scored just two touchdowns while having to punt eight times.

“Offensively,” Redhawk quarterback Paxton DeLaurent said, “we could have executed better, and that starts with me.”

DeLaurent completed 26 of 46 passes for 251 yards and a score.

Hess totaled 99 yards rushing on 23 carries and had seven receptions for 51 yards while senior wide receiver Damoriea Vick led his team with eight receptions for 74 yards.

Defensively, junior linebacker Bryce Norman, playing through an injured shoulder, had 12 tackles to lead SEMO while defensive back Ty Leonard added nine stops.

The SEMO defense got to Baker for four sacks, as many quarterback hurries while Redhawk defensive back Eric Ivory Jr. picked Baker off twice.

“I’m excited about this team,” Matukewicz said. “I still think this team is going to have a hard time losing games if we can stay healthy, play smart, and get our kicking game going.

“I love how we played today. I really do.”

SEMO will travel to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday at 5 p.m.