SEMO situation is in doubt, but Redhawks still need to punt

The punt game for Southeast Missouri State took a hit last December when the best punter in the Ohio Valley Conference, Zach Haynes, decided to leave the Redhawks for the FBS program at New Mexico State.

It took another hit last Thursday in practice when a Redhawk player mistakenly careened into the right leg of junior punter Adam Heston and suffered a compound fracture of his tibia and fibula.

“Um,” 10th-year SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz said when asked about his team’s punt game, with a looooong pause afterward, “we’re just trying to get through it.”

Here’s the deal, No. 13-ranked SEMO (1-1) will host No. 15-ranked Southern Illinois on Saturday at Houck Field (6 p.m., ESPN+) for the annual “War for the Wheel” honors, and it will do so with a young kid punting that Matukewicz didn’t envision using until 2025.

“It is extremely tough,” Matukewicz said, “that a freshman is in that situation.”

Let’s start with Heston.

If you ever felt sorry for a young person, there is no one in need of more sympathy than Heston.

After sitting for three seasons at Eastern Michigan, he transferred to SEMO last January with the hopes of actually getting in a game and showing his ability. And he did just that.

Against Kansas State, Heston was one of the few bright spots in that shellacking that the Redhawks took from one of the nation’s best FBS programs.

“He got the benefit of some rolls,” Matukewicz said following that game. “So, he was a bit inconsistent, but it was a very good first outing for him.”

Heston had eight punts against the Wildcats for an average of 41 yards, including a 54-yard kick.

Four of Heston’s kicks were stopped inside the Kansas State 20-yard line.

“It was something for him to build on, for sure,” Matukewicz said.

It was until last Thursday.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Matukewicz said of Heston’s injury. “This kid wanted this so bad, and really not even for himself. He wanted to be that piece for this team. He came in and was average but willed himself into being a pretty good punter.

“The thing about life and football is life doesn’t get easier, it’s that you get better at doing the hard things. It’s terrible, but there are going to be other broken legs in life.”

That brings us to Logan Leftrick.

The true freshman from Springfield, Tenn. never had an inkling that he would be on the field this quickly, but here he is.

He punted four times against Lindenwood last Saturday for a 35-yard average, with two of his kicks staying inside the Lion 20-yard line.

“For the situation,” Matukewicz said of Leftrick handling the short notice and new role, “I thought he did a good job. For being a punter on a top-25 team, we’re in trouble.”

Matukewicz said that Leftrick is embracing the significance of his role, and Redhawk offensive coordinator, Jeromy McDowell, who was a quarterback AND a punter, is spending extra time working with Leftrick, who was an All-Region selection at Springfield High School.

“We’re trying to give him the skills and all of those things,” Matukewicz said. “We’re working really hard. I do believe that he has the talent to get there if he has the discipline and focus to hone his craft, really, before his time.”