Southeast football team's running game struggles in loss

Each and every week Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz says in the days leading up to a game that one of the Redhawks' keys to offensive success against any opponent is to establish the run game.

The Redhawks were not able to do that in their lopsided loss to Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

"Hindsight's 20/20," Matukewicz said. "They did a better job of stopping the run than we did of running it, and we've been able to run the ball on a lot of people. We'll go back, look at the plan, see if that could've been better. Go back, look at our players and make sure we're playing the right people."

Southeast had fewer than 100 yards rushing for the first time this season. The Redhawks entered the game averaging 196.9 yards rushing per game, but only compiled 96 yards on the ground against the Panthers.

Redhawks running backs DeMichael Jackson and Lennies McFerren had both rushed for more than 100 yards in a game this season -- Jackson had 104 on Oct. 11 against Murray State and McFerren had 115 on Oct. 4 against Tennessee State.

Southeast had just 15 rushing yards on 13 carries in the first half of the game.

"We weren't able to run the ball, so when you can't run the ball everything else gets a lot harder," Matukewicz said. "That's what happened on offense."

Sixty-eight yards of the Redhawks' rushing total came in the fourth quarter when they already trailed by 25 points.

The Redhawks were able to pass for 237 yards in the loss but were limited to one touchdown.

"First off, they have a good defense," Southeast quarterback Kyle Snyder said. "That's something we just need to keep working on and get better with. I think they did a good job studying us."

Snyder, who entered the game ninth in the conference averaging 52.6 rushing yards per game, had a net rushing total of seven yards on six carries. He did have the Redhawks' longest run -- 12 yards -- but lost 14 yards throughout the game.

"That was more us," Jackson said. "They didn't do anything different than what we worked over all practice. We were prepped. We were ready. Coach prepared us well. But like Coach Tuke said, we needed to focus more on us than EIU."

"Every blitz they ran, everything they were doing -- we ran it in practice," Jackson said. "We've just got to execute."

Jackson was Southeast's top rusher in the game with 43 yards on 17 carries. McFerren had 17 yards on six carries, but he left the game with an ankle injury on the second play of the second half, which Jackson said made his job more difficult.

"He tells me where to make cuts," Jackson said. "He sees a lot of stuff I don't see, and I see a lot of stuff he doesn't see. We coach each other up."

McFerren was one of four players that left the game with injuries and didn't return.

Defensive lineman Jon Slania is probably out with a broken foot, according to Matukewicz, sophomore Ryan Moore broke his tibia on special teams less than three minutes into the game and Snyder left the game after being sacked in the fourth quarter as a precaution. It was the second week in a row he has missed snaps multiple times during the course of the game.

"When I look out there and I see their face, I don't even know what to say," Matukewicz said of the injured players. "They work 365 days for 12 opportunities, and when they're laying on the field, what are you going to tell him? 'It's going to be all right?' You tell him you love him and we've got you. That's basically all you can say. We still were able to put 11 on both sides, and we've got to find a way to play a little better."