A modest compliment but some major progress for Southeast football

In so many ways, the Southeast Missouri State football team's loss to No. 3 Jacksonville State on Saturday was a microcosm of the Redhawks' season.

For stretches it was painfully obvious that Southeast was the physically inferior team. At other times the Redhawks lacked the execution, particularly on defense, needed to compete with one of the nation's top teams.

Then, just when you thought the team may settle for taking its beating and moving on to the next game, or in this case, the next season, Southeast's playmakers made you forget all about what the team lacked and opened the imagination to a world where the Redhawks don't just pull off an occasional upset of powerhouse teams, they are a powerhouse.

"I'm disappointed, but I'm certainly not defeated," first-year Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said following his team's 49-30 loss to the undefeated OVC champion. "When you look at the game, if that's as good as it gets, which this year it is -- they're undefeated in the conference and going to get a first-round bye and all that stuff -- if that's as good as it gets, then we're not far off."

The Redhawks fell behind early -- another common occurrence this season -- then hung with the Gamecocks, even pulling within 11 twice in the third quarter only to see JSU convert third downs and score on the ensuing possessions.

They didn't play well enough to win, and yet you got the feeling they could a couple times. It's not that the Redhawks didn't quit -- that's a cliché that's usually saved for teams lauded for trying hard while getting throttled -- it's that they competed. That means they could beat their opponent for plays and possessions, but not nearly enough of them to win the game.

That's what I'll remember most from this season. The Redhawks competed.

And while that's a modest compliment, it was major progress.

"I honestly just think the way we've played -- just playing hard and physical," quarterback Kyle Snyder said, explaining what made the season a success in his estimation. "You could see the changes out there just from last year. You could see it. It's plain as day how this coaching staff is turning things around and taking it in the right direction."

Southeast won five times, twice more than it did in any of the last three seasons. The Redhawks lost three other games by a combined 10 points, battled with two teams -- Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State -- likely headed for the playoffs, and were routed twice -- at SIU and at home against Eastern Illinois.

They defeated two ranked teams in a season for the first time in school history and lost to a Murray State team that hasn't recorded a win against any other conference team.

Along the way they were dealt blow after blow by injuries that took out their starting running back, best receiver and top defensive player, among numerous others.

Matukewicz said it's impossible not to wonder "what if."

"I slap myself in the face when I go there, and that's what I'm disappointed at," he said. "Sometimes I lose my focus and I think about things I can't control. As a head coach, I've got to do a better job that way. As a head coach my sole focus has got to be on improvement and how do we get better, how do we move forward?"

That's the question and likely will remain the question for years to come. After a season of improvement Matukewicz said you'd have to be "deaf, dumb and blind" not to see, his staff will head back out to recruit bigger, faster and stronger athletes who can share the workload and stand up to the rigors of a college football season. They'll evaluate this season and look for ways to improve while pushing returning players to better themselves this offseason.

How all of those things come together in coming seasons will ultimately decide how Matukewicz's first season -- and the final season for 20 seniors -- will be remembered. It could be the season that sets the foundation for the type of sustained success the program hasn't experienced in decades or it could be the season that sparked the latest round of false hope for the future.

Snyder said he hopes it's remembered "as a stepping stone to an OVC championship for the guys coming up. I think us seniors can come out with a smile on our face knowing that, hey, we were there the first year the staff came in and we helped build up with the staff and this team."

According to Matukewicz's self-prescribed timeline, the Redhawks need a couple more seasons to claw to the top of the Ohio Valley Conference standings.

"When I got here I kind of told myself what I felt like -- I felt like in three years I want to compete for a league championship," Matukewicz said. "In five years I want to compete nationally, and so I feel like we're still on that road."