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Southeast Missouri State football team remains winless, drops heartbreaker at home to Indiana State
Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Adrian Davis carries the ball before he is tackled by Indiana State's Phil Wilson during the first quarter Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 at Houck Stadium.
Fred Lynch
In front of its home crowd on Family Weekend, the Southeast Missouri State football team had a hard time trying to fathom how an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead went away so quickly.
With 10.4 seconds remaining on the clock, redshirt junior wide receiver Miles Thompson hauled in a game-winning, 15-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Isaac Harker, and the Redhawks were left heartbroken with a 27-24 loss in Saturday's home opener against Indiana State at Houck Stadium.
Southeast Missouri State defenders try to block a field goal attempt by Indiana State's Jerry Nunez that successfully tied the score 10-10 during the second quarter Saturday at Houck Stadium. Indiana State scored in the final seconds for a 27-24 win over the Redhawks.
Fred Lynch
"This is tough. This is a tough loss," Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said. "Those kids are as hurting as I've ever seen them because they really, really want a win. They believe we can be a good football team, and they're just really frustrated that we're not."
Southeast (0-3) appeared to have all the momentum after an interception by senior inside linebacker Terrance Hill turned into a six-play, 82-yard drive that culminated in a 35-yard TD run by Cameron Sanders. Ryan McCrum added the extra point, and the Redhawks took a 24-13 lead with 8 minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the game.
After forcing a three-and-out, Southeast came up empty-handed when McCrum missed on a 49-yard attempt that sailed just wide left.
"It was a big, big time stop," Hill said about the turnover. "... We just have to sign off and finish, and we have to play every down like we're losing."
ISU (2-1) quickly answered, eating up only 2:24 off the clock on a seven-play, 68-yard drive that ended on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Harker to redshirt senior WR Robert Tonyan, cutting the Redhawks' lead to 24-19 after a failed 2-point conversion with 3:00 to go in the game.
The Sycamores held strong on the ensuing drive and got the ball back with one timeout and 1:33 left on the clock.
"We should never be in it. We didn't take care of the stuff before that because once you get in there and you've got the ball, it could go either way," Matukewicz said. "One missed tackle, and you lose the game. So you have to do the things before you even got to the two minutes where if they got the ball, they only had 40 seconds left instead of two minutes.
"It's the stuff we didn't take care of before the drive that made us lose the game."
The game-winning drive was extended by a fourth-and-8 pass from Harker to Tonyan before a roughing the passer penalty on Redhawks senior defensive tackle John Popovich gave ISU a first down at the Southeast 30. The Sycamores quickly moved closer, and on third-and-6 at the 15, Harker hurled the ball to the corner of the end zone and found Thompson, who corralled the ball in tight coverage against Southeast cornerback Mike Ford for the game-winning score.
"We got too big-headed," Southeast senior Tremane McCullough said. "We thought the game was over. We thought we were going to win for sure. ... To be winning in the fourth quarter, which we never have been, and then to come back and take a loss like that, it's frustrating."
ISU started the game with a bang, as Harker found redshirt junior RB Dimitri Taylor down the left sideline for a 75-yard TD pass on the first play of scrimmage, giving the Sycamores a 7-0 advantage only 13 seconds into the game.
Southeast Missouri State quarterback Jesse Hosket throws a pass against Indiana State's Kenyota Rollins during the second quarter Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 at Houck Stadium.
Fred Lynch
The play was a deep pass as Taylor wheeled out of the backfield behind a Cover-3 defense.
"You don't let anybody behind you. Because of your lack of discipline, you look in the backfield, and that's what happens," Matukewicz said. "... It's the same thing that got us last week."
The Redhawks tied the game at 7-all later in the opening quarter when Will Young concluded a five-play, 47-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run at the 6:05 mark.
Southeast chewed up 8:03 on the clock but was only able to come away with a 29-yard field goal by McCrum, which gave the Redhawks their first lead, 10-7, with 11:45 to go before halftime.
ISU kicker Jerry Nunez kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, tying the game at 10-10 heading into halftime.
In the second half, Nunez pushed the Sycamores ahead 13-10 on a 43-yard field goal, but Southeast regained a 17-13 lead on the ensuing possession, as junior RB Chase Abbington ran it in from 4 yards out to cap a seven-play, 69-yard drive with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter.
Southeast Missouri State coach Tom Matukewicz talks to Justin Swift during the second quarter Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 at Houck Stadium.
Fred Lynch
The Redhawks finished with 166 yards rushing and were led by Sanders, who had 59 yards on eight carries. McCullough added 54 yards on nine totes, while Abbington racked up 26 yards on 12 rushes.
It was the first career touchdown for both Abbington and Sanders.
"We needed a lot of tailbacks and we were able to get a lot in there," Matukewicz said. "It was good that those guys got to see the end zone, and I think our O-line did another good job of moving them up front."
Junior quarterback Jesse Hosket was efficient for Southeast, finishing his night 16-of-25 passing (64 percent) for 214 yards.
The transfer from East Central Community College was sacked only once, averaging 8.6 yards per attempt.
"You could see him get better. You could see him grow," Matukewicz said about Hosket. "There were some really contested balls, and he threaded them in there pretty good."
McCullough finished with a team-high 63 yards on four catches, while Southeast redshirt freshman Kristian Wilkerson added four receptions for 63 yards.
"I thought our wideouts caught the ball really well," Matukewicz said. "I think, all in all, I would've been really pleased if we would've just been able to finish the game out in that fourth quarter."
Defensively, the Redhawks were led by junior outside linebacker Chad Meredith, who had 10 tackles, including one for loss. Southeast junior OLB Kendall Donnerson racked up nine tackles, three for loss, while senior ILB Roper Garrett and Hill finished with eight and seven tackles, respectively. Southeast held ISU to 383 yards total offense.
Southeast Missouri State's Chase Abbington carries the ball against Indiana State during the fourth quarter Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016 at Houck Stadium.
Fred Lynch
Harker wrapped up his day with 302 yards and three TDs on 22-of-36 passing. His top receiver was Tonyan, who had a game-high 90 yards on seven catches, while redshirt senior running back Roland Genesy led the Sycamores with a game-high 68 yards on 12 rushes.
It's the second year in a row that ISU has won the game with a dramatic finish in the fourth quarter. The Sycamores edged out a 29-28 victory last year in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Southeast returns to action in Week 4 with its first Ohio Valley Conference game of the season against host Murray State. Both teams will be in search of their first win, and Matukewicz hopes his players are ready to move past Saturday's heartbreaker.
"At the end of the day, the papers and people will start doubting this football team as they should -- because we're 0-3 and all that -- but we've got 25 seniors," Matukewicz said. "We can be a good football team if we take care of the things that we're in control of, and that'll just be my message.
"I'm not giving up on this team. I still want to go in there tomorrow and coach them. It's just going to be a tough sandwich to eat tomorrow."
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