Menu
COLUMN: Reason to celebrate as Southeast Missouri State football adds another brick
FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com
Southeast Missouri State wide receiver Adrian Davis runs along the end zone after scoring a touchdown on a 62-yard run against Eastern Illinois during the first quarter Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 at Houck Stadium.
Fred Lynch
When Tom Matukewicz took over the Southeast Missouri State football program ahead of the 2014 season, he instituted a new tradition. The Brickyard.
For each victory over a ranked opponent, a brick is installed in the practice facility locker room at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex featuring the result and roster from the game. Following Saturday night’s 21-14 upset of No. 13 Eastern Illinois, brick No. 3 will soon be on its way.
It was the third time in Matukewicz’s tenure the Redhawks have beaten a ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponent, but the first since Oct. 4, 2014.
“This team will have their name on Rosengarten forever,” Matukewicz said, “and every time we walk by we’ll talk about this night.”
It was a night that at times felt much like many others this season — the Redhawks dangerously flirting with letting a win get away. But it also felt very different.
For the first time, Southeast came out of the gates quickly, going up 14-0. For the first time, the offense connected on an elusive big play early in the contest — a 62-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Davis. For the first time the team led at halftime.
The SEMO defense allowed just seven points to a team averaging 30 entering the night — keeping the Redhawks in the game when the offense couldn’t pull away, not for the first time. But, for the first time, Southeast didn’t let that go by the wayside.
For the first time, it didn’t feel like SEMO stumbled into a win, like it felt last week at Murray State.
And after throwing away a victory against Indiana State in the home opener two weeks ago, for the first time the Redhawks gave the home fans something to feel good about.
“We let one go at home that we shouldn’t have,” Southeast senior linebacker Roper Garrett said. “We knew we had to come together — 10 strong — and finish out the game like we did.”
Last week, talking to players after the win over the Racers felt akin to interviewing someone who just received a sizable inheritance from a beloved family member. Sure, it’s a nice haul, but is that really the way you want to get it?
This time around the celebration was untethered.
“If you’d saw that locker room [tonight], you’d think we just won the Super Bowl,” Matukewicz said.
The current senior class predates the head coach’s arrival, but they were on the same page in placing this result with any the team has put together — senior safety Eriq Moore pointed to not only a top-25 win, but also one against an Ohio Valley Conference foe at home. And against an opponent that’s had SEMO’s number for a while, winning the last four straight meetings and leading the all-time series 17-7.
Gallery photos
Certainly, it’s a chance to make inroads in the local community. A good crowd walked out of the home opener with a bad taste in its mouth. A second home loss — especially if it involved a late blown lead — would have undoubtedly chipped away at fan interest.
Instead, Southeast Missouri State football walks away with something to hang its hat on and the ability to generate a little buzz.
Matukewicz, though, said that isn’t a priority in his mind. Long term, this program needs to grow fan interest — something intrinsically linked to on-field success — but the head coach is focused on a more exclusive group.
“I love our community and I’d do anything for them,” Matukewicz said, “but I don’t care. I wanted this for our players. When they look at you and say ‘Coach, why aren’t we winning?’ it’s tough. I wanted them to feel it. The fans have been supportive, but it ain’t about them.”
Now it’s about what the program does with that brick. Is it helping build a stairway to another level? Or is it simply holding up the ceiling?