Southeast Missouri State football team continues OVC play on the road at Eastern Kentucky

Southeast Missouri State outside linebacker Kendall Donnerson, center, and inside linebackers Terrance Hill, left, and Roper Garrett take part in practice on Tuesday at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

Trent Singer

Southeast Missouri State football coach Tom Matukewicz and his staff had some questions about potential complacency following last week's 21-14 win over then-No. 13 Eastern Illinois.

It didn't take long for those questions to be put to rest.

Matukewicz was pleased to see his players focused during their first practice of the week Tuesday heading into another crucial Ohio Valley Conference matchup against Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m. Saturday at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky.

"It just really felt like we were hungry today. We wanted more," Matukewicz said. "There was good energy. I thought there was good focus. We'll see what the tape looked like, but I liked today's effort."

Southeast (2-3, 2-0 OVC) is riding its first winning streak of the season and will look to extend it to three games against EKU (1-3, 0-1 OVC), which dropped a 33-30 decision in overtime in its conference opener last week at Tennessee Tech.

Southeast Missouri State coach Tom Matukewicz reacts to a third-down stop by his players against Eastern Illinois during the third quarter Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 at Houck Stadium.

Fred Lynch

The Colonels scored a touchdown to tie the game late in regulation but were unable to find the end zone in overtime, as the Golden Eagles won in walk-off fashion. EKU racked up 559 yards of total offense, including 464 through the air.

"They're probably one of the most high-powered offenses we're going to see," Matukewicz said about the Colonels. "They really did a lot of good things versus Tennessee Tech throwing the football, and they had a couple really big runs. Defensively, we've got our work cut out for us.

"The thing I'm going to talk a lot about this week is tackling. We had 12 missed tackles against Eastern Illinois, and they were good players -- that comes down to it. But we've got to tackle better because we can't give up big plays against this team."

Averaging 408.3 total yards and 30.8 points per game, the Colonels are generating the second-most yards and are the third-highest scoring team in the OVC. EKU ranks second in the conference in passing offense with 268.8 yards per game and is fourth in rushing offense with 139.5 yards per game.

"For us, it's the tempo. We've got to handle it well," senior defensive tackle Josh Wilson said about EKU. "We've got to make big plays happen, stop them in the backfield and stop the pass if we can."

SEMO's defense is giving up 24.4 points per game but has allowed an average of 11.5 points per game in its two OVC wins. The Redhawks rank third in scoring defense and are fifth in total yards allowed (385.2 yards per game).

Junior outside linebacker Chad Meredith finished with a game-high 12 tackles for Southeast in last week's win over the Panthers. The 6-foot-5 edge rusher also batted down a pass on third-and-16 late in the fourth quarter en route to earning OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Meredith is now second on the team in total tackles, while senior inside linebacker Roper Garrett leads the Redhawks with 40 tackles on the year. Opposite of Meredith, junior OLB Kendall Donnerson has a team-high 8 1/2 tackles for loss and is tied for the league lead in that category.

Offensively, the Redhawks receieved another efficient outing from junior quarterback Jesse Hosket. The 6-4 signal caller threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, finishing with 223 yards on 12-of-20 (60 percent) passing. The performance was good enough to earn OVC Newcomer of the Week honors for Hosket, who transferred from East Central Community College.

The Redhawks will face an EKU defense that's yielding 413 yards per game, which ranks seventh in the OVC, and is allowing opposing offenses to score 33.3 points per game, which ranks eighth in the conference. However, the Colonels been able to generate plays on defense with 12 sacks and five interceptions on the year.

"They're giving up some yardage, but they've been very good at negative-yardage plays with the sacks," Matukewicz said. "They've been ball hawks, but they've also created some turnovers. They weren't just gifts. They do a good job.

"I think it all starts up front. If we can't handle their four D-linemen, we're going to be in trouble. We've faced some good fronts. Our O-line's got to bring it, or we're going to be in trouble."

Southeast is ranked second-to-last in the OVC in both scoring offense (20.2 points per game) and total offense (350 yards per game). Redhawks senior Tremane McCullough has 423 yards from scrimmage, while junior wide receiver Adrian Davis leads the team in receiving with 15 catches for 283 yards. Senior running back Will Young has a team-leading 315 yards on 78 carries.

Of the 101 points Southeast has scored this season, only nine have come in the second quarter.

"We've basically got to keep putting our foot on the gas," Davis said. "We've got to make big plays in the first quarter instead of waiting until the third quarter when we're down."

Saturday's game marks the 27th all-time meeting between the two programs. Southeast has won only three games in the series and has lost 11 of the last 12 meetings.

Matukewicz believes it's another big opportunity for his team to gain some momentum as conference play continues.

"They have 20 titles, one national title. They are the class of this conference," he said. "The reality is they've gotten us, so this is huge. My message is, 'Don't be like a fan. Don't assume anything. Last week has nothing to do with this week. Start over. Focus on the process because this is a big one.'

"To get to 3-0 in the conference and come into the bye week would be great. Obviously if you slip and lose a game, it's not going to be near as good a bye week."

Series history

Eastern Kentucky leads 23-3

Last meeting

Eastern Kentucky won 27-10 on Oct. 17, 2015, in Cape Girardeau

By the numbers

100 -- The number of wins Southeast has at the Division I level following last week’s 21-14 victory over 13th-ranked EIU. The Redhawks are now 100-187 all-time since becoming a Division I program in 1991. They have a .348 winning percentage during that span.

464 -- The number of passing yards Colonels QB Bennie Coney threw for during last week’s loss against the Golden Eagles. Coney broke his own school record in the career performance, finishing 32-of-49 passing with three touchdowns. The redshirt senior had two receivers eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark, as EKU finished with a 559-446 edge in total yardage.

93 -- The total number of yards the Redhawks allowed in the second half of last week’s win over EIU. After giving up a touchdown in the first quarter, the Redhawks held the Panthers’ high-powered offense in check for the remainder of the game and didn’t allow another TD. Southeast yielded a season-low 337 total yards in the victory.

Stat leaders

Eastern Kentucky

Passing: Bennie Coney 623 yards

Receiving: Devin Borders 280 yards, Ryan Markush 255 yards, Dan Crimmins 157 yards

Rushing: Jared Sanders 154 yards, Henry Enyenihi 120 yards, Ethan Thomas: 106 yards

Tackles: Jeffrey Canady 45, Kiante Northington 40, Corey Glass 25

Southeast

Passing: Jesse Hosket 1,076 yards

Receiving: Adrian Davis 283 yards, Tremane McCullough 253 yards, Kristian Wilkerson 215 yards

Rushing: Will Young 315 yards, McCullough 170 yards, Cameron Sanders 89 yards

Tackles: Roper Garrett 40, Chad Meredith 36, Mike Ford 27

Eastern Kentucky coach Mark Elder

EKUSports Communications

Opposing coach's view:

“They’re a very good football team, and the fact that they’ve won the two games that matter most in close fashions, that speaks a lot about what they’re able to do as far as a winning team. A winning team finds a way to win ball games when it comes down to the tail end of the fourth quarter, and so that’s a tribute to them. ... Their quarterback does a very good job of protecting the ball and making very good decisions. Seven touchdowns, one pick — he’s not giving the ball up. They establish the run very well. They do a very good job up front.”

-- Mark Elder, Eastern Kentucky coach

Scouting the opponent

Eastern Kentucky redshirt senior Devin Borders leads the Colonels in receiving this season with 21 receptions for 280 yards and two touchdowns.

EKUSports Communications

After firing eight-year coach Dean Hood, the Colonels appear to be a team in transition under first-year coach Mark Elder, according to Richmond Register sports editor Nathan Hutchinson.

"With a new coaching staff and more than 40 new players on the roster, the team is still searching for consistency and really still trying to put the pieces in place," Hutchinson said. "They have looked good at times and really struggled badly at other times. They've struggled with penalties as well. They just really haven't been able to put together a complete performance yet."

EKU's non-conference slate offered only one victory -- a 55-14 home win over NAIA Pikeville in Week 2. The Colonels opened the season with a 45-24 loss to Purdue and were defeated by Ball State in a 41-14 decision before falling to TTU in overtime last week.

The majority of EKU's ground attack is split between three running backs who have combined for 380 yards on the season. Jared Sanders, a redshirt senior, leads the group with 154 yards, while sophomore Ethan Thomas and senior Henry Enyenihi are also key contributors.

"EKU's running attack hasn't really been all that effective yet," Hutchinson said. "The team's top back, Ethan Thomas, has battled some injuries, and that has hurt the ground attack. Last week against Tennessee Tech, senior Jared Sanders had a 59-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter, but that big gain accounted for more than half of the Colonels' total rushing yards (95 yards)."

Coney finished with 49 pass attempts in the loss at TTU. Through four games, he's thrown for 623 yards on 46-of-76 (61 percent) passing with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Coney has appeared in three games and is listed on the depth chart ahead of Missouri transfer Maty Mauk, who's 21-of-39 passing for 303 yards with one touchdown and one pick in two starts.

Redshirt senior Devin Borders leads the Colonels in receiving with 21 receptions for 280 yards and two TDs. Junior WR Ryan Markush has 255 yards receiving and a pair of touchdowns for EKU, while redshirt senior tight end Dan Crimmins has contributed 157 yards receiving and two TDs.

The Colonels have forced 10 turnovers on the year, which ranks 21st in the Football Championship Subdivision. They combined for six sacks in last week's loss at TTU.

"Senior defensive lineman Avery Pitt is the leader of EKU's 4-3 defense along with senior defensive back Kiante Northington and junior linebacker Jeffrey Canady, who had a career-high 17 tackles last week," Hutchinson said.

Canady leads EKU with 45 tackles on the season, while Northington has 40. Patrick Graffree, a redshirt senior defensive lineman, leads the Colonels with five TFLs.

EKU has more than a dozen Football Bowl Subdivision transfers on its roster but has yet to create the kind of chemistry it takes to be a complete team, according to Hutchinson.

The Colonels continue to seek an opportunity to become an FBS program, but Hutchinson said the current results aren't helping that process.

"The Colonels have not won an OVC title since 2011, and there certainly is more pressure now than ever to win," Hutchinson said. "Elder's hiring brought a new sense of excitement to the program both on campus and in the community. But EKU is 1-3 and 0-1 in the OVC at this point. If the Colonels want to stay in the hunt for a conference title, they need to bounce back from last week's very disappointing loss."

OVC schedule

Saturday

* Tennessee Tech at #3 Jacksonville State, 1 p.m.

* Austin Peay at UT Martin, 2 p.m.

* Tennessee State at #19 Eastern Illinois, 6 p.m.

The Tigers are the lone undefeated team in the OVC and are coming off a 34-30 win last week over UT Martin. TSU kicker Lane Clark connected on the two longest field goals in school history with a 54-yarder and a 57-yarder in last week’s victory. Clark’s 57-yard field goal is currently the longest of any level of NCAA football this season, earning him National Specialist of the Week honors from STATS.

The Panthers are looking to bounce back from last week’s 21-14 loss at Southeast. EIU was No. 13 in both major polls but dropped six spots after last week’s defeat.

It will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs, as EIU has won four straight games in the series and holds a 12-7 series lead. The Panthers knocked off the Tigers 25-22 in overtime last season in Nashville, Tennessee.