Southeast Missouri State football team falls to UT Martin on the road

Southeast Missouri State's Will Young is brought down by a host of UT Martin players during Saturday's game in Martin, Tennessee. The Skyhawks won 24-10.

Raffe Lazarian ~ UT Martin University Relations

MARTIN, Tenn. -- When the game clock hit double zeros for the Southeast Missouri State football team on Saturday afternoon, a 24-10 loss to UT Martin turned ugly.

A fight broke out on the field following the game at Graham Stadium and spilled over into the Skyhawks' bench area in front of the home fans. Seconds earlier, the Skyhawks had taken a knee, and with no need to run another play, both teams gathered on the field for their normal handshakes, daps and hugs.

In the middle of that mass of people, the fight began between members of the two teams. It lasted around a minute before the two teams were separated.

In his postgame press conference, UTM coach Jason Simpson blamed the Redhawks for the melee.

"Several of my coaches and my trainers giving me eye witness, testifying of how that thing started," Simpson said. "I'm very disappointed one of our kids was hit right in the face at the end of the game, and that's how that started."

Southeast Missouri State's Josh Wilson brings down UT Martin's Jaimiee Bowe during Saturday's game in Martin, Tennessee.

Raffe Lazarian ~ UT Martin University Relations

Simpson's account couldn't be corroborated. Officials had already left the field, and no players were disciplined immediately. Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz said he didn't talk to the referees or Simpson. He just got his players off the field.

"When you trash talk, suddenly you get heated and lose your mind," Matukewicz said. "I'm sure everybody will blame everybody, but I don't think there's anybody blameless.

"It was kind of an ugly ending to an ugly game."

Southeast players were not made available to the media following the game.

The Redhawks' defense held the Ohio Valley Conference's top-ranked scoring offense, which entered averaging 35.6 points per game, to 24 points. But the Redhawks dropped to 3-7 and 3-4 in the conference, as they couldn't pull off the road upset against the league's second-place team.

The Skyhawks entered halftime with a 10-7 advantage and scored the first 14 points of the second half. With a 24-7 lead with 13 minutes, 36 seconds remaining, UTM (7-4, 6-1) held on for the win.

"Our inability to score points, and then they big-played us -- I think three big plays in the second half on our defense," Matukewicz said. "For the most part played well. It was just the explosive plays they were able to get on us."

A 43-yard pass led to the first touchdown of the second half, a 13-yard run by sophomore Jaimiee Bowe, and the Skyhawks' last TD was a 56-yard pass from Troy Cook to Londell Lee.

Southeast Missouri State’s JJ Flye tackles UT Martin’s Londell Lee during Saturday’s game in Martin, Tennessee.

Raffe Lazarian ~ UT Martin University Relations

Cook finished 17-of-33 passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Lee had a team-high 113 yards on four catches.

For most of the afternoon, the Redhawks' offense was styimed by the Skyhawks, who entered second in the conference in total defense. More than one-third of SEMO's 331 offensive yards -- 140 to be exact -- came on the two scoring drives.

Southeast quarterback Jesse Hosket was often under duress -- the Skyhawks had 11 quarterback hurries and three sacks. He completed 13 of 38 passes for 203 yards with two interceptions.

Tremane McCullough led Southeast with 69 yards rushing on eight carries (8.6 yards per attempt) but had two fumbles. Neither was lost, as the Redhawks salvaged each of their three fumbles.

"Their defense is certainly pretty good, but our offense has got to play better. And that's the bottom line," Matukewicz said.

Southeast received the opening kickoff but promptly went three-and-out, one of four such series on the day. After UTM punted and Southeast turned it over on downs inside opposing territory, the hosts got on the board with a 33-yard field goal.

SEMO's offense continued to struggle, moving the chains only once in the first period, before it briefly came alive midway through the second quarter. The Redhawks, who had 27 yards on their first four drives, put together a 58-yard TD drive. Will Young carried the load with five carries for 29 yards on the drive, while Kristian Wilkerson made an impressive one-handed grab over the middle for 28 yards. Hosket capped off the drive with a 1-yard sneak into the end zone, giving the visitors a 7-3 lead.

The Redhawks didn't get into the red zone again until midway through the fourth quarter.

Southeast Missouri State’s Eriq Moore, left and Chad Meredith, right, tackle UT Martin’s Ladevin Fair during Saturday’s game in Martin, Tennessee.

Raffe Lazarian ~ UT Martin University Relations

"We were able to get our run game going and able to get an explosive pass play," Matukewicz said about the TD drive. "It was just kind of clicking where everything else was kind of tough."

The advantage was short-lived. The Skyhawks needed just 2:29 to score a TD on their next possession. Cook's 14-yard TD pass to Caylon Weathers gave the hosts a 10-7 lead they never relinquished.

After the touchdown, the Redhawks' two-minute offense momentarily clicked as they drove down to the opposing 25. But two straight false start penalties and an incompletion set up a 52-yard field goal attempt. Senior Ryan McCrum had the leg but missed wide right.

The offensive struggles continued in the third period. UTM cashed in on Hosket's first pick after a 43-yard pass from Cook to Ben Axline positioned the Skyhawks at the opposing 13. Two plays later, Bowe scored. The sophomore had 13 carries for a game-high 73 yards.

"Defense was in a lot of difficult situations, but I think that defensive unit in there is still disappointed," Matukewicz said. "If we've got to hold them to nine, then that's what we have to hold them to and certainly could have played better on some of the longer plays that broke down."

The Skyhawks' next touchdown was controversial. With around 14 minutes left in the contest, the Skyhawks faced third-and-7 from their own 44-yard line. They made late substitutions, and Southeast countered with its own personnel package. The officials didn't step over the ball to prevent the hosts from snapping, and confusion in the secondary allowed Lee to slip behind the defense for a long touchdown catch.

"Normally they'll step over the ball," Matukewicz said. "If they change, we should have a right to change, and [the official] said he didn't see us sending guys in. So he sent them away from the ball. We'll see on the film, but it certainly felt like they should have stopped and let us sub."

A McCrum 20-yard field goal drew Southeast within 14 with 5:15 left. Wilkerson helped set up the field goal with a 55-yard catch along the right sideline. The redshirt freshman finished with four catches for a game-high 131 yards.

But Southeast couldn't break through for a touchdown after the long catch, and minutes later, the loss was sealed when a heave from Hosket fell into the arms of UTM safety Kahlid Hagens with 35 seconds remaining. The redshirt junior had both interceptions for the Skyhawks.

The action wasn't over, though, as the brawl broke out on the field moments after the contest finished to conclude a frustrating evening for the Redhawks. After the game, Simpson said he didn't know what the OVC was going to hand down. Matukewicz is in the same boat, as the Redhawks close out the season at home against Tennessee State.

"That's disappointing something like that has to happen to spoil two good teams playing, but I'm going to tell you this -- their head coach is a classy guy," Simpson said. "I have all the respect in the world for Tuke and how he runs his program, so I'm looking forward to talking to him about that this week, telling him what our trainers and other coaches were witnessed to."

Noteworthy

* Starting tight end Marquette Murdock suffered a high-ankle sprain on SEMO's second-quarter touchdown drive. He didn't return, and Matukewicz said the sophomore is questionable for next week. He did not have a catch Saturday and has eight receptions on the season for 146 yards and a touchdown.

* Starting right tackle Alex Synder was injured in the second half but returned after missing a few plays.