Southeast Missouri State football bids farewell to 28 seniors in season finale against Tennessee State

Southeast Missouri State inside linebackers Roper Garrett (43) and Terrance Hill are two of 28 seniors who will take part in Senior Day against Tennessee State on Saturday at Houck Stadium.

Fred Lynch

Time is elusive for inside linebacker Roper Garrett and his fellow senior teammates.

Garrett was a redshirt freshman in 2013 when he first took the field for the Southeast Missouri State football team. Four years later, he'll be doing that for the 43rd and final time of his career, as the Redhawks conclude their season and celebrate Senior Day against Tennessee State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Houck Stadium.

"It's crazy how time flies," Garrett said following Wednesday's practice at Houck. "It's great to be out here with all these guys.

"These last few days with all these seniors have been really great moments, and we're all just trying to make the most of it."

Garrett headlines a long list of 28 Redhawks who will play their final college game on Saturday. Southeast coach Tom Matukewicz believes it's important for those seniors to end their careers on a high note.

Southeast Missouri State coach Tom Matukewicz encourages his players during the first quarter against Jacksonville State on Nov. 5 at Houck Stadium.

Fred Lynch

"I think every competitor remembers their last game. A lot of these guys, it'll be their last game. I'm glad that it's at Houck, and I'm glad it's Senior Day," Matukewicz said. "Hopefully they play with that kind of energy. I know our underclassmen are really looking forward to playing hard for them."

It's been a muddled season for Southeast (3-7, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference), which started conference play with a pair of wins but has gone 1-4 since then. In order to get his players prepared for their final game of the year, Matukewicz said he's stressing the importance of having love for one another and the game they play.

"Our record is what it is, but we're still really blessed. And we should put a smile on our face and go and enjoy this last week of the season. That's kind of been my message," Matukewicz said. "... If you didn't know what our record was, I don't know that you could tell it from watching practice."

Offense has been the Redhawks' biggest cause for concern this season. They rank last in the league in scoring offense, averaging 19.8 points per game.

Over the last two weeks, Southeast went up against two of the conference's top defenses but came away with only 10 points in consecutive losses -- the Redhawks dropped a 17-10 decision against No. 2 Jacksonville State on homecoming before falling to host UT Martin 24-10 last week. Both of those teams meet this week with the OVC title on the line.

"We can't blame the defenses we've been playing. We've got to rise up, so I'm really looking forward to watching this offense this weekend," Matukewicz said. "Everybody's wanting to talk about this and that, but at the end of the day, everybody's got a job to do. If your job's to catch the ball, catch it. If your job's to block somebody, block somebody. If your job's to throw it, throw it.

"We've just got to make sure we get on track and have a little success going into the offseason so we just feel a little better."

A Southeast win on Saturday will end a five-year span of finishing below .500 in OVC play. Moreso, players like junior wide receiver Tyler McLemore want to see their senior teammates go "out with a bang."

"That's really been the focus of this week," McLemore said. "Everybody wants to go out a winner, so that's what we're going to try to do -- do our best to put the best game plan together and come out here Saturday and do all we can do to send those guys home a winner."

TSU (6-4, 3-3 OVC) boasts an offense more than capable of exploding at any given moment. The Tigers have scored half of their touchdowns on plays of 25 yards or more, according to Matukewicz, and they lead the league with 6.6 yards per play.

"They don't necessarily methodically move the ball," Matukewicz said. "They just rely on the big play, and so defensively we've got to keep the ball in front of us and tackle well. Missed tackles can obviously lead to those explosive plays."

TSU has the second-best scoring offense in the OVC, averaging 32.3 ppg. The Tigers' offense is averaging 409.1 total yards per game, which ranks third in the conference, and is led by senior quarterback Ronald Butler, who's averaging 185.3 passing ypg.

"They're very dynamic," said Garrett, who leads the Redhawks with 79 tackles on the season. "We know they're a big-play team, so one of our focuses this week has been to stop the big play and make them drive it."

Redhawks junior QB Jesse Hosket is 169-of-331 passing (51 percent) on the season with 11 TDs and six interceptions, including two last week at UTM. He's thrown for 2,203 yards and is third in the OVC with 229.9 passing ypg.

Hosket's top target has been redshirt freshman wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson, who's hauled in 32 catches for 692 yards and four TDs. Wilkerson's 21.6 yards per catch is second in the nation in the Football Championship Subdivision. Sophomore tight end Marquette Murdock is doubtful for Southeast after sustaining a high-ankle sprain in last week's loss.

Senior running back Will Young leads the Redhawks on the ground with 74.9 rushing yards per game. He's carried the ball 143 times for 749 yards and four TDs. Senior Tremane McCullough has three touchdowns for Southeast and has rushed for 346 of his 770 yards from scrimmage.

"It's just one block here or one dropped ball here or one missed assignment here from really breaking through," McLemore said about SEMO's offense. "We've just got to really go in there and detail the film out on ourselves."

Junior outside linebackers Chad Meredith and Kendall Donnerson each have four sacks to pace the Redhawks' defense. Meredith has 76 tackles, including 9 1/2 for loss, while Donnerson's 12 1/2 TFLs is second in the conference.

Garrett has a team-leading two interceptions, while senior safety Ryan Moore leads the Redhawks' defensive backs with 54 stops.

Southeast ranks third in the OVC in scoring defense, allowing 23.6 ppg, and is third against the run (132.7 rushing ypg).

Garrett and his fellow seniors face a challenge in trying to remain focused ahead of Saturday's game. He believes the team still has plenty to prove.

"Every senior here and also myself is going to try to leave it all out on the field," Garrett said. "You want to end on playing your best game, and that's what we're going to try to do. I hope that each senior can do that."

Series history

Tennessee State leads 12-11

Last meeting

Southeast won 28-21 on Oct. 4, 2014, in Cape Girardeau

By the numbers

7 -- The number of years it’s been since the Redhawks have ended their season with a victory. Southeast last concluded its season with a win on Nov. 22, 2008, when it knocked off host Austin Peay in a 33-30 decision. The Redhawks ended their season with a 49-30 loss at home against Jacksonville State in 2014 and were upended by visiting UT Martin last season in a 28-25 decision.

295 -- The number of rushing yards the Tigers allowed in last week’s loss to visiting TTU. TSU was gouged for three rushing touchdowns and allowed the Golden Eagles to generate 7.4 yards per carry. The Tigers are giving up an average of 183.7 rushing yards per game, which ranks sixth in the conference.

44 -- The average yards per punt from Southeast senior punter Alex Knight, who leads the conference and is sixth in the nation in that category. Knight has punted 58 times for 2,554 yards and has had 12 punts of 50 or more yards. He’s third all-time in career punting yards with 8,849.

Stat leaders

Tennessee State

Passing: Ronald Butler 1,853 yards

Receiving: Patrick Smith 800 yards, Steven Newbold 738 yards, Chris Rowland 236 yards

Rushing: Erick Evans 597 yards, Butler 468 yards, Earl Harrison 307 yards

Tackles: Chris Collins 77, Laquarius Cook 66, Ebo Ogundeko 47

Southeast

Passing: Jesse Hosket 2,203 yards

Receiving: Kristian Wilkerson 692 yards, Tremane McCullough 424 yards, Adrian Davis 365 yards

Rushing: Will Young 749 yards, McCullough 346 yards, Cameron Sanders 151 yards

Tackles: Roper Garrett 79, Chad Meredith 76, Ryan Moore 54

Tennessee State coach Rod Reed

Sam Jordan ~ TSU Athletics

Opposing coach's view:

“We’ve got to figure some things out and go on the road and play a physical Southeast Missouri football team. We can’t let injuries dictate how we play. We played with four or five freshmen on defense last week, and it kind of looked like it. But our guys are very resilient.”

-- Rod Reed, Tennessee State coach

Scouting the opponent

Tennessee State quarterback Ronald Butler has thrown for 1,853 yards this season with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Sam Jordan ~ TSU Athletics

The Tigers began conference play with a 34-30 win against visiting UT Martin, a victory that capped a four-game winning streak to start the season. They're coming off a 44-16 home loss against Tennessee Tech after scratching out a 41-40 win over Austin Peay a week prior.

Led by seventh-year coach Rod Reed, TSU runs a traditional pro-style offense that's balanced in attack.

Butler has completed 130 of 220 passes (59 percent) and has thrown for 1,853 yards with 17 TDs and eight interceptions. He's also rushed for 468 yards with six touchdowns. The 6-foot-3 signal caller has been the spark in TSU's big-play offense, accounting for both of the team's longest plays of the season -- an 84-yard TD run against APSU and a 93-yard TD pass versus Vanderbilt.

TSU redshirt junior Patrick Smith ranks third in the OVC with 80 receiving ypg. He's caught 50 passes for 800 yards and is tied for the league-high with 11 TD receptions. Freshman Steven Newbold has also been one of Butler's favorite targets, with 38 receptions for 738 yards and six TDs.

Redshirt junior RB Erick Evans leads the Tigers on the ground with 127 rushes for 597 yards and four touchdowns. Earl Harrison, a freshman, is also in the mix at running back with 307 rushing yards and a pair of TDs.

The Tigers are third in the league with 12 interceptions on the year. Redshirt senior Ezra Robinson leads the way with four of those picks and has a team-high eight pass breakups.

Junior LB Chris Collins leads TSU with 77 tackles (8 1/2 for loss), while redshirt junior defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko has a team-high 10 TFLs and 5 1/2 sacks. Laquarius Cook has 66 tackles for the Tigers, who run a four-man front.

TSU is tied with Murray State for second in the conference with a plus-6 turnover margin.

OVC schedule

Saturday

* Eastern Illinois at Eastern Kentucky, 1 p.m.

* UT Martin at #2 Jacksonville State, 1 p.m.

The OVC Championship is on the line when these two programs meet on Saturday. JSU has clinched at least a share of the their third straight conference title, while UTM can earn a share of its second championship and an automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs with a win.

The Gamecocks have won the last three meetings, including a 48-41 victory last season in which both teams combined for 1,052 yards of total offense. JSU leads the all-time series 30-7 and has won 23 straight conference games.

The Skyhawks have the OVC’s top scoring offense, averaging 34.5 points per game. They rank third in the nation with 26 forced turnovers and are coming off a 24-10 win over Southeast last weekend. UTM has won five conference games in a row after falling to TSU on Oct. 1.

* Murray State at Tennessee Tech, 1:30 p.m.

* Austin Peay at Kentucky, 3:30 p.m.

OVC standings