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SEMO Football travels to Kennett for social event
KENNETT, Mo. - Grecian Steak House was the meeting center for a Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) football event on Wednesday, July 10.
SEMO’s head football coach Tom Matukewicz wanted an event where he can promote the upcoming season and inform residents in ‘the bootheel’ about Redhawk football. Bud Hilburn, who graduated from Kennett High School and played football at SEMO, agreed to organize the event for his alma mater and former coach.
“Several people in the community helped,” Hilburn said. “We all came together to have a SEMO roadshow night. It was a good turnout.”
Matukewicz and his coaching staff, along with some players from the roster, have been traveling all over Southeast Missouri to promote the team and get the community excited about this upcoming season. According to Matukewicz, Kennett’s social gathering was the most attended he has seen so far.
Hilburn felt pride in his town for showing up and pride for his former university for giving Kennett a reason to show up.
“I didn’t think this many people would come,” Hilburn said. “It’s good to get this many people. It makes me feel better about SEMO athletics. I think it’s a good bright future for them and we are lucky to have a university in the region that cares about the towns in the region. It’s great for the community that we got a major D-IUniversity coming to have an event here.”
For Matukewicz, this regional tour was important for him in forming relationships with every town in SEMO.
He said these events are vital to the future of Redhawk football.
“We are a regional institution,” Matukewicz said, “The Bootheel is a big part of not only SEMO football and athletics, but also the university. So we just wanted to come down and connect and reach out and visit with the folks down here to tell them about the upcoming season we’re excited about.”
The Redhawks return this fall opening up the season against North Alabama, which will be available to watch Aug. 24 on ESPN at 6.pm.
Matukewicz said they will miss some key players, such as Ryan Flournoy who got picked up by the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL draft, but he is excited about the future of the program.
“It’s hard to lose those types of players,” Matukewicz said. “But that tells you what we have in the program. He had a great career and got drafted and he’s a Redhawk for life. That’s probably what I am most proud about. We got a lot of people that are proud to wear the brand.”
Matukewicz said he is grateful for the bootheel and Kennett for their contribution to his program. Along with the boosters who help fundraise and provide for the program, Kennett High School has sent a lot of its best athletes to SEMO.
According to Hilburn, every year since 2013, a Kennett Indian has committed or been on the roster of a Redhawk athletic program. The decade-long streak started with Andy Lack who played baseball at SEMO from 2013-2016.
The new head women’s basketball coach Briley Palmer also tagged along with Matukewicz.
Palmer felt as though it was important for her to visit the region and meet people as she settled into her new home and position at SEMO.
“[Matukewicz] has been a wonderful welcome party for us in Cape,” Palmer said. “I think he knows my stand with the community and things like this matter to me. He had this event planned and he just invited me and my husband along and it was a no-brainer. We know people in Kennett as well and it was great to come back and see them and meet people.”
Palmer was hired in May as the ninth head coach for SEMO women’s basketball. Prior to her position with the Redhawks, Palmer was the head coach at Mineral Area College (MAC) for four years. She had a 77-40 overall record and finished her last season at MAC with a 25-5 record.
Before she began coaching, Palmer also played at MAC and Christian Brothers University in Memphis.
Palmer was also a star Missouri high school athlete. She led the Farmington High School Knights to 24 straight wins, their first ever district title and a final four appearance at the MSHSAA State Tournament.
After SEMO women’s basketball finished with a 9-20 record last winter, Palmer is hoping to turn the program around.
“I want to build it from the ground up,” Palmer said. “Starting with the building blocks of our university’s foundation, which is culture and character, and then go from there and it starts with recruiting. We didn’t have much time to recruit this year, but we liked what we came up with and I’m excited to see how that turned out. I know it’s the honeymoon phase, but I think we’re all gonna make it special.”