Gameday blog: Austin Peay at Southeast Missouri State football

The Southeast Missouri State football team pulled off another late-game win with Marquis Terry scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run with 15 seconds left.

Thanks to that late touchdown, SEMO beat visiting Austin Peay 31-27 on homecoming at Houck Field.

Terry's touchdown capped off a crazy fourth quarter that had five lead changes.

With the win, SEMO improved to 4-2 and 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Austin Peay dropped to 3-4 and 1-3 in the OVC.

Holding a 13-3 halftime lead, Austin Peay appeared to score on the opening drive of the second half. But an offensive pass interference took away the score and eventually resulted in a turnover on downs.

SEMO responded with its first touchdown drive of the game, converting four third or fourth downs along the way.

The biggest one was a 15-yard Zack Smith run on fourth-and-8 as Smith avoided an APSU tackler in the backfield on the reverse.

The drive was capped off by a 15-yard Daniel Santacaterina touchdown pass to Kristian Wilkerson on third-and-10. That pulled SEMO within 13-10.

The Redhawks took their lead on their next drive, going 96 yards in eight plays. Santacaterina capped off the drive with a 19-yard TD pass over the middle to a wide-open Austin Crump.

SEMO's lead didn't last long. Austin Peay scored on the next drive. After an incomplete pass on third down, a roughing the passer penalty gave APSU a first down and the ball at the SEMO 10.

Two plays later, Tre Nation scored on a 6-yard run to give APSU a 20-17 lead with 8 minutes, 53 seconds left.

It took SEMO just over a minute to respond. Santacaterina found Smith for a 30-yard TD and a 24-20 lead.

The fourth-quarter scoring explosion continued with Austin Peay retaking the lead. On fourth-and-4 from the SEMO 17, APSU quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall found DeAngelo Wilson for a 17-yard TD pass in the left corner of the end zone with 3:41 left.

It was the second touchdown grab for Wilson on the day.

There was enough time for more SEMO heroics as the Redhawks converted a fourth-and-14 on a 37-yard pass from Santacaterina to Jerrick Orr.

Then on third-and-goal, Terry scored out of the Wildcat formation.

It was the second time this season SEMO has scored a touchdown in the last seconds to grab a win. The Redhawks beat Southern Illinois 48-44 over a month ago on a last-second TD pass from Santacaterina to Austin Crump.

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Austin Peay scored a touchdown on its first and last drive of the first half to take a 13-3 halftime lead over the Southeast Missouri State football team.

After forcing SEMO to punt on the opening possession, APSU drove 78 yards in four plays. A 34-yard pass from Jeremiah Oatsvall to DJ Montgomery set up a 13-yard Kentel Williams touchdown run. SEMO blocked the extra-point attempt.

Zack Smith returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to set up a 35-yard Nicholas Litang field goal to halve the deficit to 6-3.

That was all the points SEMO could muster in the first half as Litang missed 46 and 36-yard field goals in the second quarter.

SEMO had 177 yards of offense in the first half, compared to Austin Peay's 249.

The Redhawks had a chance to tie or take the lead late in the second quarter when an Octavius McClatchey interception coupled with a personal foul penalty set them up at the Austin Peay 23-yard line. They gained four yards in three plays and Litang missed the 36-yard kick.

Austin Peay responded a 7-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. With 18 seconds left in the half, Oatsvall found DeAngelo Wilson in the end zone for a 23-yard TD pass. The extra-point attempt gave Austin Peay a double-digit lead at halftime.

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The Southeast Missouri State football returns home for a matchup against Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay.

It's been five weeks since SEMO has played at home. Then, the Redhawks were coming off a season-opening loss and beat Dayton 40-21.

Now, SEMO is 3-2 and 1-1 in the OVC and enters after setting a record for points scored against a Division I opponent in a 70-38 win over Tennessee Tech last week.

Austin Peay beat Tennessee State 49-34 last week.

Read more about the game in the preview story here.

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