Bricklayers: SEMO upsets No. 8 Tennessee-Martin in season finale

It's appropriate that Southeast Missouri State earned a commemorative brick following its 31-14 upset of eighth-ranked Tennessee-Martin.

The Skyhawks – crowned Ohio Valley Conference champions a week ago — appeared to hit a brick wall on Saturday at Houck Field

The Redhawks (4-7, 4-2 OVC) concluded their roller coaster campaign by stifling a Tennessee-Martin  (9-1, 5-1) program playing for a potential first-round bye in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs

SEMO, which is awarded a brick each time it beats a ranked opponent, gave its senior class a triumphant ending.

It also created offseason momentum for junior quarterback C.J. Ogbonna.

The Hutchinson Community College transfer shook off two early interceptions to complete14 of 25 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns.

Ogbonna was also dangerous with his feet, rushing for 75 yards including a 23-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

"This season didn't go the way we wanted because we didn't win an OVC championship,"said Ogbonna, who had two scoring connections with receiver Terrell Jester and another with tight end Will Weidemann. "But it still feels good to finish 4-2 in the league, beat a top 10 team and take confidence into the offseason."

With All-American running back Geno Hess sidelined following SEMO's 28-10 loss at Murray State last week, Ogbonna needed to help make up for the loss in the running.So did second-string running back Shamenski Rucker, who account for 110 yards on 28 carries.

The Redhawks' defense gave Ogbonna and company several opportunities.

SEMO shook off a 14-7 first-quarter deficit, shutting down a  shorthanded UT-Martin offense the remainder of the contest.

The Skyhawks, who downed SEMO 38-30 in Tennessee earlier this season, were a much different team without the services of quarterback Keon Howard.

Howard, a Tulane transfer who has helped spearhead the Skyhawks' first OVC title run since 2006, was sidelined with injury, forcing a pair of inexperienced back-ups to face a senior-stacked Redhawks defense wanting to end their careers on memorable note.

Tennessee-Martin quarterbacks Dresser Winn and Stewart Howell combined to complete 12 of 27 passes for 113 yards for an offense that totaled just 278 yards.

SEMO defensive back and returner Shabari Davis — a senior who also saw time at wide receiver Saturday and threw a reverse pass — had an interception.

Tennessee-Martin head coach Jason Simpson didn't use his team's key injuries as an excuse.

"We knew we were going to have to make some adjustments at the quarterback spot, the left guard spot, the tight end spot and then we had some guys go down in the game," Simpson said.  "So definitely, that is a lot of adjustments and it's tough on the kids. There are a lot of things that we could control. We had opportunities to go make some plays in the pass game and we didn't do that and then our zone coverage didn't do a very good job."

Other than Skyhawks running back Zak Wallace's 75-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, SEMO didn't yield much

SEMO senior linebackers Brandon Mincey and Omardrick Douglas played an inspired, hard-hitting brand of football in their final collegiate game. So did senior defensive lineman Bryson Donnell and others.

Mincey had a team-high seven tackles and a sack. Douglas had six tackles,a sack and forced a fumble and Donnell had six tackles and 1 1/2 tackles for a loss.

"I love the way our defense played," SEMO coach Tom Matukewicz said. "We gave them 14 points, to be honest. One long touchdown run and a penalty that set up another touchdown."

If SEMO won at Murray State last week, the Redhawks could have forced a share of the OVC title with Tennessee-Martin and earned an automatic berth to the playoffs for being the Skyhawks head to head.

But SEMO, which secured its fourth-straight winning season in OVC play, still played like a title was on the line.

A rash of key injuries, inexperience, brutal nonconference slate and overall inconsistency — SEMO didn't experience back-to-back wins this season — factored into the Redhawks' overall losing record.

They were still in the OVC title contention.

"(The seniors) really wanted to walk out of here winners,so a top-10 win is unbelievable" Matukewicz said. "And that's a program-building thing, because we're always recruiting against Martin, almost half our kids. So this was a huge win and a great finish."

Tennessee-Martin will learn its FCS playoff opponent during Sunday's selection show.  SEMO and Austin Peay — tied for second in the preseason OVC poll released in August — tied for second with 4-2 OVC records.