(STATS) – Southeast Missouri hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2010, but no team in the Ohio Valley Conference has played four-time defending champion Jacksonville State tougher in the last few seasons.
Two years ago, the Redhawks lost by only seven points to the OVC power – closer than any team. Last year, they trailed by only six with under four minutes remaining.
On Saturday, those jabs turned into a knockout punch as the STATS FCS Team of the Week trampled fifth-ranked Jacksonville State 37-14 to end the Gamecocks’ OVC-record 36-game conference winning streak. It also was the second-longest conference streak in FCS history.
“We were right with what we thought we had to do to win this game and executed on both sides of the football,” Southeast Missouri coach Tom Matukewicz said. “Offensively, we had to keep hammering and got our run game going. We had some huge game-breaker type plays and our quarterback (Daniel Santacaterina) played smart. It was a huge team win for our program.”
The game was tied 7-7 in the second quarter when Jacksonville State (5-2, 4-1) attempted a short go-ahead field goal. Redbirds linebacker Zach Hall blocked the kick and Bydarrius Knighten scooped up the ball and returned it 85 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 5:09 remaining.
Hall then tackled a ball carrier in the JSU end zone to produce a safety and give Southeast Missouri a 16-7 halftime lead. The OVC’s leading tackler finished with a game-high 15 stops.
After Southeast Missouri recovered a JSU fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the second half – one of their five takeaways – Santacaterina threw his second touchdown pass two plays later and the Redhawks (5-2, 3-1) had full control of the game.
The victory was their seventh all-time over a ranked opponent, and the fourth in Matukewicz’s six seasons. Jacksonville State had won 10 in a row and 15 of the previous 16 meetings with the Redhawks.
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