By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – No. 8 ranked University of Tennessee at Martin football team saw its record setting nine-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon as it fell to Southeast Missouri 31-14 in the Ohio Valley Conference finale at Houck Stadium.
The Skyhawks conclude the regular season with an overall record of 9-2 while the league champions finish the conference schedule with a 5-1 mark. UT Martin now shifts its focus to the 2021 NCAA Division I Football Championship with the postseason bracket being announced on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 11:30 a.m. live on ESPNU.
Fans are invited to join the team for a watch party that will begin at 11 a.m. in the Russell Duncan Ballroom, located on the second floor of the Boling University Center. Light refreshments will be served while 2021 OVC Championship t-shirts will also be available to purchase.
UT Martin struggled to find much continuity in the contest on either side of the ball with the offense accumulating a season-low 278 yards of total offense while the defense – despite forcing two turnovers – allowed its most yards to a conference opponent this season with 412. Southeast Missouri dominated the time of possession while UT Martin was able to convert just 2-of-13 third-down conversion attempts as opposed to the home squad going 9-of-17 on the afternoon.
“Bottom line is SEMO played better than we did and that is disappointing,” UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. “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. 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 holding them to 9-of-17 on third downs. All of us have to take a share of how we played today. It’s disappointing but I am excited for tomorrow and for these kids to see their name up on that selection show.”
Hampered by various injuries, the Skyhawk entered the game down key starters at quarterback, wide receiver and on the offensive line while losing another defensive starter in the final regular season contest. UT Martin managed to rush for 165 yards while passing for 113 on just 57 offensive plays. Freshman quarterback Stewart Howell started for the Skyhawks, completing 3-of-6 pass attempts for 45 yards while getting sacked twice. Veteran Dresser Winn came in relief, completing 9-of-21 attempts for 68 yards while rushing for a touchdown.
Running back Zak Wallace made the most of his five carries by rushing for 112 yards and a touchdown. Wallace’s touchdown run came on a 75-yard scamper on the team’s opening drive of the second quarter and set a new team single-season rushing touchdown record – surpassing the program’s previous mark of 28 set in 2007. In combination with Winn’s later 10-yard scamper, the Skyhawks moved their season total up to 30.
On the defensive end, veterans Deven Sims and John Ford made their presence known throughout the contest by tallying a game-high 11 tackles each in the contest. Sims rounded out his day with 2.0 tackles for loss – including a nine-yard sack. Senior cornerback Shawn Shamburger set a new Skyhawk-high with eight tackles in the contest while notching a pair of pass breakups. Other contributors in the secondary were the pair of Oshae Baker and Jay Woods who both tallied interceptions in the contest.
Neither team found the endzone in the first quarter but Southeast Missouri started to find its rhythm on its third drive of the game. With the drive spilling over into the second and inside the redzone, the Redhawks got on the board two plays later on a one-yard touchdown from CJ Ogbonna to Will Weidemann.
The lead would be short-lived however as the Skyhawks immediately answered on their following possession. After a quick quarterback keeper by Howell on first down, he handed it off to Wallace who ripped it down the right sideline and sprinted 75 yards into the endzone to tie the game at 7-7.
The score remained the same until late in the first half following a quarterback change by the Skyhawks. Three consecutive costly 15 yards penalties by SEMO gave UT Martin prime scoring position as the clock clicked under two minutes. A fourth penalty by the Redhawks moved the ball down to the 10 yard-line for the Skyhawks where Winn kept it himself and swept across the left side and into the endzone to put the visitors on top 14-7 with 1:47 to play in the half.
Despite little time on the clock, Southeast Missouri did not go quietly into the half. The Redhawks quickly went into their two-minute offense and used an 11-play drive to go 75 yards resulting in another touchdown from Ogbonna to Terrell Jester to knot the game at 14-all heading into the halftime break.
The second half would be controlled by the Redhawks as they broke the game’s tie on their first drive of the third quarter and never looked back. A pair of big 19-yard rushes by Shamenski Rucker were key on the drive before Ogbonna and Jester’s second touchdown connection of the game put SEMO on top for good.
The Redhawks put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 23-yard rushing touchdown by Ogbonna to make it a two-touchdown margin before Kenny Doak’s 18-yard field goal with 6:08 to play marked the contest’s final points.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information