“Everything’s still in front of us” SEMO football prepares for Central Arkansas following bye week

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Even after a 1-3 start and heartbreaking losses to Southern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky in the last two games before the bye week, Southeast Missouri State quarterback Paxton DeLaurent said the team is still locked in and has its eyes set on the end goal of winning a championship come season’s end. 

“Everything’s still in front of us,” he said. “Some teams when you’re 1-3, your season might be over already, and we have everything that we talked about still in front of us, but it’s going to take a lot. We’ve got to be perfect. We’ve got to execute from here on out, and we’ve got to play with great effort, and I think this team really cares about each other.” 

This Saturday’s game at Central Arkansas kicks off a string of five road games in seven weeks. Both DeLaurent and head coach Tom Matukewicz said time management is of the utmost importance during a stretch like this. 

“Guys are really just going to have to be locked in mentally and physically and maybe quit their social life right now, but this is what you signed up to do, so I hope everyone will do that,” DeLaurent said.

“You just can’t have a lot of extras in your life,” Matukewicz said. “You’ve got plenty of time to be a student, and you’ve got plenty of time to be an athlete, but you don’t really have a lot of time for other things. I’ve got plenty of time to be a dad, I’ve got plenty of time to be a husband and a coach but not anything else.” 

And Matukewicz said the bye week was a good reset for the team before these difficult final seven weeks of the regular season. 

“We were pretty amped up to open the stadium, and then we had our rival, then we’re on the road, and so emotionally I think we needed a break and also just to reflect and think about our commitment to each other and the mission,” he said.

Saturday’s kickoff in Conway, Ark., is scheduled for 4 p.m.