SEMO football set to host Eastern Illinois on homecoming

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – The Southeast Missouri State University football team will look to end a three-game losing streak when they host Eastern Illinois on Saturday.

Wide receiver Ryan Flournoy said through the Redhawks’ recent struggles closing out games, head coach Tom Matukewicz has likened the team’s mentality to: “Going through the storm. Being the buffalo, and not the cow. The cow runs from the storm, but the buffalo goes through it, and I think we’ve just got to fight with adversity, so we’ve just got to keep going.” 

And despite losing three straight games in the final 19 seconds, Matukewicz is staying positive, saying the unpredictable nature of football is one of the things that make it great. 

“That’s why I love my job. It’s one of the greatest reality shows in the world,” he said. “It’s like it’s a movie. Who would have thought that this is where we’re at.” 

And with five of the Redhawks’ six conference games still remaining, and a conference win under their belt, Matukewicz says they are in a unique situation for a 1-4 team. 

“Usually when you’re 1-4, you’ve got to readjust goals, but a lot of that’s still there, so we’ve gotta go chase it,” he said.

And because of that, there is still a lot of the story of this season left to be written.

“Ten years from now, no one’s even going to remember the three losses, but we will remember how we chose to respond” Matukewicz said. “Let’s see what these final six chapters look like and see if we can have a great ending to this book we’re writing.” 

Saturday’s kickoff is scheduled for 2 pm at Houck Field.