Freshly rejuvenated off a bye week, Southeast created a two-game winning streak their Saturday win over Tennessee Tech, 31-3 which placed them 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
With TTU putting in a last-minute back-up quarterback. These changes did not seem to phase Southeast.
Sophomore tight end Eric Williams caught a 9-yard pass from senior quarterback Jesse Hosket with 9:27 left in the first quarter, creating the first touchdown in the first quarter of the season.
“We have to start strong,” said Southeast head coach Tom Matukewicz.
During the next drive TTU had, sophomore linebacker Zach Hall sacked the quarterback Adam Browner and forced a fumble on the play. Freshman defensive lineman Bryson Donnell recovered the ball at TTU’s 6-yard line.
“[Donnell] just layed down on the ball, we thought we were going to have to get a new one putting 320 [pounds] on it,” Matukewicz said.
This helped Southeast lead to a third-and-goal with Hosket’s 4-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Trevon Billington with 8:17 left on the clock.
To complete the first quarter for Southeast, junior kicker Nicholas Litang completed a 22-yard field goal with just seven seconds left.
“It starts with the mentality to begin and end every game strong,” said Hall.
TTU’s only points would be scored by a 37-yard field goal with 2:07 remaining in the first half.
Southeast and TTU would go back and forth during the third quarter.
“Our offense and defense was getting pretty tired but we had them on the ropes and if we would have messed around we could have lost the game right there,” said Matukewicz.
As the fourth quarter began, Hosket threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson with 14:15 left in the game.
“Me and Kristian were just having a thing, one of the best plays sometimes come off a broken play,” Hosket said.
The final touchdown would be scored by Southeast with 7:04 left in the game by junior running back Cameron Sanders with a 70-yard run.
“It was great to seal the game like that, [Sanders] just took the ball, got outside and took it to the house,” said Hosket.
With the unseasonably hot day that was out of a cooler week, Matukewicz said he and the other coaches educated the team on staying hydrated throughout the game. According to Matukewicz they luckily have not had any dehydration problems.
Southeast will play next at 4 p.m. Oct. 21 at Austin Peay, and the team’s next home game is at 1 p.m. Nov. 4 against Tennessee Martin.
