The Redhawks fell to the UT Martin Skyhawks by a score of 41-14 on Nov. 11, making the Skyhawks the new OVC champions.

The Redhawks entered the game 3-1 in the OVC having just lost to Robert Morris Nov. 4, by a score of 21-20, while the Skyhawks came into the game with a perfect 4-0 conference record.

The Redhawks jumped out to a lead early on in the first quarter, as junior defensive back Joedrick Lewis caught an interception and ran it in for a touchdown only one minute and 34 seconds into the game.

SEMO junior defensive back (2) Joedrick Lewis runs with the ball during SEMO's 41-14 loss at UT-Martin on Nov. 11. Lewis would get a pick-six on SEMO's opening defensive drive.Photo by Nathan Gladden

“My coach put me in a position to make a play, I just did my job, the ball came right to me and I just did my thing with it,” Lewis said.

SEMO junior defensive back Joedrick Lewis (2) runs with the ball during SEMO's 41-14 loss at UT-Martin on Nov. 11. Lewis would get a pick-six on SEMO's opening defensive drive.Photo by Nathan Gladden

The Skyhawks immediately bounced back from this, scoring 27 unanswered points, shutting out the Redhawks for the remainder of the half.

“Football is really hard when you don’t win the line of scrimmage, UT Martin’s offensive line dominated us and their D-line dominated us, and so it made everything a lot harder,” head coach Tom Matukewicz said.

The Redhawks seemed to find footing again in the third quarter, as freshman quarterback Greg Menne threw a 75 yard pass to senior receiver Ryan Flournoy, who ran it in for a touchdown.

“All week the coaches had been preparing me for a moment like this, and just went in there and executed the game plan,” Menne said.

Menne came into the game replacing redshirt freshman quarterback Patrick Heitert who had thrown for 66 passing yards and one interception across three quarters of play.

“The offense needed a spark and we put Greg in there and I thought he did give us a little bit of that, but it certainly wasn’t Patrick's fault, he can’t block that D-line, it was just kind of a change of pace.” Matukewicz said.

This offensive spark however was quickly put out by the Skyhawks, who went on to not only intercept Menne, but also shut out the Redhawks altogether, adding two more touchdowns to finish the game with 41 points.

Despite the onslaught of the Skyhawks, the Redhawks remained resilient throughout the game, not backing down until the final whistle.

“I’m extremely proud of everyone, this is a team that won’t back down to nobody, and I’m grateful to have them by my side,” Menne said.

With the win over the Redhawks, the Skyhawks were crowned OVC champions, clinching first place in the division.

The Redhawks next and final game is against Bryant University in Smithfield, RI on Nov. 18 at 12 pm.

“We just gotta bounce back from this, we're gonna go into that game hungry and come out with the win hopefully.” Menne said.