Redhawks’ depth continues to be tested entering crucial matchup

Entering a crucial Big South-OVC matchup against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, Oct. 12, at Houck Field, Southeast Missouri State (5-1) operates like a reptile shedding its skin while maintaining dominance over the terrain.

Week after week, the No. 11 (No. 9 coaches poll) Redhawks have suffered key losses while still winning games and maintaining a perfect record against fellow FCS competition.

The Redhawks lost senior defensive tackle Steven Lewis for the season leading up to their road game at Southern Illinois and now recently lost senior center Zack Gieg for the season during their recent road win at Eastern Illinois. Freshman running back Peyton Brown has also been banged up and the depth of the running back room also has been tested, as well as the rest of the trenches.

"At the end of the day, it's given an opportunity for some other guys to step up, and they need to," SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz said. "Next man up, get them prepared, coach them well, and put them in good football positions to make plays."

It's Jaylon Stone's turn to step up at defensive tackle. The offensive line shuffle has led to Kobe Sixkiller shifting from guard to center. Running backs Cole Ruble and Darrell Smith also have gotten opportunities to impact the ground game in recent games, with Ruble scoring his first career touchdown last week at EIU.

"I'm not gonna lie, I was on cloud nine," Ruble said. "I didn't really know what to do. All I could do was kind of let Zach Gieg and Andrew Civey pick me up out of the end zone and celebrate with the rest of the team."

Ruble had been in the running for one of the featured backs during preseason camp until Brown took the lead. However, he didn't make any statistical yards until SEMO's recent home win against Northwestern State, where he gained 41 yards. In a limited but versatile role against EIU, Ruble carried the ball to the end zone, caught a pair of passes and even returned a kick for 10 yards.

"He continues to get better as a redshirt freshman," Matukewicz said. "He's got talent."

As long as the Redhawks have senior quarterback Paxton DeLaurent under center, regardless of who it is, SEMO has a chance. DeLaurent recently tied SEMO's all-time career passing touchdowns record with 46 after throwing for three scores and 364 yards against the Panthers. DeLaurent is among the elite quarterbacks in the FCS with 1,669 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.

His health has been something that's collectively kept the fingers crossed since injuring his non-throwing shoulder in the season opener against North Alabama. Matukewicz has noticed DeLaurent's ability to protect himself from further harm to remain in the game as a big part of his improvement.

"He's taking care of himself better," Matukewicz said. "He's not taking hits. He was sacked twice, but he fell like a sack of potatoes, which is what he should do, just give in. Don't have the hard falls, stuff like that. So we appreciate that. He's playing really well."

DeLaurent will need to keep the patched-up offense together as the Redhawks face the only other 2-0 team in the Big South-OVC on Saturday, which will be a battle between two different offensive styles.

"They're No. 1 in the league and running the ball and stopping the run," Matukewicz said. "So that's a great stat to have, and so we got to do a great job of making sure that we handle that well."

Stopping the run will fall on the SEMO linebacking corps, a unit that contains three of the Redhawks' four leading tacklers. Bryce Norman continues to lead the pack with 53 tackles, but Jarred Pedraza has also proven to be a key pickup for the Redhawks with 35 tackles of his own.

"He was the Bryce Norman of his team," Matukewicz said of the former Northwestern State Demon. "He was the leading tackler. He was the guy. He came in, was in a back backup role, but then ended up coming in, and has really made a bunch of plays for his teammates."

The season has been a campaign of attrition, but if they can weather the storm, the Redhawks can be expected to continue ascending to the top of the FCS rankings.