MONTGOMERY – First impressions are usually lasting ones.
That was the case Saturday night for Southeast Missouri State freshman running back Payton Brown and redshirt freshman quarterback Carter Hensley.
Brown tied the FCS Kickoff record with three rushing touchdowns, and Hensley, who replaced injured senior quarter Paxton DeLaurent, engineered five scoring drives, in the Redhawks to an impressive 37-15 comeback win over the North Alabama Lions in the 10th FCS Kickoff at the historic Cramton Bowl.
SEMO (1-0) scored on four straight second half possessions to take total control of the game.
“it was a great team,” SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz said. “The defense took the ball away. We ran the ball. We made plays on special teams. I love how we responded when (DeLaurent) went down. I am happy and proud of my football team.”
Brown had 19 carries for 97 yards and three rushing touchdowns for the Redhawks. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry against the Lions defense.
Hensley, who got off too slow, completed his last six passes to finish 10-for-14 for 100 yards in the air. He also added a 47-yard run that set up a fourth quarter touchdown.
“Carter is a very similar player,” Matukewicz said. “I don’t think he’s ever made a B in his life. At the end of last year, I asked everyone to do a self-evaluation and he typed his up and in pamphlets. I knew he was going to be prepared and smart, and ready for the opportunity.”
After spotting UNA a 15-13 halftime lead, SEMO outscored the Lions 30-0 in the second half with a methodical ground attack led by Brown and Hensley.
“It was a tale of two halves,” UNA Coach Brent Dearmon said. “In the first half we are up 15-13. In the second half, they outscored us 30-0. We have to do a better job after halftime.
SEMO took the lead for good in the final 15 seconds of the third quarter. Brown capped a 9-play drive with a 25-yard TD run and junior tailback Brandon Epton ran for the 2-point conversion to put the Redhawks in front 21-15.
Brown scored his record-tying third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run to cap a 78-yard drive with 7:13 left in the game. The two-point conversion failed leading SEMO with a 27-15 lead.
Hensley scored the final touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run with 5:32 left on the clock. Senior DC Pippin added the extra point to extend the lead to 34-13.
Pippin capped the scoring with 41-yard field goal with just under three minutes to play to give SEMO a 37-13 lead.
“We lost our energy in the second half,” senior rover Gregory Riddick, who had a game-high 12 tackles said. “Then it was missed tackle after missed tackle after missed tackle.”
While the offense was firing on all cylinders in the second half, the defense forced four turnovers and two fourth-down stops.
Senior strong safety Khalani Riddick led the with eight tackles. Senior inside linebacker Jared Padraza had seven tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and two pressures.
Junior defensive backs Adrian Patterson and Justus Johnson both recorded interceptions for the Redhawks. Junior defensive end Casey McCoy and Pedraza both recovered fumbles.
The four takeaways tied for the most in FCS Kickoff game. Youngstown State also forced four turnovers in the win over Samford in 2019.
Southeast Missouri used a 12-play, 57-yard drive to score on its opening possession of the season.
DeLaurent capped the drive with a 4-yard TD pass to sophomore wide receiver Cam Pedro to give the Redhawks a 7-0 lead. He completed eight of 10 passes for 53 yards on the drive.
After a punt and turnover on its first two possessions, North Alabama’s offense got on track on its third possession with an impressive 87-yard drive, highlighted redshirt junior running back Jayvian Allen’s 62-yard run. Three plays later, Allen scored on a 3-yard run. UNA quarterback Ari Patu, a transfer from Stanford, hooked up with Takana Scott on the 2-point conversion to give the Lions an 8-7 lead.
Allen finished with 13 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown. He became the seventh player in FCS Kickoff history to rush for 100 yards in a game. He averaged 7.7 yards per carry.
UNA stretched the lead to 15-7 when Patu scored on an 11-yard run with four minutes left in the first half. Patu’s touchdown run came on play after SEMO senior inside linebacker Mali Walton put a hit on Patu and was ejected for targeting after a lengthy review.
SEMO punted twice and lost a fumble on its next three possessions and had to replace DeLaurent, who left the game with what appeared to be a shoulder injury.
Hensley took over the offense and engineered a 10-play, 46-yard drive in the final two minutes to put the Redhawks in the endzone. Freshman tailback Payton Brown capped the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. The Redhawks went for two after the touchdown, but Hensley’s pass was incomplete to leave the score 15-13 at halftime.
