By Tim Gayle<\/b><\/p>\n
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Southeast Missouri State coach Tom Matukewicz had an inkling that Payton Brown was special, but you never really know until you put him on the field for the first time.<\/p>\n
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After watching one of the top FCS quarterbacks leave the field with an injury, the Redhawks needed a powerful runner that could take charge in the game and Brown was that guy, rushing for 97 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries to help SEMO pull away for a 37-15 victory in the 10th<\/sup>\u00a0FCS Kickoff at Cramton Bowl on Saturday night.<\/p>\n \n The two teams fought evenly through the first half but a shoulder injury to starting quarterback Paxton DeLaurent put more of a focus on the running game and Brown was happy to deliver, earning Most Valuable Player honors in the process.<\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m always mentally preparing like that\u2019s going to happen, like that\u2019s the case,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m always putting myself in game situations, even from last night, just getting prepared and whatever happens, happens.\u201d<\/p>\n \n His three touchdowns tied an FCS Kickoff record set by Jacksonville State\u2019s Zion Webb in 2022. Not bad for a freshman barely mentioned in the school\u2019s media guide.<\/p>\n \n \u201cHe\u2019s not a normal freshman,\u201d Matukewicz said. \u201cHe was raised very, very different from most kids. Both parents are college athletes, kind of like coaches. They do a great job. He also came in in January so he got that experience in spring ball.<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe thought he was good when we signed him but we were a little surprised how sudden (he emerged). He just processed really quick. A kid that size, you just assume it might take him a little bit to build that Division I-A quickness but, really, he\u2019s off and running.\u201d<\/p>\n \n The 6-foot-1, 216-pound freshman from Festus, Mo., earned all-state honors after rushing for 1,605 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior at Hillsboro High, but it was Brandon Epton, a transfer from SMU, that finished preseason camp as the starting tailback. The Redhawks\u2019 first drive of the season resulted in a touchdown, using four passes from DeLaurent to Epton and two runs by Epton that helped SEMO take a 7-0 lead.<\/p>\n \n Epton would touch the ball, either rushing or receiving, 10 times before Brown finally caught a pass out of the backfield. But as the game evolved, in part because of DeLaurent\u2019s injury, in part because of Brown\u2019s emergence, the freshman ended up as the Redhawks\u2019 leading rusher as the power running game emerged in the second half.<\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was pretty nice,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt was just something I\u2019ve been working on. I feel like, with my size, it comes natural so I work on also the movement part of things and I\u2019ve gotten better at that since I\u2019ve gotten to SEMO, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n \n North Alabama senior rover Gregory Reddick said the Redhawks\u2019 physical attitude made the difference in the second half.<\/p>\n \n \u201cThey didn\u2019t do nothing special, they just ran it down our throats,\u201d Reddick said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be honest, all we did was miss tackles. They didn\u2019t do nothing to shock us. They came out and told us what they were going to do every play. We just couldn\u2019t stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Brown gave \u201call credit to God, all credit to the (offensive) line\u201d after earning MVP honors, then was asked what message was sent with the Redhawks\u2019 first-ever appearance on ESPN.<\/p>\n \n \u201cI think it just shows us how we\u2019re here to play this season,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they didn\u2019t know that SEMO was ready to go, they do now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Tim Gayle Southeast Missouri State coach Tom Matukewicz had an inkling that Payton Brown was special, but you never really know until you put him on the field for the first time. After watching one of the top FCS quarterbacks leave the field with an injury, the Redhawks needed a powerful runner that could […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n