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APSU Governors Football hits the road Saturday to take on the Southeast Missouri Redhawks

Austin Peay (1-9) vs. Southeast Missouri (4-6)

November 15th, 2014 | 1:00pm CDT
Cape Girardeau, MO | Houck Stadium

Austin Peay State University Governors - APSUClarksville, TN – Austin Peay will have one last chance to get rid of that albatross hanging around its neck…winning on the road.

APSU brings the nation’s longest active road losing streak to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Houck Stadium, 1:00pm, Saturday when it faces Southeast Missouri.

Austin Peay Football faces Southeast Missouri this weekend. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Football faces Southeast Missouri this weekend. (APSU Sports Information)

The Govs head to Cape amidst a 30-game road losing streak. They have not won a road game since September 18th, 2010. The Governors are coming off a painful 31-27 home loss to Tennessee State in a contest that saw them lead until the closing minute. It was APSU’s third straight loss.

Southeast Missouri enters the contest also amidst a losing streak. The Redhawks lost its fourth straight when it fell at Tennessee Tech, 27-26, last Saturday. In fact, SEMO has not won since dumping No. 3 ranked Southeastern Louisiana and No. 20 Tennessee State in back-to-back weeks, climbing to No. 23 themselves.

But injuries, especially to the defense, undermined what was Tom Matukewicz’s surprising first season. Six freshmen are now playing extensively on defense and another on offense. In a sense, he can relate to APSU head coach Kirby Cannon, who has started six-to-eight freshmen much of 2014.

Luckily for SEMO, though, senior quarterback Kyle Snyder, who missed the previous two seasons with injury issues, has been able to take almost all the snaps this season. He has completed 160 of 266 passes (60 percent) for 2,043 yards and 15 TDs. He has been able to do it without one of the OVC’s top pass catchers for half the season. Paul McRoberts, an All-OVC selection a year ago, still has 30 catches and six TD receptions, despite missing half the season.

The Redhawks have a now-healthy one-two punch at running back in Lennies McFerren (570 yards) and DeMichael Jackson (540 yards).

The Redhawks’ offense is augmented by a superb kicking game as kicker Ryan McCrum has connected on 17 of 21 field-goal opportunities this season, including 9-of-13 from 40 yards and beyond. APSU attempted just its first two field goals last weekend against Tennessee State. Punter Alex Knight is averaging 41.7 yards per punt, booting the ball just 35 times compared Ben Campbell‘s 83.

The young Govs will attempt to build on last week’s performance against Tennessee State. Linebacker Antonio Turner (14 stops) and Adam Noble (12 stops) help anchor a defense that struggled last week pressure the quarterback.

Offensively, the Govs received a lift from junior Trey Taylor, who came off the bench to help the Govs gain a lead against Tennessee State. It was the most substantial playing time for Taylor since he started the opener at Memphis. The Govs finished with a season-high 20 first downs while totaling a more than respectable 344 yards total offense.

Broadcast Information

Radio – Governors Sports Network
Play-by-Play: Van Stokes
Analyst: Brian Rives

Govs On the Web

Online Video
www.OVCDN.com

Live Statistics
www.statbroadcast.com/

Live Audio
www.LetsGoPeay.com/showcase

Video – Kirby Cannon

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZqNi5oHg2o[/youtube]

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