The Golden Eagles faced off against the OVC-leading Redhawks of Southeast Missouri on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Tech fell to the Redhawks 34-3, dropping their overall record to 2-4 in Bobby Wilder’s first season as head coach.
This is the first conference loss of the season for the Golden Eagles, as they were previously 2-0 for the first time since 2011.
SEMO quarterback Paxton DeLaurent continued his success through the air this season as he racked up 418 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers.
Much like last week against SC State, sophomore quarterback Jordyn Potts (5) had over 200 yards passing with 231, but threw two interceptions.
Yards on the ground were hard to come by for Tech, which is unfortunate because that has been the bread and butter for this football team through six games. The Golden Eagles finished with just 34 yards on the ground.
Junior wide receiver D.J. Linkins has started to emerge as the main receiving threat for Tech as he led the team with seven catches for 90 yards against the Redhawks.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles kept SEMO to 37 yards rushing and forced three turnovers, which is something that not many teams have been able to do against the Redhawks.
Tech picked off DeLaurent twice in the ball game once by senior defensive back Tim Coutras (20) and again by sophomore defensive back Toby Bolton (21).
The Golden Eagles also forced a fumble which was punched out by junior linebacker Aaron Swafford (19) and recovered by redshirt freshman defensive back Eric Taylor (35), but was later ruled a touchback after Taylor fumbled the ball and it rolled out of the end zone.
Tech is halfway through head coach Bobby Wilder’s first year, sitting at 2-4 overall and 2-1 in OVC play. There is still plenty to play for these next six weeks for this Golden Eagle football team. Finishing this season strong and creating a building block for a winning culture is vital.
The Golden Eagles will travel to Macomb, Illinois, to take on Western Illinois this Saturday. The Leathernecks are 2-4 on the year and 1-1 in the conference so far.
