Southeast Missouri State University Men's Football

Matukewiczs process-driven Southeast Missouri football program. In 2016, Matukewicz has a team that features 17 returning starters, six returning All-Ohio Valley Conference performers and 24 seniors, the Redhawks largest senior class since 2012. Another nice recruiting class with more local talent adds to the strength of this years squad, which has the pieces in place for Southeast to improve on its 4-7 record and fifth-place OVC finish from last season. Southeast concluded the 2015 campaign ranked among the top three teams in the OVC in rushing offense (2nd, 182.9 ypg), kickoff returns (20.6 ypr), punt return average (3rd, 9.6 ypr), kickoff coverage (2nd, 40.6 net avg.), sacks (2nd, 31), fourth down conversions (2nd, 60 pct.) and turnover margin (1st, +10). The Redhawks 31 sacks were third-most in a season. In addition, Southeast led the league in turnover margin after ranking last in that category the year before. The Redhawks faced four ranked teams and lost four games by a combined 14 points last season, as well. Individually, Dante Vandeven, Tremane McCullough, Paul McRoberts, Garret Baker, Mike Ford, Alex Knight and Roper Garrett earned All-OVC honors in 2015. Vandeven was the leagues Freshman of the Year, McCullough and McRoberts were first-team selections and Baker, Garrett, Knight and Ford were second-team picks. Vandeven, McCullough, Baker, Garrett, Knight and Ford are back this year. A native of Silver Lake, Kansas, Matukewicz hit the ground running in his head coaching debut in 2014, leading the Redhawks to their most wins in a season since 2010. Along the way, Southeast enjoyed two wins over ranked opponents, beating then-No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana and then-No. 20 Tennessee State. Southeastern Louisiana was the highest-ranked opponent Southeast had ever beaten and the 2014 campaign marked the first time the Redhawks knocked off two ranked opponents in a season. After those wins, Southeast was No. 23 in the Oct. 6, 2014 Sports Network Poll, claiming its first Top 25 ranking since the end of the 2010 season. Statistically, the Redhawks led the OVC in third down conversion percentage (45.7), fourth down conversion percentage (66.7) and sacks allowed (9). Southeast was also sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision in sacks allowed, 13th in fourth down conversion percentage and 14th in third down conversion percentage. As a team, the Redhawks scored 384 points, their most in a season since 2002. The excitement of Matukewiczs brick-by-brick approach generated an increase of 1,024 at Houck Stadium in 2014, as well. Matukewicz coached a total of 10 All-OVC performers, including one OVC Freshman of the Year (Vandeven), three first-team selections (McRoberts, McCullough, Ryan McCrum) and six second-team picks (DeMichael Jackson, Tim Hamm-Bey, Baker, Garrett, Ford, Knight) during his first two years as Southeasts head coach. McRoberts was also the Redhawks first player invited to the Reeses Senior Bowl. Off the field, Matukewiczs program is highly visible in the community and often engages in random acts of kindness. He simply uses goodwill to teach his players valuable life lessons. In 2015, Southeast partnered with Saint Francis Medical Center to announce a new collaboration, taking the Redhawks Pink Up efforts to a new level. Southeasts football team raised over $20,000 for breast cancer awareness through a Pink Up Jersey Auction. As part of the initiative, the Redhawks wore pink jerseys, each personalized with a name in honor or memory of a survivor or loved one, if desired. Game-worn jerseys were presented to the winning bidders after Southeasts 38-17 victory over Tennessee Tech on Oct. 31, 2015. We are thrilled to join Saint Francis Medical Center to help make a difference in this community, said Matukewicz. We hope this effort raises awareness and money to fight this terrible disease. This is a life changing experience for our players, who will have the opportunity to meet families that have lost loved ones to cancer.    During Southeasts 2014 season-opener against Missouri Baptist, the Redhawk captains took a No. 14 jersey to midfield for the coin toss to honor the memory of Kaden Robert. Robert was a Kelly High School football player who died in an accidental shooting in June, 2014. A week later, Michael Douglas, a 16-year old from Kansas, accompanied the Redhawks on the sideline for their game against the Jayhawks on Sept. 6, 2014. Douglas was diagnosed with an interstitial lung disease when he was a year old and has to use an oxygen tank. The teenager initially contacted wide receiver Mike Cyliax for an autograph last summer. Once Matukewicz heard the story, he wrote Douglas a letter and invited him to the game. Southeasts football program generously donated to the Nolan Weber Believers 5K & Fun Run/Walk in nearby Jackson. Weber was a soccer player at Jackson High School who fought brain cancer for almost three years (doubling the life expectancy of what his illness normally came with) before he passed away. The contribution went to the Believing Beyond Nolan Weber Foundation that provides financial and/or spiritual/emotional support to children and their families battling cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. Matukewicz also presented a check to the parents of Dominic Hooper -- a Scott City teen who tied in February, 2014 from injuries sustained in an ATV accident -- during the teams annual spring game. A tireless worker, Matukewicz brings energy and passion unlike any other. His commitment to excellence and brick-by-brick mantra have the Redhawks soaring to new heights. Its all about a process, said Matukewicz. Its about doing ordinary things with unordinary discipline. Were going to build a program that youre proud of. Popularly known as Coach Tuke, Matukewicz was introduced as Southeasts 13th head coach on Dec. 18, 2013. Matukewicz is used to transforming programs into winners and he did just that as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois. While at NIU, Matukewicz helped lead the Huskies to the Mid-American Conference West title in 2010 and an outright MAC Championship in 2011. Matukewicz was the linebackers coach in 2011 after serving as defensive run-game coordinator for three seasons under then-head coach Jerry Kill. Matukewicz reached the pinnacle of his NIU stint when he was interim head coach for the Huskies trip to the 2010 Humanitarian Bowl after Kill accepted the Minnesota job at the end of the season. He led NIU to a commanding 40-17 victory over Fresno State in that game. Matukewicz was responsible for coordinating the Huskies run defense during his first three seasons at NIU. In 2010, the Huskies ranked 24th nationally and third in the MAC in rushing defense, allowing 126.5 yards per game. NIU also had the MACs No. 1 total defense in 2008 and 2009. In his first year in DeKalb, Matukewicz was part of a staff that turned NIU into the No. 1 scoring and total defense in the MAC, and one of the top 20 units in the country. The Huskies boasted the second-most improved scoring defense in the nation in 2008. That year, NIU allowed only 18 points per game, down from 30.8 the previous season. The Huskies ranked 17th nationally in total defense and was fifth in the country in pass defense. Before that, Matukewicz spent seven seasons at SIU. As linebackers coach and run-game coordinator, he had a big  hand in three Missouri Valley Football Conference championships (2003, 2004, 2005) and five NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff berths (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). Matukewicz was named the 2007 FCS Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association after helping turn the Salukis into one of the top rushing defenses in the nation. SIU held its opponents to a rushing average below 135 yards per game every year from 2002-07. The Salukis had three of the top-10 rushing defenses in program history during that time. Matukewiczs 2004 linebacker corps formed the heart of a defense which gave up just 101.7 rushing yards per game, led the nation in scoring defense and allowed 13.2 points per contest. Matukewicz made one more stop at the University of Toledo prior to accepting his first head coaching job at Southeast. At Toledo, Matukewicz was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. In 2012, Matukewicz helped guide a defense that ranked among the top 25 in the nation in fourth-down conversion (9th), red-zone defense (10th), interceptions (18th) and turnovers forced (25th). The Rockets went 9-4 and earned a trip to the 2012 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Matukewiczs defense also featured the nations leading tackler in linebacker Dan Molls. Molls had 166 tackles, earned First-Team All-MAC honors and became Toledos first Academic All-American in eight years. Matukewicz completed his undergraduate work at Fort Hays State. He received his bachelors degree in physical education in 1997 and then earned his masters degree in administration at Pittsburg State. Matukewicz coached at Fort Hays State (1996-97), Pittsburg State (1997-99), Coffeyville Community College (1999-2000) and Emporia State (2000-01) prior to his NCAA Division I football tenure. Matukewicz and his wife, Lenna, have two daughters, Georgia and Shelby.  

Coon959 Alma Mater:  Bethel College, 2005 Ricky Coon begins his third year as Southeast Missouris defensive line coach. Coon also recently added assistant head coach to his title. The defensive line helped Southeast notch 31 sacks in 2015, its third-most in a season in school history. The Redhawks ranked second in the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks behind national runner-up and league champion Jacksonville State. Southeast returns four players with starting experience in the trenches, including defensive ends John Popovich and Travis Sanders, and nose tackles Marlon Hampton and Joshua Wilson. Sanders and Wilson missed parts of last season due to injury, while Popovich led the team with five sacks. Meanwhile, Hampton tallied 31 tackles in six starts. Coons defensive line had a big hand in Southeast averaging 23 sacks and 75 tackles for loss per season the last two years as a unit. Coon spent the 2013 season as defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College. Prior to that, he worked the 2012 campaign as defensive line coach at NCAA Division II Southwest Baptist University and gained six years of experience at the junior college level. Coon was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Ellsworth Community College (2009-11), where 18 of his players received all-conference recognition and three were named National Junior College Athletic Association All-Americans. He helped lead the Panthers to the 2009 NJCAA Region XI Championships, two Midwest Football Conference Playoff titles (2009, 2010) and two NJCAA bowl game appearances. In 2009, Coons defensive unit set a school record for fewest yards allowed in a bowl game. Before his three-year stint at Ellsworth CC, Coon was the defensive coordinator and head strength and conditioning coordinator at Highland Community College from 2007-08. Coons defensive units finished among the NJCAAs Top-20 teams each of his last two seasons and, statistically, were the best two defenses in school history. A total of seven defensive players received all-conference accolades during his two years. Coon worked as academic coordinator and defensive line coach at NCAA Division II Northern State in 2006. A native of Wichita, Kansas, Coon started his career as defensive line coach and strength and conditioning coordinator at his alma mater, Bethel College. He was a two-time all-conference defensive lineman at Dodge City Community College and Bethel College. Coon also had the privilege of playing two seasons of professional football in the Arena Football League for the Wichita Stealth (AF2) and Wichita Aviators (APFL). Coon was hired at Southeast on Jan. 8, 2014. He previously worked with current Redhawks offensive line coach Ben Blake at Highland Community College during the spring of 2007. Coon is married to the former Amanda Sanchez. Together they have four children, Taryn, Zane, Gunner and Bryson.