Hornets Sting NSU 30-20

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   Hornets sting NSU 30-20

   It was their first meeting in over twenty years, but things were still the same as they have been this year for Emporia State and Northeastern State, the Hornets' offense was too much for the RiverHawks, and the visitors stayed unbeaten after Saturday night's 30-20 victory in Tahlequah.
   Emporia won the coin toss and elected to defer, Northeastern was forced to give the ball back after two series. The Hornets' offense met resistance, the ball switched hands several times before Emporia's Eli Coons kicked a 27 field goal with 4:23 to go in the first quarter, a trick play led to a Northeastern conversion on 4th and 8, but no points came of it, the first quarter ended with the 'Hawks trailing 3-0 in a defensive struggle. Sophomore quarterback Johnny Deaton plunged successfully for a two yard gain on 4th and 1, but again, the NSU offense sputtered. Emporia's gears began running smoothly, Derwin Hall scored on a two yard touchdown run with 3:44 to go in the half, the extra point try was wide right. Northeastern gained some good yardage, but went into halftime down 9-0.
   Fall was definitely in the air, cooler temperatures and breezy conditions helped an ESU pass to sail far enough off course to NSU senior cornerback Vernon Jones' hands, he gave the RiverHawks posession at the Hornet six-yard-line with 13:42 to go in the third quarter. Freshman Daniel Bond nailed a 28 yard field goal 43 seconds later, getting the home team on the board. ESU answered that with an emphatic drive the length of the field that was capped by a eleven yard Dozie Iguawa score. A long kickoff return set up a 47 yard Bond field goal, the Northeastern momentum continued as Emporia was stopped on downs. And then Deaton threw an interception two plays later, leading to a seven yard touchdown from Iguawa with 2:33 left in the quarter, which ended with Emporia State leading 23-6. Junior defensive back Victor Williams pounced on a loose football to thwart a Hornet attack, three plays later Deaton found senior receiver Jermaine Sherman for a 17 yard touchdown strike with 9:50 to play. With the following kickoff at midfield due to an ESU penalty, the 'Hawks tried an onside kick and Williams recovered, but after gaining only two yards they turned the ball over on downs. With time becoming an issue, Emporia kept the ball on the ground and kept the clock running. Northeastern got the ball back, SO tailback Joel Rockmore found the end zone from nine yards away, and suddenly it was a three-point game with five minutes left. The Hornet duo of Tyler Eckenrode and Shiuan Richardson squashed the home side's comeback hopes with their eleven yard connection, the game ended with the scoreboard showing Emporia State Hornets 30, Northeastern State RiverHawks 20.
   For Emporia, Eckenrode was 18-26 passing for 221 yds with a TD and INT, he ran ten times for 56 yds, Iguawa had eighteen carries for 81 yds and two TDs, Ray Ray Davis had six receptions for 107 yds. For NSU, Deaton was 18-44 for 205 yds with a TD and INT, Rockmore had fourteen carries for 105 yds, Gionni Harris had two catches for 70 yds. NSU was 4-of-19 on third-down conversions, 2-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.
   Up next on the Northeastern schedule is a trip to Northwest Missouri State on Saturday, Sept 29 for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, the RiverHawks(0-4, 0-4 MIAA) look to take on the #12 ranked Bearcats(3-1, 2-1 MIAA), who topped Nebraska-Kearney 37-13 last week.