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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State football team dropped a 40-12 decision to No. 3 Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Doc Wadley Stadium on NSU's Homecoming Week.
 
The RiverHawks (0-5, 0-5 MIAA) debuted redshirt freshman Cory Meaders, the team's third starting quarterback of the season. The transfer from Hardin-Simmons University went 12 of 26 for 115 passing yards and a touchdown.
 
The game was delayed an hour due to lightning in the Tahlequah area, but the weather did not slow down the vaunted Bearcat (5-0, 4-0) attack.
 
NSU took the ball first and was forced to punt in three plays, but the RiverHawk defense halted NWMSU on a failed fourth down try on the Bearcats' opening possession.
 
The RiverHawks again went three-and-out, but this time the visitors marched six plays in 61 yards to earn the game's first points. Phil Jackson capped the drive with a 24-yard run.
 
The scoring seemed to come in bunches after that. A third-straight three-and-out for Northeastern State was followed by a 52-yard TD strike from Trevor Adams to Jason Jozaites on the first play of NWMSU's next drive. A failed fake punt early in the second quarter by NSU was answered two plays later when Adams found Marcus Wright in the endzone for 40 yards.
 
Bearcat kicker Ben Trewyn added a 28-yard field goal at the 5:36 mark to put Northwest Missouri State ahead 24-0.
 
The only glimpse of hope for the home side in the opening half came when Meaders found redshirt freshman Tank Richmond for a 12-yard touchdown. The play marked the first-career score for both players and was also the first touchdown this season by an NSU receiver.
 
The momentum was quickly stymied, however, as Drew Patton's extra point was blocked by Brandon Yost and returned for a two-point conversion by Brian Dixon. The PAT return for conversion was the first allowed by NSU since Oct. 21, 2006 (Trent Pratt of Southwestern Oklahoma State).
 
Billy Creason added a short rushing touchdown 36 seconds before the half to give the visitors a 33-6 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
Brady Bolles hooked up with Korey Jackson early in the third quarter to give NWMSU its 40-point margin, but the visitors would not score again.
 
Junior running back Terrance Dixon added a touchdown for NSU midway through the fourth to complete the scoring. The two-point try was unsuccessful.

Dixon carried the ball 24 times for 68 yards. Sophomore Steven Hopper registered eight carries and a career-high 86 yards rushing. Freshmen Ray Dobbs and Josiah Reed combined for six receptions and 62 yards receiving. Dobbs led all RiverHawks with a career-high 144 all-purpose yards.
 
Senior linebacker Langston Jones finished with 14 tackles, while sophomore safety Kyler Harris added 12. The hard-hitting Harris led both teams with nine solo stops.
 
Northeastern State did not turn the ball over for the second-straight week, which marked the first time since Sept. 19/26, 1998, that the RiverHawks went back-to-back games without committing a turnover.
 
NSU also recovered its first fumble of the season (collected by senior defensive lineman Bobby Pointer) and won the turnover battle for the third-straight game. The last time Northeastern State recorded fewer turnovers than its opponent in at least three consecutive games was a four-game stretch from Sept. 25-Oct. 15, 2010.
 
Northeastern State has now started three quarterbacks through five games this season (Johnny Deaton, Thor Long, Cory Meaders). The last time the team used three starting quarterbacks in the same season was in 2009 (Woody Wilson, Kenny Davis, Pat Cook).
 
The RiverHawks will now travel to St. Joseph, Mo., for a 1:30 p.m. contest Oct. 12 against No. 6 Missouri Western State (5-0, 4-0).
 
SCORING SUMMARY

Qtr.	Time	Team	Play	Score
1	6:17	NWMSU	Phil Jackson 24 run (Ben Trewyn kick)	7-0
	4:15	NWMSU	Trevor Adams 52 pass to Jason Jozaites (Trewyn kick)	14-0
2	10:14	NWMSU	Adams 40 pass to Marcus Wright (Trewyn kick)	21-0
	5:36	NWMSU	Trewyn 28 FG	24-0
	2:28	NSU	Cory Meaders 12 pass to Tank Richmond (PAT blocked)	24-6
	2:28	NWMSU	Brian Dixon PAT return	26-6
	0:36	NWMSU	Billy Creason 6 run (Trewyn kick)	33-6
3	9:13	NWMSU	Brady Bolles 5 pass to Korey Jackson (Trewyn kick)	40-6
4	5:02	NSU	Terrance Dixon 5 run (pass failed)	40-12

 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH KENNY EVANS
Statement…
"Northwest Missouri State is a quality team. Almost every year they are in the national playoffs and have a chance to play for a national championship. It's not different this year. And the fact that we have a lot of new faces that shouldn't be playing for us quite yet makes it double tough. I was proud of the way our guys never quit, and they worked so hard to make sure the second half score was 7-6. The big plays have been our nemesis all season long. We have a lot of young guys playing that just need some more experience."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-