TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State football team lost 59-7 to No. 3 Northwest Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Doc Wadley Stadium.
 
The RiverHawks dropped to 0-5 on the season and 0-5 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats improved to 5-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
 
Senior running back Joel Rockmore finished the contest with 110 all-purpose yards (79 kick return, 17 rush, 14 receive) and also added his 20th career touchdown late in the second quarter.
 
The Bearcats fumbled at the NSU one-yard line on their first possession and were held to a field goal on their second possession. The team then scored touchdowns on eight of their next 12 possessions.
 
NWMSU outgained NSU 465-204 overall, 264-15 on the ground and 201-189 through the air. The visitors also won the time of possession battle 32:36-27:24 and led in first downs (28-11).
 
Senior Thor Long did not start the contest but was called upon to play quarterback. He finished 11 of 24 for 175 yards. Senior wideout Garrett Powell had four receptions for 45 yards, while junior Jamari Pope finished with three catches for 59 yards.
 
Northwest Missouri State had five different players score rushing touchdowns, including two from Phil Jackson II. Quarterback Brady Bolles was 14-of-23 passing for 157 yards and one touchdown.
 
Northeastern State will next prepare for a road contest next weekend against fellow winless program Nebraska-Kearney. The RiverHawks and Lopers will meet at 2 p.m. Oct. 10 in Kearney, Nebraska. The contest will be the second-straight year the two programs will play with identical 0-5 records.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

Qtr.	Time	Team	Play	Score
1	6:44	NWMSU	Simon Mathiesen 35 FG	3-0
	1:37	NWMSU	Kyle Zimmerman 16 run (Mathiesen kick)	10-0
2	12:53	NWMSU	Cameron Wilcox 4 run (Mathiesen kick)	17-0
	9:38	NWMSU	Clayton Wilson 11 pass from Brady Bolles (Mathiesen kick)	24-0
	4:13	NWMSU	Jordan Grove 11 run (Mathiesen kick)	31-0
	0:23	NSU	Joel Rockmore 2 run (Eddie Garcia kick)	31-7
3	10:33	NWMSU	Phil Jackson 7 run (Mathiesen kick)	38-7
	2:46	NWMSU	Jackson 1 run (Mathiesen kick)	45-7
4	12:40	NWMSU	Randy Schmidt 36 pass from Zimmerman (Mathiesen kick)	52-7
	9:31	NWMSU	Emanuel Jones 2 run (Mathiesen kick)	59-7

GAME NOTES

• Northwest Missouri State improved to 6-0 all-time against Northeastern State.
• Senior running back Joel Rockmore made his team-leading 29th career start. He has also played in a team-best 36 career games.
• Rockmore finished the contest with 110 all-purpose yards (79 kickoff return, 17 rush, 14 receive). This was the third time this season he finished with at least 100 all-purpose yards.
• Rockmore also scored a rushing touchdown in the second quarter. The score was the 20th of his career.
• Northeastern State started the same offensive line combination for the second-straight game. Those included: Dakota Ritchie (LT), Brian West (LG), Brian Hobbs (C), Lance Cox (RG) and Tyler Easter (RT). All but Ritchie have started every game this season.
• Junior linebacker Kenneth Davis recovered a fumble on Northwest's opening drive. It was his first-career fumble recovery. He also recorded his second forced fumble of the season.
• True freshman safety Devon Siers recovered two fumbles in the contest. The last time an NSU football player had two fumble recoveries in the same game was when Cayle Shambaugh had a pair of recoveries against Harding on Oct. 15, 2011.
• Siers returned the second fumble 44 yards. The last time an NSU player had a fumble return of more than zero yards was Langston Jones against East Central on Oct. 30, 2010. Siers' return was the longest since Howard Crawford recorded a 65-yard fumble recovery against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Oct. 8, 2005.
• Northwest Missouri State had five different players score rushing TDs.
• The 31-7 halftime deficit is the second largest NSU has faced this year. Last week they were down 42-7 at the half against Emporia State.
• Senior Thor Long made his season debut as a quarterback. He was a QB all of his career prior to being converted to defensive back this past offseason. He finished 11-for-24 passing for 175 yards and two interceptions.
• NSU held its first four opponents to a total of 0-for-5 on fourth-down conversions. The Bearcats finished 3-for-3 on fourth-down tries.
• The RiverHawks finished with season lows in both rushing yards (15) and first downs (11). The rushing output was the lowest for NSU since the team finished with -8 against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 20, 2008.
• Senior linebacker Irving Steele finished with 13 tackles. He has registered double-digit stops in all but one game this season. Junior safety Steffon Herd added 11 tackles, picking up his third double-digit tackle effort of the year.
• The RiverHawks had 11 drives that lasted four plays or fewer.
• The 12-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a touchdown late in the second quarter for NSU was the longest drive of the season in terms of yards and the second-longest in terms of plays.
• NSU finished the contest with a season-high 15 penalties for 114 yards.
• After allowing a 100-yard rusher in five straight games dating back to last season, the RiverHawks have not conceded a 100-yard rusher in each of the last two contests.

NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB ROBINSON
Opening statement…
"Today did not go very well for us. That's the No. 3 team in the nation for a reason. I thought we came out a little bit gun shy. The quarterbacks were hesitant to make the throw, and not wanting to make mistakes, because we preached this team doesn't make mistakes and they showed they didn't. I thought our defense did a great job for the first three to four series, but we were three and out on offense and when you put your defense on the field that many times over and over it's finally going to break. Especially with a team like that, that can run it and pass it as well as they can."
 
On the difficulty with the run game…
"(Northwest) always had one more in the box than we did and they also havetwo caliber first team all-conference linebackers. I think our line did a fairly decent job on their D-line, but their linebackers we knew were going to be a problem. They just outmanned us. That's why they're the No. 3 team in the nation. We're obviously not to that level yet."
 
On Thor Long…
"Thor had pretty much two practices (this week). He's been playing defense all year. Kevin (Pantastico) was out with the concussion and Blayne (Armstrong) got the pulled hip. Thor took two practices this week and I thought did a heck of a job stepping in and throwing the ball on time. He played with a gunslinger mentality. I couldn't be more proud of the kid. If we can just get other guys to follow that when their time comes to shine, come step up and do it."
 
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