TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State football team lost a 48-17 decision to Central Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Doc Wadley Stadium.
 
The game was Homecoming for the RiverHawks, who fell to 2-7 on the season and 2-7 in the MIAA. The Bronchos improved to 4-5 overall and 4-5 in the league.
 
Senior running back Joel Rockmore broke a school record for the second-straight week. Last week he became NSU's all-time leader in career all-purpose yards, and he extended that mark to 4,240 yards. He tallied 117 kick returns yards against the Bronchos and is also now NSU's all-time leader in career kick-return yards (1,100). He passed NSU's all-time mark of 1,027 that was held by Wendell Barnett (1988-91).
 
UCO struck first Saturday when Seth Hiddink connected on a 39-yard field goal on the Bronchos' second possession.
 
NSU answered right back when junior kicker Eddie Garcia hit a season-long 36-yard try of his own, but Clay McKenzie scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns less than a minute later to give the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.
 
Hiddink hit a second field goal early in the second quarter, but the RiverHawks would cut the deficit to 13-10 when junior QB Kevin Pantastico found junior wide receiver Jamari Pope for a 19-yard score 6:28 before halftime.
 
McKenzie scored another rushing TD with 1:56 left in the opening half to open up a 10-point lead, and the Bronchos went on to outscore NSU 28-7 in the final two quarters.
 
Rockmore finished the day with 213 all-purpose yards (117 kick return, 88 rush, eight receive). Junior wide receiver Matthew Butler had two receptions for 61 yards and a score, while both Pantastico and redshirt freshman quarterback Blayne Armstrong finished with 59 yards passing and one TD.
 
T.J. Eckert led the UCO passing attack with 140 yards on 13-of-19 passing. He had one passing TD and he threw two interceptions (both to junior DB Darian Morris). McKenzie ran the ball 33 times for 248 yards and three TD's.
 
Northeastern State will remain home next week for the penultimate contest of the season. The RiverHawks are set to host Washburn at 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at Doc Wadley Stadium.
 
SCORING SUMMARY

Qtr.	Time	Team	Play	Score
1	10:46	UCO	Seth Hiddink 39 FG	3-0
	6:35	NSU	Eddie Garcia 36 FG	3-3
	5:50	UCO	Clay McKenzie 40 run (Hiddink kick)	10-3
2	12:02	UCO	Hiddink 23 FG	13-3
	6:28	NSU	Jamari Pope 19 pass from Kevin Pantastico (Garcia kick)	13-10
	1:56	UCO	McKenzie 6 run (Hiddink kick)	20-10
3	2:53	UCO	Caden Locke 6 pass from T.J. Eckert (Hiddink kick)	27-10
4	13:40	UCO	McKenzie 3 run (Hiddink kick)	34-10
	12:37	NSU	Matthew Butler 54 pass from Blayne Armstrong (Garcia kick)	34-17
	9:08	UCO	Derek Reeves 20 pass from Chas Stallard (Hiddink kick)	41-17
	7:55	UCO	Greg Johnson 12 run (Hiddink kick)	48-17

 
GAME NOTES

• Central Oklahoma improved to 47-27-2 all-time against Northeastern State. This was the most lopsided victory by either team since 1970 (32 meetings).
• The Bronchos retained the President's Cup after winning it last year. NSU had held the trophy for four-straight years.
• The contest was the annual Homecoming game for the RiverHawks. Northeastern State is 0-4 on Homecoming since joining the MIAA in 2012.
• Four of the five offensive line starters for Northeastern State have started every game this season. Those are: Brian West (LG), Brian Hobbs (C), Lance Cox (RG) and Tyler Easter (RT). Jordan Baldwin made his seventh start at left tackle this season. Dakota Ritchie has earned the other two starts at LT for NSU.
• Senior running back Joel Rockmore made his team-leading 33rd career start. He's also now played in a team-high 40 career games.
• Rockmore registered his seventh-career game with 200 all-purpose yards (and second this season) after he finished with 213 (117 kick return, 88 rush, 8 receive). He broke the school record for most career all-purpose yards last week and he now has extended his record to 4,240.
• Rockmore broke a second school record Saturday. He finished the contest with 117 kick returns yards, giving him 1,100 for his career. He passed NSU's all-time mark of 1,027 that was held by Wendell Barnett (1988-91).
• Junior kicker Eddie Garcia made a season-best 36-yard field goal halfway through the first quarter. He has now made five of his last six attempts.
• Junior defensive back Darian Morris had two interceptions in the contest. The last time an NSU football player had two picks in one game was on Nov. 16, 2013 (Langston Jones against Central Oklahoma).
• Junior quarterback Kevin Pantastico threw a TD pass midway through the second quarter. The touchdown was Pantastico's 18th of his career. He has thrown a TD in four straight games and in seven of his eight starts this season.
• Pantastico also did not throw an interception for the third time in his last four games.
• Junior linebacker Kenneth Davis had 10 tackles and now has 184 in his career. He is now in seventh place in NSU's NCAA era record book (since 1996).
• Senior linebacker Irving Steele finished with a season-best 18 tackles, while junior safety Steffon Herd posted a career-high 17 stops.
• UCO's Clay McKenzie had three rushing touchdowns. He's the second player to post three TD's on the ground against NSU this year (John Roderique, Pittsburg State).
• McKenzie's 248 yards are the second most by an individual against NSU this year (Shaquille Cooper of Fort Hays State had 263 yards).
• UCO's T.J. Eckert and Chas Stallard both threw one touchdown pass against Northeastern State. Each of the last five NSU opponents have had multiple QB's throw for at least one touchdown against the RiverHawks.
• Junior wide receivers Matthew Butler and Jamari Pope had TD receptions in the contest. There is now a three-way tie for most receiving touchdowns (3) this season between Butler, Pope and Garrett Powell. Only one receiver had more than two TD receptions last season (Powell).
• Butler's TD reception went for 54 yards. His three TD's this season have gone for 74, 54 and 40 yards.
• Freshman quarterback Blayne Armstrong threw his second touchdown of the year. The 54-yard completion was his longest of the year.
• The RiverHawks forced just one punt, which was the fewest against NSU this season.
• NSU allowed 424 yards rushing. The last time NSU gave up 400+ yards rushing was Oct. 25, 2014 against Central Missouri.
• NSU's offense produced a season-low 199 total yards (118 passing, 81 rushing). The last time the RiverHawks failed to reach 200 yards of offense was Oct.  4 of last season.
• The RiverHawks finished 2-for-11 on third-down chances. This was the sixth time this season that NSU did not have more than three third-down conversions.
• NSU had a season-low 10 first downs and allowed 36 UCO first downs. That mark is the highest by an NSU opponent in Northeastern State's Division II history (since 1996).
• Both teams committed two turnovers. This marked the third time in the last four games that Northeastern State did not lose the turnover battle.
• Central Oklahoma won time of possession 38:19-21:41. This was the lowest TOP for Northeastern State since the 2011 Mineral Water Bowl against Minnesota State (43:46-16:14).

 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB ROBINSON
Opening statement…
"I thought we were good at times and then the bad crept in. We had about five missed fumbles. We need to get those things worked out. We just can't overcome adversity very well yet."
 
On UCO running back Clay McKenzie…
"He's a great back. We couldn't wrap him up."
 
On the NSU defense…
"You've got to stay true to your keys and fight and claw to get off on third down. That's just something we've got to work harder on." 
 
On what the message to the team will be heading into next week's contest…
"You just have to tell them to keep fighting. That's all we're going to do. I know the staff won't give up, and I know the players won't. When something happens you can't react negatively, you just have to get out and play the next play."
 
On Joel Rockmore's performance…
"You've got to love that kid. He keeps on fighting. He wanted to go back in there (late in the game), but after a while you've just got to tell him that it's time to pull the plug and save it for next week."
 
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