ST. JOSEPH, Missouri --- The Northeastern State suffered a 45-14 setback on Saturday at Missouri Western State in MIAA football action.
The RiverHawks fell to 1-4 on the year, while the Griffons snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to 3-2.
NSU scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns make things interesting. After trailing 38-0, backup quarterback
Blayne Armstrong engineered a scoring drive, capping it with a TD pass to
Antonio King early in the frame.
On MWSU's next possession,
Devon Siers stripped the ball from a Griffon running back and raced untouched 55 yards to cut the NSU deficit to 24.
Mo West, however, countered with a scoring drive of its own to stem the tide for the final verdict.
Northeastern State's quarterback tandem of Armstrong and
Dimonic McKinzy completed 13 passses for 280 yards on the day. Armstrong was 3-of-4 for 69 yards, while McKinzie was 10-of-24 for 146 yards and three interceptions.
The Griffons scored twice in the opening quarter and led, 24-0, at halftime. Josh Caldwell had 123 rushing yards to lead all ball carriers. Quarterback Skyler Windmiller was 9-of-15 for 199 yards and one TD, while running for 18 yards on seven attempts.
Defensively, the RiverHawks held MWSU to just 3 points inside the Red Zone on three consecutive possessions. NSU stopped the Griffons on downs, picked off a pass and gave up a field goal during the stretch.
NSU will be back in action next Saturday when it hosts Emporia State at 2 p.m. at Doc Wadley Stadium.
