JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Oct. 7, 2023) – Northeastern State recorded several big "firsts" on Saturday afternoon with a 28-13 win over Lincoln (Mo.) at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
The most important was the RiverHawks posted their first win of the football season and their first since last Oct. 19, when they beat Lincoln 38-10 in Tahlequah. NSU (1-5) now has won three straight in its series against the Blue Tigers (0-6), who have lost 31 straight games overall.
Since Lincoln left the MIAA this past summer, Saturday's game held nonconference status – making it the first time NSU played a nonconference game since Oct. 19, 2013, when the RiverHawks hosted Eastern New Mexico. The win was the first against a nonconference opponent for NSU since Oct. 5, 2011, when the RiverHawks beat Central Oklahoma 35-7. NSU was not a member of any conference that season as it transitioned into the MIAA.
NSU's defense limited Lincoln to only 208 yards and intercepted quarterback Xzavier Vaughn three times – once each by
Johnny Jean, Lakedrick Holmes and
Jordan Alford. Jean,
Makarios Brown and
Chris Lee each recorded seven tackles for the RiverHawks.
The RiverHawks' offense rolled up 322 yards. Quarterback
Ben Ward went almost all the way, completing 11 of 22 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, one each to
Will Bergner and
Dean Odom.
NSU had 197 yards rushing, led by a 20-carry, 78-yard, one-touchdown effort from
Blake May.
Jordan Guidry added 12 carries for 53 yards and another touchdown and also caught one pass for 47 yards.
An illegal substitution penalty on NSU wiped out an apparent interception return for a touchdown by
Dalton Crumbly on Lincoln's first drive. The Blue Tigers took the early lead, with Vaughn scoring on a 4-yard run less than six minutes into the game.
NSU quickly answered, with a 47-yard, nine-play scoring drive capped by 6-yard touchdown run by May, tying the game at 7-7.
Lincoln went back ahead 13-7 with a 70-yard drive, with Vaughn hitting Aderias Ealy on a 16-yard touchdown pass, but the Blue Tigers missed the conversion attempt. That opened the door for NSU to take a 14-13 lead when Ward threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Odom and
Tyler Crawford make his extra-point kick 1:28 before halftime.
NSU never trailed again. Holmes' interception late in the third quarter set up the RiverHawks at the Lincoln 16-yard line and two plays later, Ward found Bergner for a 13-yard touchdown, extending NSU's lead to 21-13.
A 54-yard punt by Crawford pinned the Blue Tigers at their own 1 with 10:40 left and Lincoln had to punt from its own end zone and after a 17-yard punt return by
Devin Blayney. NSU took over at the Lincoln 18. Guidry scored an insurance touchdown for the RiverHawks with 7:12 left.
Alford's interception at the NSU 41 with 4:33 left sealed the win for the RiverHawks.
Ealy had seven catches for 89 yards for Lincoln, while Vaughn finished 15 of 31 passing for 134 yards.
NSU will return to MIAA play next Saturday, hosting Central Missouri at 2 p.m. on Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium in Tahlequah, Okla. The RiverHawks will be celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Day that day.
