TAHLEQUAH (Nov. 16, 2024) – A spirited fourth-quarter rally closed a two-touchdown deficit for Northeastern State, but Washburn (Kan.) scored with 48 seconds left to escape Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium with a 35-28 win on Saturday afternoon in the 2024 season finale for both football teams.

Sam Van Dyne hit Trey Richardson from 16 yards out for the decisive touchdown for Washburn (3-8). NSU (2-9) marched from its own 25 to the Washburn 28 in the final seconds, but NSU quarterback Dereun Dortch's pass into the end zone was intercepted by DeAndre Washington. It was the fourth one-score loss of the season for the RiverHawks.

"I don't think the game got away from us," NSU coach Darrin Chiaverini said. "I think we fought back into the game.They took a two-score lead into the fourth quarter and we fought all the way back and tied it up. They made a great play at the end. We just ran out of time. If we'd had a little bit more time, we would have scored and we would have won this game."

Dortch completed 19 of 27 passes for 228 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, giving him 1,993 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in his first season as a NCAA Division II starter. He also rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries against the Ichabods.

Tight end Cameron Woods caught five passes for 81 yards and a touchdown, with Deuce Roberson also catching five passes, going for 75 yards. Roberson finished the season with 50 catches for 632 yards.

Senior linebacker Dalton Crumbly led NSU's defense with 11 tackles and an interception, one of three picks for the RiverHawks. NSU limited the Ichabods to just 324 yards of offense, compared to 382 for the RiverHawks. Both teams committed three turnovers, with a first-quarter, 30-yard interception return for a touchdown by Washburn's Jaquez White proving costly to NSU.

An 84-yard kickoff return by Richardson led to an 11-yard touchdown run by Tyler Bowden with 4:30 left in the second quarter, giving Washburn a 21-14 halftime lead. NSU struggled to gain traction offensively throughout the third quarter and the Ichabods pushed their lead to 28-14 on a 53-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Keller Hurla with 1:42 left in the quarter.

"I thought the defense kept us in the game," Chiaverini said. "We hurt (the defense) with the pick six and we hurt them with the special teams kickoff return. I thought (the defense) played really hard. We've just got to find a way to get stops when we really need them in the end. That's kind of been our Achilles' heel on both sides of the ball – being able to score or get stops when we really need them."

After Hurla's touchdown run, the RiverHawks answered with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Dortch to Woods with 11:14 left.

NSU's defense held and forced a Washburn punt from the Ichabods' end zone, giving the RiverHawks prime field position at the NSU 48. Ramon McKinney Jr. – who had 14 carries for 67 yards and four catches for 36 yards – accounted for the first 34 yards for NSU on the ensuing drive. Kacie Riley took it from there, carrying on five straight plays, starting at the Washburn 18. Riley scored on a 1-yard run with 4:53 left and Troy Nguyen's conversion kick tied the game at 28-28.

Van Dyne guided Washburn on its winning 75-yard scoring drive. He finished 12 of 18 for 117 yards passing. Richardson had five catches for 52 yards and three carries for 30 yards for Washburn, while Tyler Bowden had 16 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. Hurla had six carries for 74 yards.

White's pick-six touchdown came just more than five minutes into the game. Woods scored on an 8-yard run on NSU's ensuing series before Washburn again took the lead when Lukas Oitker scored on a 2-yard run with 8:01 left in the first half. McKinney's 21-yard touchdown run at the 4:53 mark briefly tied the game before Bowden's score put the Ichabods back ahead.

Donniel Wilson added nine tackles for NSU, while senior lineman Blake Corn – playing his final game in his hometown – had seven stops, including a sack. Senior LaKedrick Holmes recorded his seventh career interception, with Ousmane Doumbia recording NSU's other oskie to go along with six tackles.

The game marked the end of a largely MIAA-based schedule in NSU's first season as a football independent inside the NCAA Division II ranks. As of now, only one MIAA opponent is scheduled for the 2025 season, with NSU set to travel to Edmond next Oct. 25 to face Central Oklahoma in the annual President's Cup game.

"Year one, we finish 2-9, but there's a lot of growth with this team," Chiaverini said. "We're going to get this thing going in the right direction here really, really soon. I'm proud of the seniors. I'm proud of everyone and how they fought. But at the end of the day, we weren't a good enough team this year, and that's why we were what we were.

"I'm proud of the growth of this program. It hasn't shown up in the win-loss column, but we going to get this thing turned around really soon."