LANGSTON, Okla. (Oct. 31, 2026 – After a sluggish first half on offense, Northeastern State scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions of the second half as the RiverHawks rolled to a 59-10 win over NAIA opponent Langston on a drizzly, dreary afternoon at W.E. Anderson Stadium.
With a second straight win, NSU (5-3) kept alive its hopes of reaching the NCAA Division II football playoffs with two regular-season games remaining. Langston (2-6) has lost five straight games.
NSU rolled up 676 yards of offense on 68 plays, breaking the former program record of 651 yards, set last season against East Central in the inaugural First Americans Bowl. Before that, the record was 626 yards ,set against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Nov. 21, 1970.
It was the first meeting between NSU and Langston since 1996, after which NSU left the NAIA to join NCAA Division II. Before that, both the RiverHawks and Lions were members of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference (OIC) and the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference (OCC).
Given the weather conditions, the NSU ground game took center stage on Saturday, with 12 ball-carriers combining for 389 yards. Freshman
Mikail Trotter posted his second straight triple-digit rushing effort, with 109 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Fellow freshman
Jordan Schelling had 100 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
It was the first time since 2021 that two NSU players had rushed for 100 yards or more in a game. That was when Issiah Davis (117) and Keon Moore (103) did it against Lincoln (Missouri).
NSU quarterback
Donnie Smith completed 13 of 18 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown. His backup,
Carter Kopecky, also threw a touchdown pass and finished 3 of 4 for 17 yards.
Langston stopped the RiverHawks twice in the red zone in the first half, but NSU still managed a 10-0 halftime lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by Schelling and a 27-yard field goal by
Troy Nguyen.
It took all of two plays for NSU to score in the second half. After taking the kickoff, Trotter reeled off runs of 46 and 19 yards, the latter carry for a touchdown. NSU forced a quick Langston punt and on the next play,
Jaylen Thompson scored on a 36-yard run, making it 24-0.
Steele Wazel threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Bellazar to give Langston its only touchdown, but the RiverHawks answered by putting two more touchdowns on the scoreboard before the end of the third quarter – a 4-yard run by Schelling and a 46-yard pass from Smith to
Jalen Richmond.
NSU tacked on three more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The winning margin of 49 points was the second-largest for NSU in its series against Langston, trailing only a 63-6 win over the Lions in 1970.
The RiverHawks will play at Division II foe McKendree (Illinois) next Saturday at 1 p.m. and will close the regular season at home at noon on Nov. 14 against West Alabama.
