KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (Sept. 12, 2026) – Make it 10 straight wins for No. 13-ranked Northeastern State, although the RiverHawks had to work overtime to earn this one.
Donnie Smith hit
Deuce Roberson on a 3-yard touchdown pass in OT, and
Sim Kilpatrick intercepted a pass from Truman State quarterback Dylan Hair to close out a 31-24 win on Saturday afternoon at Stokes Stadium over the Bulldogs, who reached last season's NCAA Division II playoffs.
NSU is 3-0 for the first time in the program's NCAA Division II era. NSU's last 3-0 start came in 1991, when the team went on to win first 10 games. The 10-game winning streak matches the streak of the 1991 team. It's the longest active winning streak in Oklahoma college football and the second-longest in Division II football.
The overtime win was the first for the RiverHawks since Sept. 25, 2021, when they beat Lincoln (Missouri) 49-48.
NSU rolled up 400 yards of offense and now has had at least 341 yards in each of its past 16 games. The RiverHawks were held below 341 yards in each of the 18 games immediately before coach
Darrin Chiaverini started his tenure in 2024.
Smith completed 27 of 36 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns – one apiece to Roberson (eight catches for 102 yards),
Cam Jackson (eight catches for 81 yards) and
Malachi Butler (two catches for 28 yards). Smith raised his career passing-yardage total to 3,992 yards, moving into fourth place on the all-time NSU list.
Roberson now has 113 career catches, also moving into fourth place on that program list.
NSU scored on its first two drives to take a 14-0 lead.
Jordan Schelling had a 2-yard touchdown run and Smith threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jackson. But for the rest of the first half, the RiverHawks managed only a 21-yard field goal from
Troy Nguyen.
Meanwhile, Truman State (0-3) rallied to tie the game at 17-17 by halftime. Irving Madden scored on runs of 2 yards and 1 yard, part of a 26-carry, 135-yard rushing effort for the Bulldogs.
Hair's 14-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Overton capped a 13-play, 77-yard drive for the Bulldogs that lasted more than seven minutes and gave them a 24-17 lead with 7:53 left in the third quarter. But those proved to be their final points.
NSU answered with an eight-play, 73-yard scoring march, with Smith hitting Butler for a 9-yard score with 3:48 left in the third quarter.
Nguyen missed a 29-yard field-goal attempt with :01 left in regulation, forcing the overtime period.
Kale Charboneau recorded a career-high 16 tackles – 10 of those solo – while
Jordan Tolbert had 11 tackles for the RiverHawks,
Michael Parker had nine and
Khaden Walker had eight. Truman State finished with 315 yards of offense on 68 plays.
Hair managed only 114 yards passing, completing 14 of 23 throws with two interceptions, by Kilpatrick and
Reese Carter. During NSU's winning streak, the RiverHawks have allowed an average of just 126 passing yards per game, with five touchdowns against 15 interceptions.
NSU will travel to Greeley, Colorado, for a game next Saturday at Northern Colorado, which competes in the Football Championship Subdivision of NCAA Division I. That will be the first of two straight games against FCS opponents for the RiverHawks, as they'll play at Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 26.
