ROLLA, Mo. (Sept. 5, 2026) – For a year, Northeastern State had waited for the opportunity to again face Missouri S&T, after a last-second loss to the Miners likely kept NSU out of the NCAA Division II football playoffs in 2025
The 18
th-ranked RiverHawks took advantage of their chance on Saturday night. After a sluggish start, they pulled away in the second half en route to a 27-7 win at Allgood-Bailey Stadium, extending their winning streak to nine games, the second-longest current streak in Division II and NSU's longest since winning 10 straight in 1991.
Quarterback
Donnie Smith completed 30 of 41 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns,
Jordan Schelling rushed for another score and
Troy Nguyen drilled field goals of 43 and 54 yards – the latter a career-best – for NSU (2-0), which overcame an early 7-0 deficit to Missouri S&T (1-1).
The Miners missed a scoring opportunity after taking over at the NSU 11 following a fumble, with NSU's
Braylon Hardrick and
Tre Williams stopping S&T's Cade Grimm on a fourth-and-4 play from the NSU 5. But Devin Dunn intercepted Smith at the NSU 27 to end the RiverHawks' next series and the Miners took advantage of the short field, taking a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard touchdown run by A.J. Harris with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
That proved to be all the scoring for Missouri S&T, which on its final five possessions managed three punts, a missed field goal and a loss of possession on downs.
Nguyen's 43-yard field goal with 9:15 left in the second quarter pulled NSU within 7-3. After a punt by the Miners, NSU drove 81 yards in 12 plays, with Smith hitting Schelling on a 5-yard touchdown pass with :09 left before halftime. Nguyen's conversion kick put the RiverHawks up 10-7.
Nguyen capped NSU's first drive of the second half with his 54-yard field goal, which was just two yards shy of the program record of 56 yards, set by Jared Homer against Southwestern Oklahoma State in 2008. The Miners missed a field-goal attempt on their next series.
NSU then drove 80 yards on 13 plays, with the drive lasting more than seven minutes. Smith connected with
Malachi Butler on a 4-yard touchdown pass to extend the RiverHawks' lead to 20-7 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
The RiverHawks ended all doubt with an 11-play, 73-yard fourth-quarter scoring march, with Schelling scoring on a 6-yard run with 6:14 left.
Schelling rushed for 64 yards on 21 carries and had seven catches for 45 yards.
Deuce Roberson had seven catches for 85 yards while Butler added six catches for 70 yards and
Cam Jackson had six catches for 55 yards.
Hardrick led NSU with nine tackles, with
Michael Parker and
Deuce Williams adding five apiece. The RiverHawks limited Missouri S&T to 213 yards of offense. The Miners' starting quarterback, Eli Scott, completed just 7 of 14 passes for 68 yards.
NSU will continue its stretch of four straight road games next Saturday, when they will plat at Truman State in Kirksville, Missouri. The kickoff is set for noon.
