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November 2, 2009

RiverHawks rocked

By JEREMY SHORT

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — West Texas A&M; racked up 629 yards of total offense on Saturday night on the way to a 66-23 Halloween night victory over Northeastern State at Doc Wadley Stadium.

“We gave up some big plays,” said RiverHawks coach Kenny Evans. “We have got to find a way to get to the quarterback.”

West Texas junior quarterback Taylor Harris threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns before giving way to Tanner Marsh, who gained another 202 yards through the air.

Senior running back Keithon Flemming added 112 yards and three touchdowns on the ground on just 13 carries.

“I feel bad for the seniors, but we do have one more game,” said Evans. “The key to this program is perseverance.”

NSU tried to gain momentum early when sophomore Bryan Johnson ended the Buffalos first drive with an interception and returned it to the 42-yard line.

NSU (2-9, 2-2 LSC North) then moved the ball 18 yards down to the 24-yard line where the drive ended with a Jared Homer 41-yard field goal.

From that point on, it was all West Texas as they scored 28 unanswered points and held a 28-3 lead with 10:50 remaining in the first half.

The RiverHawks next touchdown came with 8:37 left in the second quarter when senior receiver Jarett Beal, who played quarterback during his sophomore year at NSU, hit Ben Randle for a 29-yard touchdown pass on an end around pass. Homer hit the extra point to pull within 28-10.

The Buffs then went on a 31-0 run that stretched through the remainder of the second quarter and early in the fourth quarter.

Junior Pat Cook then led Northeastern State on a couple of scoring drives in the fourth quarter as the RiverHawks tied WTAMU 14-14.

Cook finished the game with 136 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 18 yards.

“Patrick, for having to work as the third quarterback, did a good job at the end,” said Evans.

The first score of the fourth quarter for NSU came on a 19-yard pass from Cook to Randle with 8:56 remaining. Randle finished the game with three catches for 50 yards.

The RiverHawks added an 18-yard touchdown pass from Cook to Trey McVay with 22 seconds left in the game to make the final margin 43 points.

Northeastern State finished the game with 259 yards of total offense, including 226 through the air. The RiverHawks quarterbacks were sacked five times.

“We didn’t do a great job of protection,” said Evans. “We gave up some sacks that we shouldn’t have.”

NSU will close out their season on Saturday with a road game against rival Central Oklahoma. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

“I think we have a young group of players that will bounce back and play well next week,” said Evans.

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