EMPORIA STATE FOOTBALL OPENS SEASON WITH 38-7 WIN AT NORTHEASTERN STATE

September 4, 2021-After 658 days and a one hour rain delay Emporia State rolled out to a 28-0 first half lead and defeated Northeastern State 38-7 on Saturday night in Tahlequah, Okla.
 
The Hornets won the toss and deferred giving the RiverHawks the ball to start the game.  Emporia State's defense forced a three and out and following a penalty Braden Gleason found Cole Schumacker in the flat, he broke a tackle and went 70 yards for a touchdown to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead with 12:34 left in the first quarter.
 
Gleason hit Jaylen Varner who made an acrobatic catch at the goal line to complete a 30 yard touchdown and give the Hornets a 14-0 lead with 4:57 left in the quarter.
 
Emporia State finished the first quarter with 160 yards of total offense while holding Northeastern State to just four yards on 16 plays.
 
After another three and out to end the first quarter the Hornets got the ball to start the second quarter and went 47 yards on nine plays, capped by an 18 yard run by Canaan Brooks to take a 21-0 lead with 9:44 left in the half. 
 
The teams traded punts for the next three possessions, with Rylan Miller getting his first career sack with just over five minutes left to give the ball back to the Hornets with 4:52 left in the half.  Gleason completed six straight passes, capped by a two yard shovel pass to Varner with 54 seconds left as the Hornets took a 28-0 lead into the half.
 
The Hornets amassed 299 yards of total offense in the first half while holding the RiverHawks to 22 yards on 28 plays.
 
The third quarter saw the offense slow down a bit before Emporia State put together a 15 play, 56 yard drive capped by a 34 yard field goal by Sam Dobbins to make it 31-0 with 34 seconds left in the quarter.
 
Northeastern State finally got on the board with 7:05 left in the fourth quarter when Darius Hopkins scored from seven yards out to cap a 6 play, 65 yard drive.
 
Emporia State answered almost immediately on the next drive.  Calvin Boyce gained a total of 13 yards on three carries before Jack Diamond tossed a shovel pass to Deontei Braggs who went 62 yards for the final touchdown.  Dobbins extra point made it 38-7 with 4:55 left. 
 
Braden Gleason was 28 of 40 for 322 yards and three touchdowns.  Dalton Cowan was credited with five catches for 65 yards while Jaylen Varner had four catches for 44 yards and two touchdowns and Cole Schumacker had three receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown. Canaan Brooks was the leading rusher with 52 yards on 11 carries.
 
Dawson Hammes was credited with eight tackles, seven of them solo along with three tackles for loss.  Cade Harelson had seven stops with three TFL and Jace McDown added six tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss.  Juwan Johnson had an interception for the only turnover forced on the night.
 
Emporia State will make their 2021 home debut on Saturday, September 11 when they play host to Central Oklahoma.  Kick-off from Jones Field at Welch Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m.
 
NOTES
This was Gleason's first career 300 yard game.
It was the first time a Hornet quarterback had thrown for over 300 yards in a season opening game since Brent Wilson had 330 against Missouri Southern in 2015.