TECH'S OFFENSE GAINS 460 YARDS AND SCORES 44 POINTS
ENROUTE TO SEASON OPENING WIN AT NORTHEASTERN STATE

        TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma – Arkansas Tech, who waited through a 95-minute weather delay before kicking off its 95th season of intercollegiate football here Thursday evening, used an offense that produced 460 total yards to post a 44-32 victory over Northeastern State at Doc Wadley Stadium.

The 44 points were the most scored in a season opener by Tech since putting up 52 points in the 2004 opener against Northeastern State. In addition, the 460 yards of offense was the most gained by the Wonder Boys in a season opener since collecting 432 yards against the RiverHawks to open the 2006 season.

“We feel fortunate to walk out of here with a win tonight considering all the mistakes we made,” Wonder Boys Head Coach and Athletic Director Steve Mullins said following the victory. “NSU is a lot better team than they were last season.”

Thursday’s win was Tech’s sixth consecutive season-opening victory, its longest such streak of season opening wins since winning seven straight season openers from 1941-50. Tech did not play football from 1942-44.

The start of Thursday’s game was delayed nearly 95 minutes due to lightning and rain in the Tahlequah area. The teams finally took the field for pregame warm-ups at 7:45, which was 45 minutes past the originally scheduled kick-off time. The game finally kicked off at 8:35 p.m.

With the win, Mullins is now tied with John Tucker and E.O. Brown as the winningest coach in school history. Mullins has compiled a 77-51 record as Tech’s coach.

NSU, who has now lost seven straight games to the Wonder Boys, opened the game’s scoring on a fumble by Tech junior defensive back Joe Bryant (Stuttgart, Ark.) off a pooch punt by NSU quarterback Woody Wilson. Bryant’s fumble was recovered by John Turner in the end zone for a touchdown.n its third possession of the game, Tech, who received votes in the both the Preseason AFCA and D2Football.com Top 25 Polls, finally found the end zone as senior quarterback Nick Graziano (Moraga, Calif.) connected with senior receiver Rolaundo Wright (Sulphur Springs, Texas) for a 15-yard touchdown strike. The snap on the extra point was bobbled to give NSU a 7-6 lead.

          Following Tech’s score, junior defensive back Terrance Boykin (Wynne, Ark.) picked off a Wilson pass and one play later, Graziano hit senior receiver Landon Turner (Destrehan, La.) for a 29-yard touchdown to give Tech a 12-7 lead. Senior kicker Travis Cockerham (Bryant, Ark.) connected on the extra point to give the Wonder Boys a 13-7 lead.

          In his Wonder Boy debut, Graziano, who is a transfer from the University of Nevada, went 26-for-39 passing for 354 yards and had four touchdowns and one interception. The 354 passing yards is tied with former Wonder Boy Cole Barthel (2006-08) for fourth on the school’s single-game charts. Barthel threw for 354 yards against North Alabama last season.

          The RiverHawks retook the lead on thanks to a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Ben Randle with 9:02 left in the half. Tech, though, came right back and marched 43 yards in seven plays and retook the lead thanks to a 37-yard field from Cockerham with 6:46 left in the half.

          “I thought Travis (Cockerham) kicked the ball well tonight,” Mullins said.

Wilson, who made his debut for the RiverHawks after sitting out last season after transferring from the University of North Texas, led NSU with 93 rushing yards and was 17-for-33 passing for 232 yards and had two touchdowns and an interception. On the night, he accounted for 325 of NSU’s 376 yards of offense.

“Wilson is a good quarterback, he caused us some problems tonight,” the 13th-year Tech coach said.

          Tech increased its lead to 22-14 thanks to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Graziano to redshirt freshman receiver Gionni Harris (Fayetteville, Ark.). Cockerham connected on the extra-point to give Tech a 23-14 advantage with 2:02 remaining in the first half.

          In the first half, Tech gained 235 yards of offense, with 169 of those yards coming in the second quarter as the Wonder Boys outscored the RiverHawks, 23-7.  

          The Wonder Boys opened the second half by driving 70 yards in eight plays and completing the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run by Graziano. Graziano’s run gave Tech a 29-14 edge and Cockerham added the extra point to make the score 30-14. The scoring drive featured a 33-yard pass to Turner from Graziano and a 20-yard pass from Graziano to senior receiver Frantz Simeon (Belle Glade, Fla.).

          NSU took advantage of four 15-yard penalties and used a 5-yard touchdown run by Prince McKinney with 4:47 left in the third quarter to pull within 30-20. The Riverhawks added a two-point conversion on a pass from Wilson to Trey McVay to drop Tech’s lead to 30-22.

          The RiverHawks pulled within 30-25 just 58 seconds into the final quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Jared Homer, which completed a 10-play, 58-yard drive.

          Following Homer’s field goal, Tech came back and drove 85 yards in 12 plays and completed the drive on 9-yard scoring pass from Graziano to Turner to give the Wonder Boys a 37-25 lead with 8:40 left in the game. The drive featured several big plays, including a 38-yard pass completion to Turner and an 18-yard pass to Wright.

          Turner finished the night with a game-high eight catches for 133 yards and had two scores and is now 85 yards shy of becoming the 17th Wonder Boy in school history to reach 1,000 career receiving yards. For the game, eight different players caught at least one pass.

          “I was pleased with our offense tonight, with the exception of the two turnovers,” the Tech coach said.

          Tech padded its lead thanks to a 3-yard touchdown run by junior running back Cody Burns (Pine Bluff, Ark.) with 4:13 left in the game. Burns’ run, which gave Tech a 44-25 lead, completed a 6-play, 53-yard drive for the Wonder Boys. The big play on the drive was a 42-yard pass from Graziano to Simeon, who finished with six catches for 90 yards.

          NSU closed out the game’s scoring on a 33-yard pass from Wilson to Ed Victorian with 1:03 left in the game.

          “It was good to finally play against some other then ourselves,” Mullins added.

          The Wonder Boys will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 5, when they open the home portion of its schedule against Incarnate Word. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field.

          Northeastern State Box Score 

-- Tech Athletics --