Emporia State routs Henderson State to advance in D-II playoffs
Landon Nault rushed for 179 yards and led Emporia State to a 29-3 rout of Henderson State on Saturday in the NCAA Division II playoffs’ second round – despite the Hornets not scoring an offensive touchdown until 5:17 to play.
Austin Morton kicked five field goals and ESU’s Eddie Vinson recovered a Henderson State fumble in the end zone for the Hornets’ first 22 points. Nault scored on a 58-yard run in the fourth quarter for Emporia State’s only offensive touchdown.
Emporia State (11-2) held an opponent without a touchdown for the second time this season. Host Henderson State (11-2) was held to 11 first downs and 137 total yards – less than two yards per play on a rainy, cold day in Arkadelphia, Ark.
The Hornets advance to the Super Region 3 championship game next Saturday and will face MIAA-rival Northwest Missouri in Maryville, Mo. Northwest Missouri, playing at home, defeated ESU 44-10 in the regular season.
Nault gained the most single-game rushing yards by an Emporia State freshman since Brian Shay’s 225 against Washburn in 1995.
Emporia St. | 0 | 16 | 6 | 7 | — | 29 |
Henderson St. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — | 3 |
ESU – Morton 41 FG
ESU – Vinson fumble recovery in end zone (Morton kick)
ESU – Morton 40 FG
ESU – Morton 25 FG
ESU – Morton 30 FG
ESU – Morton 31 FG
HSU – Houston 32 FG
ESU – Nault 58 run (Morton kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Emporia St., Nault 28-179, Brown 10-59, Strong 8-30, Wilson 9-0. Henderson St., Cole 16-70, Lewis 1-4, McDonald 1-2, Bryson 3-(-1), Mack 2-(-1), Black 9-(-2).
Passing – Emporia St., Wilson 6-14-63-2. Henderson St., Hardison 7-19-57-1, Black 8-16-55-1.
Receiving – Emporia St., Ervin 1-38, Oliver 1-18, Williams 2-4, Ball 1-2, Strong 1-1. Henderson St., Cole 4-44, Mack 5-35, Snapp 3-23, Peters 1-5, Chappell 1-3, Jackson 1-2.
Scoring plays
This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Emporia State routs Henderson State to advance in D-II playoffs."