TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Darius Bortters picked up a fumble and raced 25 yards for a touchdown in third quarter to lift Midwestern State to a 7-3 win over Northeastern State Saturday night in the driving rain at Gable Field.

With the win, the Mustangs improve to 2-0 on the season and will play host to No. 23 Newberry (S.C.) next Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Bortters scooped up the ball after junior Emmanuel Bagley stripped Northeastern State running back Prince McKinney at the NSU 25-yard line and bolted into the end zone for the Mustangs' lone score of the game.

The rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on both offenses as Midwestern State ran the ball on 41-of-53 plays to finish with 189 yards, while the RiverHawks rushed on 44-of-67 plays for 148 total yards.

The RiverHawks took advantage of a 32-yard strike from Kaelin Wood to to Damien Henderson to the MSU 38-yard line that led to a 38-yard field from Jared Homer at the 3:02-mark of the second quarter.

The Mustangs recovered from a 25-minute lightning delay and a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half to limit the RiverHawks to 48 yards in the second half including a pair of stops in the final four minutes of the contest.

The defense rose to the occasion after BeeJay Mathis muffed a 60-yard Joe Kok punt at the MSU 12-yard line with 6:15 to go.

The Mustangs stuffed McKinney four-straight carries including two-straight stops by defensive lineman Todd Zoglmann to force the RiverHawks to turn the ball over on downs.

But Marcus Mathis coughed up MSU's fifth fumble of the contest when he lost the ball at the MSU 29-yard line.

The RiverHawks were beneficiaries of a pass interference call which nullified an interception by Ryan Craven which would have ended the scoring threat.

That allowed NSU to work the ball to Midwestern's 17-yard line where MSU safety Herman Walker picked off a pass intended for Jarrett Byers to seal the win for the Mustangs.

BeeJay Mathis paced the MSU rushing attack with 94 yards on 14 carries, while Bobby Ransom finished with 54 yards on seven carries and Marcus Mathis had 42 yards on 11 totes.

McKinney rushed for 77 yards on 28 carries to lead the RiverHawks, who fell to 0-3.

Midwestern State has now won 24-straight games against Oklahoma schools including the last 11 against LSC North Division opponents.