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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-6, 0-6 MIAA) will play host to the Central Missouri Mules (5-2, 5-2 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) Oct. 20 at Doc Wadley Stadium (8,300) in Tahlequah, Okla.
 
The game can be heard live on KTLQ 1350 AM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus and Sean Rowley providing commentary. A free audio broadcast can be found at goriverhawksgo.com. The game will also be streamed live on America One (b2tv.com, subscription based).
 
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State has dropped its first six contests of the 2012 campaign . . . the team has fallen to Pittsburg State (41-20), Missouri Southern State (27-21), Washburn (24-20), Emporia State (30-20), Northwest Missouri State (66-6), and Missouri Western State (45-31) . . . the Mules are currently receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll . . . UCM has defeated league foes Northwest Missouri State (31-21), Lindenwood (35-28), Truman State (38-17), Missouri Southern State (35-10), and Central Oklahoma (47-17) . . . the team has dropped contests to Missouri Western State (38-26) and Pittsburg State (30-21) . . . NSU was selected ninth in the preseason MIAA coaches poll, while UCM was picked fifth.
 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's KENNY EVANS (Northeastern State, '82) is in his fifth season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he collected his first career collegiate coaching victory on Oct. 18, 2008, with a 45-20 triumph over Southwest Baptist . . . he recorded a 3-19 record in his first two years at the school, but he has begun to turn around the program with a combined 13-16 mark over the last two+ years . . . he led NSU to a 6-5 mark in 2010 and a 7-5 record last season, giving the RiverHawks their first back-to-back winning seasons since 1998-00 . . . Evans currently owns a career 16-35 record at NSU, his first stop as a head coach.
            He has coached or recruited nine All-Americans, 11 conference players of the year, more than a dozen players who have made it into the National Football League, as well as numerous all-conference selections at seven different colleges . . . before taking the job at NSU, Evans coached linebackers at Louisiana Tech for Derek Dooley in 2008 . . . he was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005 by the Football Foundation while coaching at the University of North Texas on the staff of Darrell Dickey.
            The Warner, Okla., native and Northeastern State graduate began his coaching career at Miami (Okla.) High School in 1981 before joining the college ranks as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma for Barry Switzer and the Sooners . . . afterwards, he followed long-time Sooner offensive coordinator Galen Hall to the University of Florida where he coached wide receivers for the Gators for one year . . . he has also made stops at Southeastern Oklahoma and Missouri Southern as coordinators.
 
            UCM's JIM SVOBODA (Northwestern College, '83) is in his third season with the Mules . . . he was named the 28th head football coach of the University of Central Missouri program on January 15, 2010 . . . now entering his third season, he has led the Mules to back-to-back postseason appearances for just the second time in school history and the second most wins in a two-year period in program history . . . last year, the Mules had to replace four departed All-Americans and the Harlon Hill winner, but that didn't stop UCM from still putting up big numbers . . . the Mules ranked sixth in NCAA-II in passing offense and finished with an 8-4 overall record and received a berth to play in the Kanza Bowl. Ten Mules earned all-MIAA honors with three players receiving All-American accolades . . . Svoboda's first year proved to be the best of any coach in school history, helping the Mules to a school record 11-3 mark, and an 8-1 mark in the MIAA to finish second . . . he also led UCM to its second ever NCAA Playoff appearance, as well as the first home playoff game and first playoff win in school history as the Mules advanced to the NCAA-II National Quarterfinals . . . Svoboda has experienced success at every level, winning national championships at the Division II and NAIA level as an assistant coach, as well as three bowl game appearances at the FBS Division I level . . . he boasts a combined 239-97 record as both a head and assistant coach.
            Svoboda came to UCM after three years as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Division I-FCS member Montana State, and helped the Bobcats to winning seasons each year there, as well as a top 25 final national ranking in 2009 . . . Svoboda served as UCLA's quarterbacks coach from 2004-06, helping lead the Bruins to three bowl games and only their seventh 10-win season ever in that span. He served as the program's offensive coordinator in 2006.
 
JONES LEADS MIAA IN TACKLES, IS 20TH IN THE NATION  .  .  .  Junior linebacker Langston Jones recorded a career-high-tying 16 tackles against Missouri Southern State Sept. 8 . . . seven of his tackles were of the solo variety, while the other nine were assisted . . . the mark equaled his total from the Mineral Water Bowl last season against Minnesota State Mankato, when he had six solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles . . . Jones is leading the MIAA in tackles per game (10.7), and he ranks 20th in the NCAA in that category.
 
NEARING MILESTONES  .  .  .  There are currently four RiverHawks who are approaching career milestones . . . senior wideout Jermaine Sherman has 952 career receiving yards, and 48 more would make him just the fourth player to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau since NSU became a Division II program in 1998 . . . sophomore Joel Rockmore is 39 yards shy of becoming the fifth RiverHawk in the D-II era to reach 1,000 career rushing yards . . . junior cornerback Vernon Jones has eight career interceptions, and he is one shy of tying the school's D-II record for most in a career . . . sophomore quarterback Johnny Deaton is second in NSU's D-II history in passing yards (3,767), total offense (4,020) and passing TD's (32) . . . to tie Kenny Davis for all three of those marks, he needs, respectively, 565 passing yards, 725 total offense yards, and three passing TD's.
 
SHERMAN HAVING BREAKOUT CAMPAIGN  .  .  .  Senior wide receiver Jermaine Sherman is currently in the midst of a banner season . . . he had a career-high 133 yards against Missouri Southern State Sept. 8 . . . he also set his personal record for receptions in a game when he caught nine passes for 63 yards against Emporia State Sept. 22 . . . Sherman scored touchdowns in each of the first four games this season . . . he currently ranks sixth in the MIAA in receptions per game (5.5) and ninth in receiving yards per game (68.5).
 
RUNNIN' THE ROCK .  .  . Sophomore running back Joel Rockmore ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown on just 15 attempts Sept. 15 against Washburn (11.7 average) . . . his career-day included carries of 66 and 63 yards, and he was a big reason why the RiverHawks were able to record 251 rushing yards against the No. 9 team in the nation . . . Rockmore finished the day with 211 all-purpose yards, as he added 30 kick return yards and five receiving yards . . . he also recorded 105 rushing yards and a score against Emporia State and 131 against Missouri Western . . . Rockmore has only started two games in 2012, but he is the leading rusher on the team at 96.4 yards per game, which is also good for second in the conference and 34th in the nation . . . he is also averaging 143.8 all-purpose yards per game, good for fourth in the MIAA and 35th in the nation.
 
NSU'S SCHEDULE REMAINS TREACHEROUS .  .  .  Northeastern State has lost all six of its games so far this season, but the RiverHawks are facing some of the premier competition in the nation . . . NSU dropped a 41-20 affair to No. 1 Pittsburg State in the season opener, and the RiverHawks then lost 27-21 on the road against then-undefeated Missouri Southern State . . . Northeastern State also fell 24-20 at Washburn despite outgaining the Ichabods 423-286 in total offense, and the team fell 30-20 to undefeated Emporia State and 66-6 to Northwest Missouri State . . . the 31 points scored against Missouri Western was the most the Griffons had allowed all year (45-31) . . . NSU's first seven opponents are currently 40-8 this season, and the team has faced or will face each of the top seven teams currently sitting atop the league standings . . . the RiverHawks have also faced five teams that have been ranked in the top 25 in the nation at least once this year, while a sixth (Central Missouri) is receiving votes in the most recent AFCA Coaches' Poll.
 
2012 CAPTAINS  .  .  .  The NSU football team voted on its 2012 captains, and the three members of the team who will be serving as captains throughout the year are junior linebacker Jack Gray, junior safety Victor Johnson and sophomore running back Terrance Dixon.
 
IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK  .  .  .  Junior safety Victor Johnson played his first game as a member of the NSU RiverHawks Aug. 30 against Pittsburg State . . . he was a two-year starter at Oklahoma State but has been out of football for nearly two years after being injured in the 2010 season . . . Johnson was a lethal kickoff return man, and he also recorded 52 tackles in 25 career games (four starts) as a member of the Cowboys . . . the first-team academic All-Big 12 member led Northeastern State with 14 tackles in his first game since 2010 . . . through five games this season, Johnson ranks second on the team with 61 tackles . . . his 10.2 tackles per game ranks second in the MIAA (behind teammate Langston Jones) and 30th in the nation.
 
THE O-LINE  .  .  .  NSU's starting offensive line is one of the biggest in Division II college football, and they have been together all six games this year . . . with an average height of 6-foot-4 and an average weight of 278, the RiverHawks front five lead the way for a rushing attack that currently ranks ninth in the MIAA with 142.0 yards per game . . . Northeastern State is 4 of 6 in terms of producing a 100-yard rusher, as Terrance Dixon amassed 128 yards on the ground in the season opener against Pittsburg State, and Joel Rockmore has eclipsed the 100-yard plateau in three of his last four games (career-high 176 against Washburn, 105 against Emporia State, 131 against Missouri Western State) . . . the O-line also yielded just seven sacks all season, which is 34th in the country . . . the starting offensive line is (from left tackle to right tackle) senior Michael Bowie (6-5, 320), sophomore Chris Webber (6-5, 250), redshirt freshman Ross Dvorak (6-2, 250), sophomore Jonathan Brown (6-2, 290), and sophomore Ethan James (6-5, 280).
 
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