TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-5, 0-5 MIAA) celebrate Homecoming Week as they play host to the No. 5-ranked Missouri Western State Griffons (5-0, 4-0 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) Oct. 6 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 five 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), and Northwest Missouri State (66-6) . . . the Griffons currently sit at No. 5 in the AFCA Coaches Poll . . . MWSU has defeated league foes Central Missouri (38-26), Nebraska Kearney (38-14), Fort Hays State (21-3) and Central Oklahoma (45-23) . . . NSU was selected ninth in the preseason MIAA coaches poll, while MWSU was picked third.
 
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 13-15 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 16-34 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.
 
            MWSU's JERRY PARTRIDGE (Missouri Western State, '85) is in his 16th season with the Griffons . . . he became MWSU's all-time wins leader on September 30, 2006, and he now ranks third on the MIAA all-time wins list with a record of 117-62 . . . Partridge has coached the Griffons' only MIAA Player-of-the-Year, Jerris Evans (2001); and only MIAA Special Teams Player-of-the-Year, Greg Zuerlein (2011) . . . he has also coached two MIAA Freshman of the Year, Drew Newhart (2007) and Roger Allen (2005); coached the school's all-time leader in passing (Drew Newhart), tackles (Eric Walker), and sacks (Eric McDowell); has had over 230 players named all-MIAA; 22 all-Americans, set the single season school record for wins with nine, six out of the last nine years and led the team to its first three NCAA Playoff  appearances (2006, 2010 and 2011)  which included hosting their first ever playoff game on November 20, 2011 against rival Northwest Missouri State.
            Partridge has led the Griffons to nine postseason appearances (2000, 2003, 2005, 2006 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011) and the MIAA co-Championship in 2003 . . . Partridge, the sixth head football coach in Missouri Western history, has built a program geared toward seeing his players succeed on the field and in the classroom, while preparing them for the future with a steady diet of hard work and support . . . he served as a graduate assistant coach at both the University of Notre Dame and the University of Missouri and was a member of the Notre Dame coaching staff when the Fighting Irish won the 1988 national title by winning the Fiesta Bowl under Head Coach Lou Holtz . . . while at Missouri, Partridge earned a master's degree in sports administration.
 
JONES LEADS MIAA IN TACKLES, IS 26TH 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 (10.4), and he ranks 26th in the NCAA in that category.
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 third in the MIAA in receptions per game (6.4) and sixth in receiving yards per game (80.4).
 
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 Sept. 22 . . . Rockmore has only started one game in 2012, but he is the leading rusher on the team at 87.8 yards per game, which is also good for fourth in the conference and 48th in the nation . . . he is also averaging 129.0 all-purpose yards per game, good for sixth in the MIAA.
 
WILLIAMS HAS CAREER DAY  .  .  .  Junior defensive back Victor Williams had a career-high and team-leading 12 tackles against Northwest Missouri State Sept. 29 . . . he recorded seven solo stops and five assisted tackles against the Bearcats . . . his previous best coming into the season was six tackles in a game, a mark which he has bested twice already this year (he made eight tackles in the season opener against Pittsburg State) . . . Williams has yet to start in a game this season, but he is currently third on the team with 27 tackles through four games played (missed the Washburn game).
 
NSU'S SCHEDULE REMAINS TREACHEROUS .  .  .  Northeastern State has lost all five 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 Sept. 15 despite outgaining the Ichabods 423-286 in total offense, and the team most recently fell 30-20 to Emporia State Sept. 22 and 66-6 to Northwest Missouri State Sept. 29 . . . NSU's first seven opponents are currently 29-5 this season, and the team has faced or will face seven of the top eight teams currently sitting atop the league standings . . . the RiverHawks have also faced or will face five teams that have been ranked in the top 25 in the nation at least once this year, while a sixth (Central Missouri) is the top team receiving votes in the most recent AFCA Coaches' Poll.
 
TRICKERY  .  .  .  Northeastern State has converted two fake punts into first downs over the last two weeks . . . the RiverHawks had the ball on their own 27-yard line on a fourth and one situation midway through the opening quarter against Emporia State Sept. 22 . . . senior quarterback Dallas McCutcheon, who serves as the up-back in punting situations, received the direct snap from senior Corey Combs, and he scampered free for a 10-yard gain to move the chains . . . NSU would punt four plays later . . . this past week against Northwest Missouri State, Northeastern State found itself at the Bearcat 46 on fourth and three midway through the second quarter . . . Combs' snap this time went to sophomore punter Dylan Beers, and he threw to a wide-open senior fullback Nick Whitlow for a 12-yard gain and a first down . . . NSU would turn the ball over by way of an interception two plays later.
 
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.
 
THE O-LINE  .  .  .  NSU's starting offensive line is one of the biggest in Division II college football . . . 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 10th in the MIAA with 136.0 yards per game . . . Northeastern State is 3 of 5 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 had a career-high 176 against Washburn and 105 yards against Emporia State . . . the O-line also yielded just five sacks all season, which is 27th 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).
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-