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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-2, 0-2 MIAA) will travel to Topeka, Kan., for the first meeting with the Washburn Ichabods (2-0, 2-0 MIAA) since the 1988 season. The Ichabods are ranked No. 9 in the country following a perfect start to the season.

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (CT) Sept. 15 at Yager Stadium (7,200) in Topeka. 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).
 
Pregame Notes
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State has dropped its first two contests of the 2012 campaign, falling 41-20 to No. 1 and defending national champion Pittsburg State Aug. 30 . . . the RiverHawks then lost a narrow 27-21 road affair to Missouri Southern State Sept. 8 . . . the Ichabods have earned a national rank of No. 9 after opening the season with victories over Nebraska Kearney (24-14) and Fort Hays State (45-20) . . . NSU was selected ninth in the preseason MIAA coach poll, while WU was picked fourth.
 
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 13-12 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 16-31 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.
 
            Washburn's CRAIG SCHURIG (Colorado Mines, '87) is in his 11th season with the Ichabods . . . he has led his team to three NCAA playoff appearances and the 2005 MIAA title . . . Washburn also finished second in the league in 2007, '09 and '11 . . .  he has compiled a school-record 74 wins to just 44 losses in his career at Washburn . . . Schurig has also led his team to the 2004 Mineral Water Bowl Championship and the 2010 Kanza Bowl Championship . . . in 2011, the Ichabods reached their third NCAA playoffs in school history following a 10-3 season . . . the team set a school-record for the most wins in a season . . . Washburn also recorded its first victory in school history during the playoffs with a 52-49 win over Abilene Christian . . . he has been named the 2005 MIAA Coach of the Year and the 2005 AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year.
            In his ten seasons at Washburn, the Ichabods have had 18 different players earn 51 different All-American accolades, two MIAA Most Valuable Defensive Players, an MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, four MIAA Freshman of the Year awards and 123 players receive all-MIAA honors . . . he has been equally on task with players in the classroom with 171 Ichabods named to the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll, including three Academic All-Americans.
            Prior to joining Washburn, Schurig spent nine seasons on the Pittsburg State coaching staff, where he was a part of an NCAA national finalist squad in 1995, four MIAA championship teams and eight NCAA Division II playoff teams . . . before arriving at Pittsburg State, Schurig spent the 1992 season as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Colorado School of Mines before joining the Gorillas in 1993.
 
BLACK JERSEYS  .  .  .  NSU will don an alternate black uniform on special occasions throughout the 2012 campaign . . . the jerseys debuted in the RiverHawks' home opener Aug. 30 against Pittsburg State to celebrate the first game for Northeastern State as members of the MIAA.
 
 
JONES TIES CAREER HIGH  .  .  .  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 . . . the junior linebacker is leading the MIAA in tackles per game (12.0), and he ranks 17th in the NCAA.
 
SHERMAN GOES OFF FOR CAREER HIGH RECEIVING YARDS  .  .  .  Senior wide receiver Jermaine Sherman had a career-high 133 yards against Missouri Southern State Sept. 8 . . . he also tied his career-high with seven receptions, and he scored on a 69-yard slant pattern with 2:13 to play against the Lions . . . his previous career high for receiving yards in a game was 115 at Nebraska Kearney Sept. 10, 2011 . . . his other seven-reception game was Oct. 22, 2011 against Arkansas-Monticello . . . Sherman has scored touchdowns in both games this season . . . he ranks fourth in the MIAA in both receptions per game (6.0) and receiving yards per game (105.0).
 
DIXON THE SCORING MACHINE  .  .  .  After recording two touchdowns as a freshman in 2011, sophomore running back Terrance Dixon has already found the endzone four times through two games this season . . . his two scores against Pittsburg State Aug. 30 were on runs of 46 and 29 yards, respectively . . . he scored on an eight-yard reception and a three-yard run against Missouri Southern State Sept. 8.
 
2012 CAPTAINS  .  .  .  The NSU football team voted on its 2012 captains this season, 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.
 
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