MIAA GAME OF THE WEEK - Cox Oklahoma Channels 3 and 703, KSMO Channel 62 (Kansas City)

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-4, 0-4 MIAA) head back on the road on a trip to Maryville, Mo., to face the No. 11-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (3-1, 2-1 MIAA) in the MIAA Game of the Week.
 
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CT) Sept. 29 at Bearcat Stadium (6,500). The contest will be broadcast live by the MIAA Network. The game will be available on KSMO Channel 62 in Kansas City, and Cox Cable 3 or 703 in Oklahoma.
 
The contest can also 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 four contests of the 2012 campaign . . . the team has fallen to Pittsburg State (41-20), Missouri Southern State (27-21), Washburn (24-20), and Emporia State (30-20) . . . the Bearcats currently sit at No. 11 in the AFCA Coaches Poll after debuting in the preseason as the No. 3-ranked team in the nation . . . NWMSU has defeated Nebraska Kearney (37-13), Fort Hays State (48-10) and East Central (33-3) . . . the only blemish on the resume was at Central Missouri (31-21) Sept. 8 . . . NSU was selected ninth in the preseason MIAA coaches poll, while NWMSU was picked second.
 
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 13-14 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 16-33 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.
 
            NWMSU's ADAM DORREL (Northwest Missouri State, '98) is in his second season with the Bearcats . . . he was named head coach at Northwest Missouri State University after the passing of long-time assistant coach Scott Bostwick on June 5, 2011 . . . Dorrel continued the Bearcat excellence in his first season as head coach, returning the Bearcats to the playoffs for an eighth straight season, the longest current streak in NCAA Division II football . . . the Bearcats advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals, falling to the eventual national champion for the second season in a row . . . in addition to a celebrated playoff run, the Bearcats led the nation in scoring, averaging more than 50 points per game during the regular season and scoring the second most points in college football regardless of division . . . prior to being named head coach, Dorrel was the offensive coordinator at Northwest from 2007-10, helping the Bearcats to an unprecedented five consecutive NCAA Division II Championship appearances and their third national title in 2009 . . . in Dorrel's eight seasons with the Bearcats since returning in 2004, they have a 98-17 record and added five MIAA Championships.
            After earning his bachelor's degree from Northwest in 1998, Dorrel spent a year as a graduate assistant at Northeastern State in Oklahoma. He returned to Northwest as a graduate assistant in 1999 when the team won the second of its back-to-back national titles and completed his master's degree at Northwest in 2000 . . . Dorrel served coaching stints at Dakota State University in South Dakota and William Jewell College in Missouri before being appointed offensive line coach at Northwest in 2004. He was promoted to offensive coordinator prior to the 2007 season and then to assistant head coach after Scott Bostwick was named head coach in December 2010.
 
JONES LEADS MIAA IN TACKLES, IS 16TH 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 (11.0), and he ranks 16th 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 has scored touchdowns in all four games this season . . . he ranks third in the MIAA in both receptions per game (6.8) and receiving yards per game (89.2).
 
THE TALE OF TWO HALVES .  .  .  Northeastern State has outplayed its opponents in the second half of every contest this season despite owning an 0-4 mark . . . NSU has outscored its foes 58-47 in the second half this year, and the team has outgained its opponents in the final 30 minutes of three of four games in 2012 . . . below is a graphic of the numbers.
 
                                    NSU                 Opp
First Half Points        23                    75
Second Half Points    58                    47
First Half Yardage     (529) 132.3    (914) 228.5
Second Half Yardage            (967) 241.8    (746) 186.5
 
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 Sept. 22 . . . Rockmore has yet to start a game in 2012, but he is the leading rusher on the team at 98.0 yards per game, which is also good for fourth in the conference and 31st in the nation . . . he is also averaging 137.3 all-purpose yards per game, good for sixth in the MIAA.
 
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