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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) will compete in its first road contest as members of the MIAA as the team travels to Joplin, Mo., to face the Missouri Southern State Lions (1-0, 1-0 MIAA) in their 2012 season home opener.
 
Kickoff is 6 p.m. (CT) Sept. 8 at Fred G. Hughes Stadium (7,000) in Joplin. The game can be heard live on KTLQ 1350 AM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus and Sean Rowley providing commentary. The game will also be streamed live on America One (b2tv.com, subscription based).
 
Pregame Notes
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State opened the year with a 41-20 loss to No. 1 Pittsburg State, while MSSU was busy halting a fourth-quarter comeback at Central Oklahoma (25-20 victory) . . . the RiverHawks recorded a 7-5 mark in 2011 as an independent, which included a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl . . . the Lions were 3-7 a year ago, finishing eighth in the MIAA . . . Missouri Southern State has since rehauled its coaching staff.
 
THE CONNECTION  .  .  .  NSU head football coach Kenny Evans spent nine years serving as both the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Missouri Southern State from 1989-97 . . . he made the move to Joplin the year after the Lions made the transition to Division II (1988), and he helped lead the team to six winnings seasons . . . his most successful campaign at MSSU came in 1993, when the team went 9-1-1 and competed in the Division II Playoffs.
 
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 13-11 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 16-30 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.
 
            MSSU's DARYL DAYE (LSU, '86) is in his first season with the Lions . . . he has more than 24 years of college football experience, and he is the 11th head coach in school history . . . Daye spent the last two years as an assistant to the head coach with the NFL's Buffalo Bills, serving under both defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt and head coach Chan Gailey . . . he also served four years as the Lions' defensive coordinator prior to joining the Bills.
            Daye has also made stops at Southern University (special teams), Nicholls State (head coach from 1999-03), Liberty (defensive coordinator), and Southern Mississippi.
            His football coaching experience began at LSU in 1986, where he worked under and also played for Bill Arnsparger “the architect of the Miami Dolphins' 'No-Name Defense'” in the early 1970s. He then coached two seasons for then-coach Mike Archer who is the current defensive coordinator at North Carolina State University. Initially, Daye came to LSU as a walk-on player. He earned a scholarship and later lettered at inside linebacker for the Tigers.
 
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.
 
WELCOMED BY THE CHAMPS  .  .  .  Northeastern State was welcomed into the MIAA by defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Pittsburg State on August 30 at Doc Wadley Stadium . . . the RiverHawks fell 41-20 to the Gorillas, who were able to amass 562 yards of offense to 386 from NSU . . . Pittsburg State scored on its first drive, but the home team answered midway through the first quarter when sophomore tailback Terrance Dixon broke open a 46-yard run for a touchdown . . . despite turning the ball over five times and allowing an NSU onside kick, the Gorillas scored 24 unanswered points en route to the victory.
 
DIXON HONORED  .  .  .  Sophomore tailback Terrance Dixon recorded 174 all-purpose yards and scored twice in the season opener against Pittsburg State, and for his efforts he was named the Oklahoma State College Football Player of the Week Sept. 3 . . . he had 14 carries for 128 yards and two receptions for 46 yards, and he also scored TD's on runs of 46 and 29 yards, respectively.
 
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.
 
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 fifth in the MIAA with 142 yards per game . . . Northeastern State is 1-for-1 in terms of producing a 100-yard rusher, as sophomore running back Terrance Dixon amassed 128 yards on the ground in the season opener against No. 1 Pitt State . . . the O-line also yielded just one sack to the defending national champions . . . 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).
 
ONSIDE  .  .  .  The RiverHawks were the only team in the MIAA to both attempt and recover an onside kick in the opening week of the season . . . NSU scored late in the third quarter on a 30-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Johnny Deaton to senior wide receiver Jermaine Sherman, making the score 31-13 in favor of the visiting Gorillas. . . on the ensuing kickoff, redshirt freshman kicker Daniel Bond squibbed the ball to the sideline . . . the Gorillas were completely caught off guard, as sophomore wide receiver Prince McJunkins was the only player anywhere near the ball . . . he easily hauled in the onside kick, but the home team was unable to take advantage as Deaton was intercepted three plays later.
 
I'LL TAKE THAT  .  .  .  Through the opening week of the season, Northeastern State is tied for 10th in the nation in turnovers gained . . . the RiverHawks forced the defending national champion Pittsburg State Gorillas to cough up the ball on four occasions . . . sophomore defensive backs Chandler Barr and Kyler Harris each recorded interceptions, while sophomore kicker Dylan Beers recovered a fumble . . . the other fumble lost was credited to the team.
 
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