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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-6, 0-6 MIAA) are set to step out of conference action with a home contest against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds (2-3, 1-1 LSC)  . . . kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) Oct. 19 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).
 
GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  The former Lone Star Conference combatants are set to renew their rivalry . . . Northeastern State and Eastern New Mexico have met six times throughout the history of the two programs, with all six meetings coming since 1999 . . . the Greyhounds lead the all-time series at 4-2 and have outscored NSU 151-133, but the RiverHawks have taken two of the last three matchups . . . the last time these two squads met was in 2010, when Trey McVay scored on a 30 yard touchdown pass from Kenny Davis on the first play in overtime after ENMU could only muster a field goal.
 
Series History (ENMU Leads 4-2)
Date           Winner                       Score
2010          NSU (ot)                     43-40
2007          ENMU                        14-10
2006          NSU                            42-7
2003          ENMU                        24-10
2002          ENMU                        46-14
1999          ENMU                        20-14
 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's KENNY EVANS (Northeastern State, '82) is in his sixth season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named head coach in 2008 after 28 years as an assistant coach at six other universities . . . during that span, Evans coached in six bowl games, two national playoffs and was part of a coaching staff that won eight conference championships . . . his ninth conference championship was added in 2010 as the RiverHawks posted their first winning season in 10 years. He owns a 17-22 record in his last four seasons after starting 3-19 in his first two campaigns . . . in 2012, Evans guided Northeastern State through its first season as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association . . . the RiverHawks started slow against the premier competition, but they finished strong by winning their last four games to end the year at 4-6 . . . the 2011 team was one of the most successful in school history, as the RiverHawks recorded 30 team and individual school records . . . Evans has coached or recruited nine All-Americans, 11 conference players of the year, more than a dozen who have made it into the National Football League, as well as numerous All-Conference players at seven different colleges.
            ENMU's JOSH LYNN (Eastern New Mexico, '02) is in his second season with the Greyhounds . . . he has compiled a 5-10 record during his tenure . . . in December, 2011, Eastern New Mexico University athletic director Jeff Geiser announced that Josh Lynn had been named as the 15th coach of the Greyhound football program . . . Lynn came to Eastern after posting a 9-2 record at New Mexico Military Institute during the 2011 season . . . Lynn wasted little time establishing himself at nearby NMMI, coaching the secondary and special teams, when he arrived for the 2005 season, before becoming the defensive coordinator in 2006 . . . after taking the reigns as head coach, he quickly turned around a program, which posted a 3-8 mark in 2010, by winning nine games . . . the team finished ranked sixth in the nation and made a trip to the CHAMPS Heart of Texas Bowl . . . Lynn started his coaching career with the Greyhounds as a student assistant coach for wide receivers in 2000, before becoming a recruiting coordinator for the following two seasons.
 
DANCING DIXON .  .  . NSU starting running back Joel Rockmore went down with a season-ending injury in the third game of the season, so junior Terrance Dixon was called upon to spearhead the rushing attack . . . he has stepped up quite nicely, as he has scored five touchdowns in his last five games, and he has rushed for 330 yards this season . . . his best game came against Emporia State, when he carried the ball 27 times for a career-high 132 yards and two touchdowns . . . he also leads Northeastern State with 15 catches for 151 yards . . . three of his five touchdown runs this season have been longer than 20 yards.
 
A FIRST IN THE MODERN ERA .  .  . Northeastern State registered five interceptions against Washburn on Sept. 21 . . . the five picks were two shy of the school record set in 1980, and it was also the most by any NSU team in the modern era and the most by any NCAA team in a single game this season . . . the feat is so rare, there have been two NSU teams in the modern era (2004, '05) that recorded five interceptions all season . . . those that picked off Ichabod QB's were Kyler Harris (2), Chandler Barr, Carson Smallwood and Darrain Winston.
 
YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT .  .  . The RiverHawks did not commit a turnover against either Emporia State or Northwest Missouri State . . . the last time Northeastern State posted back-to-back games without giving the ball away was Sept. 19/26, 1998 . . . NSU also recovered its first fumble of the season (collected by senior defensive lineman Bobby Pointer) against Northwest Missouri State and has now won the turnover battle for three straight games . . . the last time Northeastern State recorded fewer turnovers than its opponent in at least three consecutive games was a four-game stretch from Sept. 25-Oct. 15, 2010.
 
ROTATING QB'S .  .  . Northeastern State has utilized three starting quarterbacks in 2013 . . . senior Johnny Deaton made his 19th career start in the season opener against Pittsburg State, but he suffered a season-ending injury against the Gorillas and was relieved by sophomore Thor Long . . . Long went on to start the first three games of his career against Missouri Southern State, Washburn and Emporia State, but he went down against the Hornets and was replaced by redshirt freshman Cory Meaders . . . the transfer from Hardin-Simmons University earned his first-career start against Northwest Missouri State, and Long took back over the reins against Missouri Western State . . . others who were high on the depth chart at QB but have suffered injuries were Josh Cousins and Prince McJunkins . . . Cousins, a redshirt freshman, suffered a season-ending injury in the 2013 spring game, while McJunkins, a sophomore who has started at wide receiver at NSU and was a high school QB, was slotted as the backup quarterback following Deaton's injury but was injured against the Ichabods . . . the last time the RiverHawks started three quarterbacks in the same season was 2009 (Woody Wilson, Kenny Davis, Pat Cook).
 
GO FOR IT .  .  . NSU opponents have been especially greedy in 2013, as five of six tried a fourth-down conversion at least once . . . Pittsburg State was the boldest of the four, as the Gorillas tried three but were only successful once . . . Missouri Southern was 1-for-1, but Washburn, Emporia State and Northwest Missouri State all went 0-for-2 . . . NSU opponents are 2-for-10 (20 percent) on fourth-down tries in 2013 . . . conversely, the RiverHawks have gone 1-for-2 on fourth downs in four games this season . . . Northeastern State attempted a fourth down in all but one game last season and finished 8-for-19 (42 percent), while opponents also attempted at least one in all but one game and finished 6-for-20 (30 percent).
 
DEJA VU .  .  . NSU has started the season 0-6 for the second-straight year, falling to all the same opponents in Pittsburg State (45-6), Missouri Southern State (17-14), Washburn (48-3), Emporia State (45-24), Northwest Missouri State (40-12), and Missouri Western State (54-10) . . . Northeastern State has now dropped its season opener in nine of the last 11 years . . . the RiverHawks were blown out by PSU a year and also lost a narrow 27-21 to MSSU last season . . . NSU won its first game of the season in its seventh game of 2012.
 
LEADING A NATION .  .  .  Langston Jones has compiled 79 tackles through five games so far this season . . . the senior linebacker is fifth in the entire NCAA in both total tackles and tackles per game (13.2) . . . he started off the year with a bang, stopping 12 Gorillas in the season opener . . . he recorded a career-high 21 stops against Missouri Southern State and followed that with a 13-tackle effort against Washburn . . . he also had seven against Emporia State, 14 against Northwest Missouri State and 12 against Missouri Western State . . . Jones exploded for 110 tackles a year ago, and he led the MIAA with 11.0 tackles per game and was also tied for 10th in the nation . . . he was named to the All-MIAA Second Team and the Don Hansen All-Super Region Three Third Team for his efforts . . . Jones was also named a 2013 USA College Football Division II Preseason All-American prior to the start of this season . . . he has registered 14 career double-digit tackle performances . . . his 325 career stops are good for second in NSU's modern era and third amongst all active NCAA Division II players.
 
SHUTTING DOWN THE WISHBONE  .  .  .  A week after blitzing Central Oklahoma for 52 points in the season opener, Missouri Southern State was completely baffled by the RiverHawk defense . . . despite scoring 17 points in the first half, the Lions were forced to punt on all six second-half possessions (three three-and-outs, one failed fourth-down conversion) as NSU shutout the visitors from Joplin . . . MSSU mustered just 15 first downs and only 281 yards of offense against Northeastern State . . . the following week, the Lions threw 59 points on Lincoln.
 
ID'S REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2013 .  .  . All fans wishing to attend an NSU home football or basketball contest this season will be required to show a ticket prior to entering the facilities . . . NSU students and faculty/staff will still be allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's will no longer be accepted as a form of entry . . . tickets can be purchased at NSU's new ticketing Web site, goriverhawkstickets.com . . . NSU students and faculty/staff can access goriverhawkstickets.com and secure their free tickets (either printable or downloaded to your smart phone) through their goNSU accounts . . . for questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR .  .  . Northeastern State University Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online and has launced its new, one-of-a-kind online shopping site, goriverhawksgear.com . . . NSU fans have another avenue for acquiring Northeastern State apparel and accessories . . . the store is loaded with options for fans of all ages, ranging from T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts, to home office supplies, drinkware and kitchen essentials . . . every item is branded with official Northeastern State athletics and university logos, and select RiverHawks gear and accessories are customizable . . . the new online store can be accessed by simply visiting www.goriverhawksgear.com . . . the shop can also be viewed by clicking on the shopping cart at the top right of www.goriverhawksgo.com, the static graphic underneath the main picture or the rotating horizontal carousel just above the video player.
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-