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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (1-9, 1-8 MIAA) are set to close out the season by hosting their long-time rivals, the Central Oklahoma Bronchos (2-7, 2-7 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) Nov. 16 at Doc Wadley Stadium (8,300) in Tahlequah, Okla., and will be the first of three events on the day, as the two basketball programs will host the NSU Event Center Grand Opening beginning at 5:45 p.m.
 
The game can be heard live on KTLQ 96.3 and 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  .  .  .  Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma own one of the longest-standing rivalries in Division II college football, with the two teams locking up 73 times since 1912 . . . UCO leads the all-time series 45-26-2, but the programs have split 16 meetings since NSU joined the NCAA in 1997 . . . the Bronchos won the first 10 matchups and shutout the then-Redmen nine-straight times, but NSU picked up its first victory against Central Oklahoma in 1933 (14-0) . . . UCO then embarked on another nine-game win streak before NSU was able to start gaining some traction in 1951 . . . Northeastern State has won the last three games in the series.
 
Series History (UCO Leads 45-26-2)
Date    Winner    Score
2012    NSU    22-20
2011    NSU    35-7
2010    NSU    39-28
2009    UCO    47-38
2008    UCO    24-13
2007    NSU    22-14
2006    NSU (ot)    26-23
2005    UCO    37-10
2004    UCO    25-7
2003    UCO    62-42
2002    UCO    58-48
2001    NSU    45-44
2000    NSU    7-0
1999    NSU    12-7
1998    UCO    36-10
1997    UCO    17-16
1984    UCO    31-24
1983    UCO    38-15
1982    UCO    28-17
1982    NSU    42-26
1979    NSU    22-14
1978    NSU    28-14
1977    UCO    21-3
1976    NSU    14-6
1975    UCO    34-24
1974    NSU    9-7
1973    NSU    21-3
1972    NSU    21-14
1971    UCO    35-23
1970    UCO    41-7
1969    NSU    44-15
1968    NSU    27-19
1967    UCO    35-0
1966    UCO    54-13
1965    tie    27-27
1964    NSU    21-20
1963    NSU    14-7
1962    UCO    38-0
1961    UCO    32-0
1960    UCO    21-14
1959    UCO    37-21
1958    NSU    28-8
1957    NSU    28-12
1956    UCO    13-7
1955    UCO    27-0
1954    UCO    42-0
1953    NSU    20-19
1952    NSU    25-7
1951    NSU    53-13
1950    UCO    33-6
1949    UCO    26-7
1948    UCO    20-13
1947    UCO    27-21
1946    UCO    10-6
1941    UCO    7-6
1940    UCO    13-7
1939    UCO    13-6
1938    UCO    26-0
1937    tie    0-0
1936    UCO    21-0
1935    NSU    12-2
1934    UCO    13-7
1933    NSU    14-0
1932    UCO    18-0
1931    UCO    25-0
1930    UCO    12-0
1929    UCO    6-0
1927    UCO    30-0
1926    UCO    7-0
1917    UCO    53-0
1916    UCO    46-0
1915    UCO    83-0
1912    UCO    53-3
 
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 an 18-25 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.
            UCO's NICK BOBECK (Central Oklahoma, '02) is in his second season with the Bronchos . . . he has compiled a 4-15 record during his tenure . . . Bobeck took over the program on Jan. 4, 2012, following a sparkling four-year head coaching stint at junior college powerhouse Navarro (Texas) College . . . the Bronchos played their debut season in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association under Bobeck in 2012, finishing 2-8 . . . Bobeck, who played at UCO and then was a graduate assistant coach for the Bronchos, compiled a sensational 42-5 record at Navarro . . . the Bulldogs won the 2010 national championship along with three regular season Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) titles during his tenure there . . . Bobeck was a four-year letterman and two-year starter at fullback for UCO from 1999-02, earning first-team All-Lone Star Conference North Division honors as a senior . . . he stayed on with the Bronchos as a graduate assistant coach the next three seasons, helping UCO go 20-12 during that stint while making the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2003 . . . Bobeck went to Texas A&M as an offensive line coach in 2006 when the Aggies finished 9-4 and earned a berth in the Holiday Bowl.  He moved on to Navarro the following season and served as offensive coordinator in 2007 when the Bulldogs went 9-3 and won the conference crown.
 
A LONG RUN .  .  . Thor Long registered a career-high 106 yards rushing on 16 carries against Lincoln on Nov. 9 . . . he became the first Northeastern State quarterback to post 100 yards on the ground since Mitch McKinnon tallied 151 yards against Tarleton State on Oct. 26, 2002 . . . Long also finished the day 18-of-36 passing for 201 yards and a touchdown . . . he did not throw an interception and reached the 200-yard plateau for the second time in his career.
 
STEVEN HOPS TO RECORD DAY .  .  . Steven Hopper entered the Nov. 2 contest against Southwest Baptist with 406 career rushing yards and no touchdowns . . . the sophomore running back exploded for 228 yards on 25 carries and the first three rushing touchdowns of his career . . . the rushing yardage was the most by an MIAA running back this season and was the most by an NSU back since 1999 (Carlton Booe) . . . he was selected as the Oklahoma State College Player of the Week for his efforts.
 
THE LOSING STREAK .  .  . The RiverHawks began the season 0-8, and the eight-game losing streak was the longest since the end of the 2011 season (0-2)/beginning of 2012 (0-6) . . . NSU snapped the losing skid by defeating Southwest Baptist on Nov. 2 and avoided the longest losing streak since the 2004 season (0-10)/beginning of 2005 (0-4) . . . NSU has currently lost nine games this season, and a loss to UCO this weekend will mark just the third time in modern era that the RiverHawks have lost 10 games in a single season (2004, '08).
 
THE WRONG RECORD FALLS .  .  . Northeastern State has allowed 2,677 yards rushing through the first 10 games of the season (267.7 ypg) and has broken the all-time school record for rushing yards allowed in a single season . . . . the previous mark was set in 2011 when the team conceded 2,289 yards . . . Northeastern State's defense has allowed three teams to post at least 350 yards rushing in a game this season (Pittsburg State-354, Eastern New Mexico-368, Central Missouri-374) . . . in comparison, the rest of the teams in the MIAA have combined for just four such occurrences (Pittsburg State had 361 against Central Oklahoma, Nebraska-Kearney had 365 against Lindenwood, Missouri Southern had 427 against Central Missouri, Missouri Southern had 607 against Lincoln).
 
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 . . . he then started against Eastern New Mexico and Central Missouri, but Meaders started the Southwest Baptist game . . . Long earned the starting nod this past week against Lincoln . . . 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) . . . so far this season, NSU's quarterbacks have combined for just six touchdown passes (Long has four and Meaders has two) . . . there have been six occurrences in 2013 when a quarterback in the MIAA has thrown for five touchdowns or more in a single game (ESU's Brent Wilson (2), WU's Mitch Buhler (2), UCM's Hayden Hawk, PSU's Anthony Abenoja).
 
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 nine touchdowns in his last nine games, and he has rushed for 580 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 the team with 20 receptions and has 198 yards receiving.
 
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 . . . NSU also did not turn the ball over against Lincoln.
 
LEADING A NATION .  .  .  Langston Jones has compiled 126 tackles through 10 games so far this season . . . the senior linebacker is fourth in the entire NCAA in both total tackles and tackles per game (12.6) . . . 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 17 career double-digit tackle performances . . . his 372 career stops are good for first in NSU's modern era and third amongst all active NCAA Division II players.
 
JUMPING ON TOP .  .  .  Northeastern State scored first in six of the last eight games to end the 2012 campaign . . . the RiverHawks went ahead 3-0 on a Drew Patton field goal in three of those games (Washburn Sept. 15; Missouri Western State Oct. 6; Southwest Baptist Oct. 27) . . . NSU scored touchdowns against Northwest Missouri State (Sept. 29), Central Missouri (Oct. 20) and Lincoln (Nov. 3) . . . one of the only two contests in that stretch where NSU did not score first was Sept. 22 against Emporia State, when the Hornets shut out the green and white in the opening half . . . Northeastern State did not score first in the season finale against Central Oklahoma, but the RiverHawks were able to defeat the Bronchos . . . despite its 1-9 record in 2013, NSU has been scored first in four games.
 
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.
 
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