NSU Game Notes  I  Live Stats  I  Live Video  I  Free Audio  I  Tickets

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-4, 0-4 MIAA) will hit the road for a tall task as they are scheduled to face off against the No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State Bearcats (4-0, 4-0 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) Oct. 4 at Bearcat Stadium (6,500) in Maryville, Missouri.

The game can be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM 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 Stretch Internet (http://portal.stretchinternet.com/nsu/, subscription based). A football-only season pass is available for $69.95, and a day pass can be purchased for $9.95.

GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State and Northwest Missouri State have only met four times in the respective history of the two programs, with two of those meetings coming in the last two years . . . the Bearcats have taken all four contests by a combined score of 160-25 . . . NWMSU captured the first game in 1939 by a slim 7-0 margin, but the team blew out NSU in each of the next three matchups, starting with a 47-7 triumph in 1940 . . . the Bearcats defeated NSU 66-6 on the MIAA Network in Maryville two years ago and earned a 40-12 victory in Tahlequah a year ago . . . the meeting in 2012 was the first for the two programs as members of the same conference.
 
Series History (NWMSU Leads 4-0)
Date    Winner    Score
2013    NWMSU    40-12
2012    NWMSU    66-6
1940    NWMSU    47-7
1939    NWMSU    7-0
 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's ROB ROBINSON (William Jewell, '00) is in his first season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013 . . . he owns a 0-4 all-time record . . . Robinson spent the previous 12 years under Craig Schurig as a member of the Washburn Ichabod coaching staff, serving as the offensive coordinator for the last four seasons . . . he also directed the running backs from 2007-13 and coached the wide receivers from 2002-06 . . . he served as the recruiting coordinator from 2002-10 and was the academic coordinator from 2010-13 . . . Robinson was an integral member of a Washburn staff that completely turned around the Ichabod program . . . Washburn averaged 3.3 wins from 1989-03 and had just one winning season, but the Ichabods averaged 7.9 wins from 2004-13 and posted 10 straight winning campaigns . . . Robinson is the second former coordinator under Schurig's tutelage to become the head coach of another program, joining Fort Hays State's Chris Brown . . . Robinson spent the 2001 season at Pittsburg State as a graduate assistant, coaching the defensive backs with Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . . the Gorillas won the MIAA Championship that year.
            NWMSU's ADAM DORRELL (Northwest Missouri State, '97) is in his fourth season with the Bearcats . . . he led his alma mater to the NCAA Division II National Championship last season with a 15-0 record . . . it was just the second time in Northwest history that the Bearcats went undefeated, matching the 1998 championship team's mark . . . Dorrel was named the 2013 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coach of the Year and also garnered MIAA Coach of the Year honors, winning the program's 25th MIAA title after a 10-0 season . . . Northwest has advanced to 10 consecutive playoff appearances, which is tied for the longest streak in NCAA history . . . nationally, the 2013 Bearcats ranked among the nation's best in blocked kicks (first), completion percentage (second), fumbles recovered (second), team pass efficiency (second), first downs (second), scoring offense (fifth), turnovers gained (fifth) and total defense (ninth) . . . Northwest also led the MIAA in completion percentage, first downs, blocked kicks, third-down conversion defense, passing yards allowed, scoring defense, sacks, pass efficiency, pass defense, total defense and turnovers gained . . . prior to being named head coach, Dorrel was the offensive coordinator at Northwest from 2007 to 2010, helping the Bearcats to an unprecedented five consecutive NCAA Division II championship appearances and their third national title in 2009 . . . in Dorrel's 10 seasons with the Bearcats since returning in 2004, they have a 122-21 record and added six MIAA championships.
 
NOTES FROM THE EMPORIA STATE GAME .  .  . After NSU posted just 13 points total through the first three games this season, the RiverHawks exploded for 35 points and 504 yards of total offense this past week against Emporia State . . . the RiverHawks fell in double overtime to the Hornets by a 42-35 scoreline, which was the first double OT game for NSU since NOv. 11, 2006 . . . quarterback Kevin Pantastico broke school records for completions (34) and attempts (56) . . . he also threw for a career-high 369 yards - which was the most by an NSU QB since 2011 - and a pair of touchdowns . . . he had 26 yards rushing and a TD run in overtime . . . he led NSU on three TD drives of 52, 75 and 79 yards in the fourth quarter to send the game to OT . . . NSU trailed by 14 points twice in the final quarter before scoring the third TD with less than a minute to play in regulation . . . Terrance Dixon's first rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter was the first TD on the ground for NSU this season . . . the RiverHawks were also penalized 201 yards, which broke both the school's all-time record and the MIAA's all-time record for penalty yards in a single game . . . NSU was flagged for 19 penalties, which broke the school's all-time record for most penalties called against a team in a single game . . . the mark also tied the MIAA's all-time record, which was matched most recently by Central Missouri in 1999 . . . NSU also ran a school-record 90 plays, which broke a mark that hasn't been equaled since Sept. 27, 1980 . . . Garrett Powell had a career-high 14 receptions for 179 yards . . . Northeastern State finished the game with 135 yards rushing, which was the first time in 2014 that NSU eclipsed the 100-yard plateau on the ground. . . the 21 points NSU scored in the fourth quarter was the most points in a quarter since the RiverHawks had 24 in the second frame against Lincoln on Nov. 3, 2012 . . . the last time NSU scored 21 points in a fourth quarter was against East Central on Sept. 27, 2008.
 
FROM RECEIVER TO LEADING THE D .  .  . Sophomore Steffon Herd came to NSU as a wide receiver . . . he played in 10 games and made four starts as a redshirt freshman in 2013, and he finished the campaign with 14 receptions for 217 yards . . . due to depth issues in the secondary, new coach Rob Robinson made the decision to convert Herd to safety . . . that decision is paying off in spades, as Herd leads the RiverHawks in both total tackles (28) and solo tackles (22) through three weeks this season . . . his solo tackle total ranks 51st in the country this season.
 
RECONSTRUCTING THE O-LINE .  .  . From left to right, Northeastern State entered the 2014 season with a projected starting offensive line of Ethan James (LT), Jonathan Brown (LG), Ross Dvorak (C), Trevon Lawson (RG), and Tyler Easter (RT) . . . due to a plethora of injuries, the front five looks much different heading into Week 5 of the season . . . the projected starting lineup this week is Brown (LT), Dvorak (LG), Anthony Frazier (C), Brian West (RG), and Easter (RT) . . . James was hurt in the preseason and will miss the entire year . . . redshirt freshman Dakota Ritchie started the first game of the year at the left tackle position, but he suffered a season-ending injury in that contest . . . Dvorak and Lawson have both missed the last two games . . . against the Griffons, Northeastern State started an offensive line with five linemen playing positions for the first times in their careers . . . outside of Brown, who was starting in his 16th-career game, the other four linemen entered the game with three starts combined . . . NSU has started a different offensive-line unit in all four games this season.
 
ROBINSON ON THE RADIO .  .  . Northeastern State football coach Rob Robinson, in conjunction with Lakes Country 102.1 FM, has announced the debut of the new Rob Robinson Coaches Show . . . the weekly show is held at Mazzio's Pizza in Tahlequah on Thursday nights at 6 p.m. . . . it began Sept. 4 and will run through the end of the football season . . . the host of the coaches show is Matt Reynolds . . . Robinson will be live each week highlighting last week's contest and previewing NSU's upcoming MIAA matchup . . . various assistant coaches and players will join the show throughout the season . . . NSU encourages students, faculty and fans to come out and support the RiverHawks football program every Thursday night at Mazzio's . . . Mazzio's is located at 1712 S. Muskogee Avenue . . . all 11 Northeastern State football games will also be broadcast live on 102.1 FM this season.
 
MIAA, NSU PARTNER WITH STRETCH INTERNET FOR 2014 .  .  . The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced a partnership with Stretch Internet® to provide streaming of conference events, beginning in 2014 . . . Stretch partners with the league and members institutions to broadcast all conference football and men's and women's basketball games, as well as selected other conference events . . . fans will be able to view all conference football and basketball games live through almost any internet connected device, including Smart TV's, Apple TV and Google Chromecast . . . the new GameCentral 2.0 platform will also allow fans to access live stats in the video stream . . . the new platform also features archived games and other video content.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR .  .  . Northeastern State University Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online and launched a 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 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-