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

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-0, 0-0 MIAA) are set to kickoff the 2014 campaign with a road contest against the No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas (0-0, 0-0 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT) Sept. 6 at Carnie Smith Stadium (7,950) in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
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 (portal.stretchinternet.com/nsu/, subscription based).
 
GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State and Pittsburg State have met 27 times since the first meeting between the schools in 1912, and the Gorillas lead the all-time series at 13-12-2 . . . Pitt State took the first three meetings of the series before NSU got on the board with a 6-0 triumph in 1928 . . . PSU and NSU locked up in the season opener in 2012, and it was the first meeting between the schools since 1987, when PSU captured a 57-0 victory . . . the Gorillas won 41-20 in 2012 and secured a 45-6 triumph last year . . . this will be the third-straight season the two teams will open the season against one another . . . PSU begins the 2014 campaign ranked No. 9 in the nation.
 
Series History (Pittsburg State Leads 13-12-2)

Date	Winner	Score
2013	Pittsburg State	45-6
2012	Pittsburg State	41-20
1987	Pittsburg State	57-0
1969	NSU	48-21
1968	NSU	14-7
1967	Tie	7-7
1966	Pittsburg State	35-27
1965	NSU	28-7
1964	NSU	39-0
1959	Pittsburg State	34-14
1958	NSU	40-3
1957	Pittsburg State	19-7
1956	NSU	31-16
1955	NSU	13-7
1954	Pittsburg State	27-0
1953	NSU	19-14
1952	NSU	42-20
1951	NSU	31-13
1948	Pittsburg State	44-13
1941	Tie	13-13
1934	Pittsburg State	25-0
1930	Pittsburg State	18-0
1929	NSU	13-7
1928	NSU	6-0
1927	Pittsburg State	14-0
1924	Pittsburg State	21-0
1912	Pittsburg State	67-7

 
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 . . . 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.
            PSU's TIM BECK (Pittsburg State, '88) is in his fifth season as head coach of the Gorillas . . . he has compiled a 36-12 (.750) record during his tenure leading his alma mater . . . Beck led Pitt State to the school's fourth all-time national championship and a 13-1 record in his second season leading the Gorillas in 2011 . . . he earned NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year honors from Liberty Mutual, the Don Hansen Football Committee and FieldTurf™, as well as MIAA Coach of the Year accolades that season . . . Beck served for 16 years as the Gorillas' offensive coordinator and 22 seasons as a member of the Pitt State coaching staff before becoming Pitt State's 14th head football coach at a press conference on Dec. 9, 2009 . . . last year, Pitt State had to settle for a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl after a 9-2 regular season, including a loss in the regular season finale . . . the Gorillas responded to the adversity with a 90-28 victory over Southwest Minnesota State to give the program its  20th all-time 10-win season . . . during his tenure on the PSU staff, Beck has coached 37 All-Conference players and 19 All-Americans . . . Beck was a two-year football letterman at Pittsburg State, playing defensive back for the Gorillas from 1985-86 . . . he earned All-CSIC honors both seasons and was an NAIA All-District 10 pick as a senior.
 
THE RETURN OF THE ROCK .  .  . Joel Rockmore returns for his junior campaign after missing most of last year . . . the shifty running back was injured in the second game in 2013 and was awarded a medical redshirt . . . he enters 2014 with 1,747 career rushing yards, 15 career rushing touchdowns and 2,588 career all-purpose yards . . . he finished the 2012 campaign as the nation's 23rd-ranked rusher (113.8 ypg), and he was also 22nd in all-purpose yards (151.4 ypg) . . . he only rushed for 13 yards in the first two games of the season and averaged 126.4 yards rushing over the final eight games . . . he rushed for at least 100 yards in six of his last eight games, including a career-high 198 yards on 33 carries Nov. 10 against Central Oklahoma . . . he had a stretch of four-straight contests where he eclipsed his career high for carries in a game, with his newest mark of 38 coming against the Bearcats . . . Rockmore also recorded 200 all-purpose yards three times, against Washburn (211), Missouri Western (203)  and UCO (223) . . . he was named to the All-MIAA Second Team and the Don Hansen All-Super Region Three Third Team for his efforts in 2012 . . . he was also named a 2013 USA College Football Division II Preseason All-American prior to last year.
 
THE TWO-HEADED MONSTER .  .  . The return of Rockmore gives Northeastern State arguably the best backfield in the entire MIAA . . . Rockmore earned All-MIAA Second Team accolades in 2012, but played in only two games last season due to an injury . . . Terrance Dixon stepped into the starting role and landed on the All-MIAA Honorable Mention squad . . . he led NSU in rushing yards (720), rushing touchdowns (10) and receptions (24), while finishing second on the team in receiving yards (228) . . . Dixon, a senior, and Rockmore have combined for 3,309 rushing yards, 34 total touchdowns and 4,533 all-purpose yards.
 
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 will be held at Mazzio's Pizza in Tahlequah on Thursday nights at 6 p.m., beginning Sept. 4 and running through the end of the football season . . . the host of the coaches show will be 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.
 
STRETCH INTERNET TO BROADCAST NSU THIS SEASON .  .  . The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced distribution partners and price points for the MIAA Television Network . . . fans can access the web streams through either from the league portal or from goriverhawksgo.com . . . beginning Sept. 4, fans will be able to purchase a day pass for $9.95, and they also have the option of purchasing a football season pass for $69.95 . . . fans may purchase a season pass for volleyball for $44.95 with men's and women's basketball season passes being available for $89.95 each . . . fans wishing to have access to all MIAA web streaming content can purchase an All-Access pass for $149.95 . . . the MIAA also announced several returning distribution partners as well as two new distribution partners who have joined the network for the 2014 season.
•    KSMO-TV which serves 100% of the Kansas City market and is available over-the-air on through a cable or satellite provider.
•    Cox Communications KS serving communities across the state of Kansas including Topeka, Pittsburg, and Wichita.
•    Cox Communications Oklahoma serving communities across the state of Oklahoma including the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets.
•    Eagle Communications which serves western Kansas and parts of central Kansas
•    The News-Press NOW channel in St. Joseph, Missouri.  Serving northwest Missouri including the St. Joseph and Maryville markets.  In addition, four of the broadcasts (Sept. 4, Oct. 25, Nov. 8, and Nov. 15 ) will be simulcast on their Fox 26 KNPN channel.
•    KGCS-TV in Joplin, Missouri.  KGCS-TV is a broadcast station licensed to Missouri Southern State University that serves more than 167,000 households across a region including southwest Missouri, as well as parts of southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma.
 
LATTIMER, MESSINGER, SIMONEAU JOIN STAFF .  .  . NSU coach Rob Robinson added three full-time assistants to his staff this season,  defensive coordinator Josh Lattimer, special teams coordinator Rob Messinger and quarterbacks coach Dane Simoneau . . . Lattimer is responsible for the linebackers . . . he spent the 2013 season as the head football coach at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa . . . he served as defensive coordinator in 2012, and he was promoted to head coach in January 2013 . . . he coached 11 all-conference players as head coach at ECC and also guided two players to All-American status . . . he had 16 sophomores move on to four-year institutions and two sign with NCAA FBS programs . . . in his time at the junior college level, Lattimer helped 61 players move on to the four-year level . . . he began his coaching career at Pittsburg State as a student assistant from 2005-07 . . . he helped coach the linebackers, and the 2006 squad finished the season with a Mineral Water Bowl victory over Bemidji State . . . Lattimer was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American linebacker at Pitt State . . . he was also a two-time All-Southwest Region defensive player and landed on the All-MIAA team three times . . . he is currently third in school history with 394 tackles and helped lead the Gorillas to two MIAA Championships (2003-04) . . . Pittsburg State made three appearances in the NCAA Championship tournament during Lattimer's career, and the 2004 squad finished 14-1 and advanced to the national title game . . . Messinger serves as the recruiting coordinator and also is in charge of the secondary . . . he comes to Tahlequah after having spent the past season as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas . . . he helped lead the 2013 squad to an 8-4 record and an appearance in the NAIA Football Championship Series . . . he also coached at Ottawa from 2006-08, serving as the junior varsity head coach and offensive coordinator . . . Messinger worked from 2010-12 at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida . . . he was the coordinator of football operations from 2011-12 and was a volunteer assistant in 2010 . . . prior to moving to Miami, he served as the defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Washburn University from 2008-11 . . . Simoneau spent the past two years playing quarterback and serving as the offensive coordinator for the Salina Bombers of the Champions Professional Indoor Football League . . . he led the 2013 squad to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Champions Bowl . . . he was also named the 2013 CPIFL Offensive MVP . . . Simoneau served as a graduate assistant coach at Washburn from 2012-13, coaching both the quarterbacks and tight ends . . . he played for the Ichabods from 2007-11, where he started 42 of 43 games and recorded the most proficient passing career in Washburn history . . . the five-time consensus All-American finished his senior season second in Harlon Hill voting with school records of 4,089 yards and 38 touchdowns . . . he also earned the MIAA's Offensive Player of the Year as well as regional player of the year honors . . . Simoneau finished his collegiate career 12th in NCAA Division II history with 11,291 yards passing and 15th on the all-time charts with 102 passing touchdowns . . . he left school with 35 Ichabod career, season and single-game records, including the top three passing seasons in school history.
 
WELCOME TO THE SQUAD .  .  . The Northeastern State football team not only welcomed a new head coach, but the team also added 34 newcomers to the roster . . . 25 of those are freshmen, while the other nine are transfers . . . those expected to contribute right away are wide receiver transfers Anthony Williams, Antonio King and Ricki Herod . . .  offensive lineman Chance Douthit found his way onto the two-man depth chart prior to the start of the season, and Tony Newman will be called upon to provide depth in the secondary . . . Ivan Thomas could battle for playing time on the defensive line . . . the most notable addition is sophomore transfer Kevin Pantastico, who is slated to be NSU's starting quarterback at the beginning of the year.
 
FORMER RIVERHAWK WINS SUPER BOWL  .  .  .  Former Northeastern State offensive lineman Michael Bowie became the 15th player in school history and the first in 21 years to be selected in the NFL draft when he was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks with the 36th pick in the seventh round in the 2013 draft . . . he was the 242nd overall pick and became the first NSU football player since 1992 to play for an NFL team . . . he started nine games along the offensive line during the season and helped lead Seattle to a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII . . . Bowie has since been claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns and expects to battle for playing time at the left tackle position.
 
NSU SELECTED LAST IN PRESEASON POLLS .  .  .  The Northeastern State football team was picked to finish 12th in both the 2014 MIAA Preseason Coaches' and Media Polls . . . the RiverHawks collected 17 points in the coaches' poll and 66 points in the media poll . . . they were selected to finish 10th in the media poll and 11th in the coaches' poll last season . . . Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State locked down the top two spots in both rankings . . . the Bearcats brought in 11 of 12 first-place votes (121 total) in the coaches' poll and raked in 37 of 39 first-place votes (466 total) in the media poll . . . Pittsburg State earned one first-place vote in both polls and was slotted second with 106 and 422 total votes, respectively . . . Central Missouri was picked third in the coaches' poll with 94 points and sixth in the media poll with 285 points. Emporia State (88) and Missouri Western State (82) rounded out the top 5 in the coaches' poll, while the Hornets (353), Griffons (348) and Washburn (306) comprised the rest of the top 5 in the media poll . . . NSU finished 2-9 overall a year ago and tied for 11th in the conference with a 2-8 league mark.
 
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE  .  .  . Season ticket packages are now on sale for the five-game home portion of the upcoming football schedule . . . prices begin as low as $40 per person for an adult general admission ticket . . . season chair back seats begin at $100 each, and additional seats after purchasing four are $90 each . . . season ticket holders receive the benefit of sitting in comfortable chair back seat . . . they also receive first option to purchase playoff tickets, premier seating for NSU's five home MIAA contests, excellent view of the playing surface and an optimal view of the halftime show featuring the NSU Band . . . the 2014 campaign will mark the second year of the $25 single-game Family 4-Pack, which includes two general admission adult tickets and two general admission student tickets (ages 4 through high school) . . . the Family 4-Pack may be purchased at any time and used at any regular season home game . . . all Northeastern State home football games are contested at Doc Wadley Stadium . . . also for convenience, the Athletics Department will continue utilizing online ticketing for football and basketball . . . online ticketing will allow for advanced ticket sales . . . for questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2014-15 .  .  . 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 . . . this is the second-straight year ID's have been required at those events . . . NSU students and faculty/staff are allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's are not accepted as a form of entry . . . tickets can be purchased at NSU's ticketing website, 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 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.
 
ANOTHER TREACHEROUS SLATE .  .  .  Northeastern State faced the most difficult schedule in the nation in both 2012 and 2013 . . . over the past two seasons, the RiverHawks have faced off with a whopping 14 opponents (of 21 games) that were either ranked or receiving votes sometime during the year . . . NSU faced off with the defending national champs to kickoff the 2012 campaign (Pittsburg State) and faced a Northwest Missouri State squad that went on to capture the 2013 national championship . . . other difficult matchups over the last two years included tilts with Missouri Southern State, Missouri Western State, Central Missouri, Washburn, and Emporia State . . . Northeastern State is set to open the 2014 campaign against a Gorilla squad that earned a preseason AFCA national rank of No. 9 in the nation.
 
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