TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (2-5, 2-5 MIAA) have won back-to-back games for the first time since the end of the 2012 season. NSU will be looking to pick up a third-straight win this weekend, while also spoiling Homecoming for the Central Missouri  Mules (5-2, 5-2 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at Walton Stadium (12,000) in Warrensburg, Missouri. UCM is on a four-game winning streak after starting the season 1-2, and the team is receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

The game can be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus (play-by-play) and Sean Rowley (color) providing commentary. A free audio broadcast can be found at goriverhawksgo.com. The game will 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 owns a commanding 9-2 all-time lead over Central Missouri . . . the RiverHawks and Mules first met back in 1962, with the green and white earning a 7-0 shutout victory . . . the two teams also met three years ago for the first time as members of the MIAA - and for the first time since 1986 . . . NSU earned its first victory of the season with a 24-23 come-from-behind home triumph over UCM ... the Mules registered their first win in the series two years ago, trumping NSU 51-7 in Warrensburg . . . six of NSU's nine victories have been by a touchdown or less, while the other three were by 62, 30 and 20 points, respectively.
 
Series History (NSU Leads 9-2)
Date    Winner    Score
2014    UCM    56-14
2013    UCM    51-7
2012    NSU    24-23
1986    NSU    42-22
1985    NSU    14-10
1978    NSU    50-20
1977    NSU    21-13
1974    NSU    14-13
1972    NSU    16-14
1963    NSU    62-0
1962    NSU    7-0

THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's ROB ROBINSON (William Jewell, '00) is in his second season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013 . . . he owns a 2-16 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.
            UCM'S JIM SVOBODA (Northwestern College, '83) is in his sixth season with the Mules . . . he has compiled an 44-21 record during his tenure . . . he was named the 28th head football coach of the program on January 15, 2010 . . . he has led the Mules to three postseason appearances and UCM had the second-most wins in a two-year period during his first two seasons in Warrensburg . . . last season, he led the Mules to an 8-4 overall mark and a 7-4 record in MIAA play . . . the Mules made their third postseason appearance under Svoboda with a berth in the Live United Texarkana Bowl, where UCM beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 48-21 . . . the Mules tied or set new school records in 13 offensive categories, including two career records . . . the Mules had the No. 1 ranked scoring offense in the MIAA and LaVance Taylor led the conference in rushing and led the nation in all-purpose yards . . . the 8-4 record secured the program's eighth straight winning season . . . during Svoboda's time in Warrensburg, the Mules have broken 81 school offensive records and 21 conference offensive records . . . he has coached 10 All-Americans and 67 All-MIAA players, including 13 first team selections . . . three Mules have earned Academic All-American honors and 139 players have been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll.
 
POWELL WINS WEEKLY ACCOLADE .  .  . Garrett Powell was named the MIAA/AstroTurf Special Teams Athlete of the Week, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced Oct. 19 . . . the senior wide receiver/punter from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, was a big weapon in flipping field position in NSU's 31-21 victory over Missouri Southern State this past weekend . . . he punted eight times for 353 yards (44.1 yards per punt), which included a 71-yard boot in the first quarter that was downed at the one-yard line . . . the punt was the longest by any MIAA player this season and was also the longest of Powell's career . . . he finished the game with a career-high four punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and he also had a career-high three downed inside the 10. Powell leads the MIAA of 50+ yard punts (8) this season and is second in total punting (41.0) . . . he also had four catches for 79 yards and a touchdown in the game . . . this is the first weekly honor of Powell's career and the first weekly special teams honor by an NSU football player since the RiverHawks joined the league in 2012 . . . the only other time an NSU player has won a weekly accolade was when former linebacker Langston Jones was named defensive athlete of the week on Sept. 16, 2013.
 
HAVE A DAY, DARIAN .  .  . NSU picked up a second-straight win by defeating Missouri Southern State 31-21 on Oct. 17 . . . the RiverHawks were led by a monster defensive effort from Darian Morris . . . the junior linebacker finished with nine tackles, four pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, one interception, one forced fumble, one tackle for loss, one half sack, and one school-record 97-yard fumble recovery return for touchdown . . .the last time an NSU player had a fumble recovery for a touchdown was on Oct. 20, 2012 . . . the last time an NSU player had two fumble recoveries in the same game was on Sept. 13, 2008 . . . the last time an NSU player had at least one fumble recovery and one interception in the same game was on Oct. 21, 2006.
 
STREAKING NO MORE .  .  . Northeastern State defeated Nebraska-Kearney 31-14 on Oct. 10 to snap what was the nation's fourth-longest active losing streak . . . the RiverHawks had failed to win a game since the end of the 2013 season, but they picked up a decisive triumph over the Lopers to break into the win column for the first time in the Rob Robinson era . . . NSU scored first, last and plenty of times in between to secure the 17-point victory . . . senior running back Joel Rockmore rushed the ball 18 times for a career-high 210 yards, while also scoring touchdowns on runs of 76 and 85 yards . . . junior wideout Matthew Butler also recorded a 74-yard TD reception in the third quarter . . . those were the three longest plays of the season . . . Northeastern State held the Lopers scoreless over the final two quarters and kept them below 200 yards of total offense (199) . . . the last time Northeastern State held an opponent to fewer than 200 yards of total offense was August 27, 2011.
 
YEA, HE'S STILL GOT IT .  .  . Joel Rockmore was an all-region performer in 2012 and a preseason All-American in 2013 . . . the senior tailback exploded out of the gates in 2013 but suffered a season-ending injury in the second game of the year . . . he returned in 2014 but struggled to regain his elite form, finishing with just 272 yards rushing on 86 carries (3.2 yards per carry) in nine games (30.2 yards per game) . . . he started off well this season - 252 yards through the first three games - but he then erupted for a career-high 210 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries in a win over Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 10 . . . he busted runs of 85 and 76 yards, which were the two longest rushes of his career . . . he also tallied 101 yards rushing on 25 carries in a win over Missouri Southern State on Oct. 17 . . . the 25 carries were the most for him in a single game since he had 33 against Central Oklahoma on Nov. 10, 2012 . . . he is now fifth in the MIAA and 76th in the nation in rushing yards per game (83.3) . . . he is also sixth in the league and 83rd in the country in all-purpose yards per game (121.1).
 
SACK PARTY .  .  . Northeastern State has already recorded 19 quarterback sacks through seven games this season, which is the most in a single season since the 2010 squad finished with 22 . . . the RiverHawks had four sacks each against Pittsburg State, Missouri Western State and Nebraska-Kearney, while registering two sacks against Fort Hays State, Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Southern State. . . the last time NSU posted multiple four-sack games in a single season was in 2010 . . . enjoying the party the most is senior linebacker Irving Steele, who currently leads the team with 4.0 sacks . . . he posted 2.5 against MWSU, which was the most in a single game by an NSU defensive player since Travis Boswell registered 3.0 on August 27, 2011 . . . if Steele registers at least one more half sack this season, it will be the most in a single campaign since Boswell finished with 7.0 in 2011 . . . Steffon Herd and T'Nheous Smith are tied for second on the team with 3.0 sacks each.
 
THE TALE OF TWO SCHEDULES .  .  . Northeastern State competed against the seventh most difficult schedule in all of Division II during the first five weeks of the season . . . all five opponents the RiverHawks faced have been nationally-ranked or received votes in the AFCA poll at some point this season . . . the record of those five teams through the first five weeks of the season stood at 21-4 (.840), and the only losses suffered were against each other . . . the back half of the schedule for NSU is considerably less treacherous, as the final six opponents were a combined 9-21 (.300) through five games . . . the RiverHawks have already taken advantage of the softer schedule, as they defeated Nebraska-Kearney 31-14 on Oct. 10 and Missouri Southern State 31-21 on Oct. 17.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR .  .  . Northeastern State University Athletics partners with Advanced-Online to bring fans 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.