TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (2-8, 2-8 MIAA) will head on the road this weekend for the final game of the season and will face the Lindenwood Lions (3-7, 3-7 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Hunter Stadium (6,000) in St. Charles, Missouri.

An NSU win would vault the RiverHawks into a tie with the Lions for ninth place in the final MIAA standings a year removed from Northeastern State placing last in the league. Lindenwood has won two of its last four games after starting the season 1-5. 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  .  .  .  Last year's clash in the season finale was the first meeting between the two programs . . . Lindenwood is 1-0 all-time against NSU after defeating the RiverHawks 35-16 in Tahlequah.

Date    Winner    Score
2014    LWU    35-16
 
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 2-19 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. 
            LWU'S PATRICK ROSS (Puget Sound, '97) is in his 12th season with the Lions . . . he has compiled a 90-48 record during his tenure . . . he is in his 14th season overall as a collegiate head coach . . . Ross owns a career coaching record of 104-55, his teams have appeared in the NAIA Football Championship Series six times, and twice he has earned NAIA National Coach of the Year honors . . . in his first 10 years in St. Charles, he compiled a record of 85-32, won three HAAC championships, advanced to the NAIA national playoffs five times, including a trip to the national championship game in 2009, and played in the 2013 NCAA Division II Mineral Water Bowl . . . he became the all-time leader in wins at Lindenwood in 2007 . . . the Lions have become one of the top scoring teams at any level of college football over the last 10 years . . . Ross has directed the top-five offenses in school history, and nine of the top 10 . . . Lindenwood has averaged 35.8 points since Ross has come to Lindenwood, including over 40 points the last seven years . . . last season was a historic one for the Lindenwood football program as it had its first NFL Draft Pick in program history . . . Desir was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round with the 127th overall pick . . . he was just the eighth player in conference history to be taken in the first four rounds of the draft . . . among the many firsts set by Desir was participating in the East-West Shrine Bowl and the Senior Bowl, was invited to the NFL Combine, and having the first NFL Pro Day at Lindenwood.
 
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.
 
SACK PARTY .  .  . Northeastern State has recorded 26 quarterback sacks through 10 games this season, which is the most in a single season since the 2005 squad finished with 28 . . . the RiverHawks had four sacks each against Pittsburg State, Missouri Western State and Nebraska-Kearney, while registering three against Central Missouri and Washburn . . . NSU had two sacks each 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 . . . Steffon Herd leads the team with 5.0 sacks, which is the most in a single campaign since Travis Boswell finished with 7.0 in 2011 . . . Irving Steele and T'Nheous Smith are tied for second on the team with 4.0 sacks each . . . Quincy Dotson has posted 3.5 sacks this year.
 
NSU SELECTED LAST IN PRESEASON POLLS .  .  .  Northeastern State was picked to finish 12th in both the 2015 MIAA Preseason Coaches' and Media Polls, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced at the MIAA Football Media Day on August 3. The RiverHawks collected 16 points in the coaches' poll and 47 points in the media poll. They were also selected to finish 12th in both polls last season. Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State locked down the top two spots in both rankings. The Bearcats brought in eight of 12 first-place votes (118 total) in the coaches' poll and raked in 28 of 41 first-place votes (478 total) in the media poll. Pittsburg State earned four first-place votes in the coaches' poll and 13 in the media poll to earn 114 and 455 points, respectively. NSU finished 0-11 overall a year ago and finished 12th in the conference.
 
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.
 
NOTES FROM THE EMPORIA STATE GAME .  .  . After NSU posted just 13 points total through the first three games of the season in 2014, the RiverHawks exploded for 35 points and 504 yards of total offense 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 year . . . 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 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 . . . 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.