TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (1-1, 1-1 MIAA) are scheduled to head north for a clash with the Pittsburg State Gorillas (1-1, 1-1 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 17 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 (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 and Pittsburg State have met 29 times since the first meeting between the schools in 1912, and the Gorillas lead the all-time series at 15-12-2 . . . 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 have captured all four games since NSU joined the MIAA in 2012.
THE HEAD COACHES . . . NSU's ROB ROBINSON (William Jewell, '00) is in his third season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013 . . . he owns a 4-20 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.
        PSU's TIM BECK (Pittsburg State, '88) is in his seventh season as head coach of the Gorillas . . . he has compiled a 54-20 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 advanced to the NCAA Championship Second Round following a trip to the Mineral Water Bowl in 2013 . . . during his tenure on the PSU staff, Beck has coached 47 All-Conference players and 23 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.
McKINZY EARNS WEEKLY TOP HONOR . . . Dimonic McKinzy was selected as the MIAA Football Offensive Athlete of the Week on Sept. 12 . . . he became the only quarterback in the MIAA through two weeks with more than three touchdown passes in a game when his five TD throws led NSU to a thrilling 35-31 come-from-behind victory over Lindenwood on Sept. 8 . . . the sophomore was 23-of-47 passing for 300 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions . . . he also led the RiverHawks in rushing with 38 yards on 10 carries . . . Northeastern State trailed 31-21 with 5:30 left in the game, but McKinzy led the RiverHawks on two late TD drives that amassed 181 yards in just 3:09 . . . the final game-winning drive went 98 yards in just 1:38 and was capped by a 17-yard TD pass to junior Gary McKnight with just 33 seconds remaining on the clock . . . McKinzy's five touchdown passes were the second-most in school history and the most by an NSU quarterback since the 2011 season . . . the laurel is the first offensive athlete of the week accolade for a Northeastern State football player since the RiverHawks joined the MIAA in 2012. This also marked the third conference weekly honor overall for NSU since joining the league. Langston Jones was tabbed the league's defensive athlete of the week on Sept. 16, 2013, and Garrett Powell was named the special teams athlete of the week on Oct. 19, 2015.
ON THE UPTICK . . . The RiverHawks football program is enjoying Year 3 of the Rob Robinson . . . the program continues to move in the right direction and the 2016 season is sure to show further progress toward bringing Northeastern State back to prominence . . . Robinson's first year saw the team go 0-11, but it took him just one year to rebound as the 2015 team posted a 3-8 record . . . the coaching staff has added plenty of playmakers that will help generate more wins this year.
DON'T THROW ON US . . . Northeastern State defensive coordinator Josh Lattimer has injected an exciting new brand of defense to the RiverHawks program . . . in his two years leading his side of the football, NSU has been one of the MIAA's most dominant team's in terms of shutting down the opponent's pass game . . . in 2014, the RiverHawks finished fourth in the league in pass defense, allowing just 187.1 yards per game through the air . . . the 2015 squad allowed four additional yards per game (191.1) but fared better in the league, finishing second in the conference only to the team that went on to claim the national championship (Northwest Missouri State).
COMPETING AGAINST THE BEST . . . NSU has boasted one of the strongest strengths of schedule since joining the MIAA in 2012 . . . the league always features a plethora of teams that earn national rankings, and this season is no different . . . of the 11 conference opponents on NSU's schedule for 2016, six earned preseason national rankings or were receiving votes from the American Football Coaches Association . . . the three ranked teams were No. 1 Northwest Missouri, No. 20 Central Missouri and No. 24 Emporia State . . . the three RV teams were Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Central Oklahoma.
STAFF STABILITY . . . For the first time since joining the MIAA, the RiverHawks had no changes in their full-time staff from the previous year . . . those entering their third year with the program are head coach Rob Robinson, defensive coordinator Josh Lattimer, special teams coordinator Rob Messinger, offensive coordinator Dane Simoneau and wide receivers coach Marvin Bohannon . . . Will Skeans is entering his second year as the strength and conditioning coach, and he is in his second stint with the program . . . he was a graduate assistant at NSU in 2012-13 . . . offensive line coach Julian Mendez is also in his second year . . . those serving as graduate assistants with Northeastern State this season are Ryan Dvorak (second year) and newcomers Mitch Buhler, Chris Girdner and Jacques Washington.
MIAA, NSU PARTNER WITH STRETCH INTERNET FOR 2016 . . . The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association is set to continue its partnership with Stretch Internet® to provide streaming of conference events . . . 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 can view all conference football and basketball games live through almost any internet connected device, including Smart TV's, Apple TV and Google Chromecast . . . the 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 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.
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