NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)
vs PITTSBURG STATE (1-1, 1-1 MIAA)
Saturday, September 18 -- 6 p.m.
Gable Field and Doc Wadley Stadium (Tahlequah, Okla.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 12-20-2

TAHLEQUAH -- Coming off a win at Missouri Southern, the RiverHawks host Pitt State in their final Saturday night home game of the season.

TOP STORYLINES

1 | Northeastern State snapped a 25 game skid last Saturday at Missouri Southern and ended a road losing skid that reached 22 games and dated back to 2015

2 | The RiverHawks' defense held Missouri Southern scoreless in three-quarters last week and didn't allow a point to score in the second half.  Pitt State went scoreless in the second half against Nebraska-Kearney in their 28-17 home loss to the Lopers.

3 | After being targeted once in week one, Mark Wheeland caught four passes and had two touchdown grabs for the RiverHawks in their win at Missouri Southern.  He is the first NSU receiver to have multiple touchdown catches in a game since 2017. 

4 | Unlike the RiverHawks home opener, rain is very unlikely (10%) on the forecast with kickoff temperatures in the lower 80s. 

5 | For the first time this season, NSU won't be the lone MIAA going on at kickoff with all six games being on Saturday for week three. Missouri Western kicks their game off, with Emporia State at 6 p.m, Central Okla., and Fort Hays State host the 7 p.m. contests. Central Missouri and Nebraska-Kearney have the 1 p.m. starts,

NSU QUICK HITS
>> Madison Wrather has started 24 consecutive games on the RiverHawks' offensive line, the longest streak among student-athletes on the NSU roster.  

>> Isaiah Davis gave the RiverHawks their first 100-yard rushing game since 2019 with 111 yards at Missouri Southern last week. Davis has 26 carries this season and is averaging 5.6 yards per rush. 

>> Redshirt freshman Grant Elerick is expected to start at quarterback again for the RiverHawks after throwing two touchdown passes and catching the game-winner at Missouri Southern.  Elerick has completed 21-of-38 passes for a QB rating of 103.71. 

>> Missing from week one, Jacob Frazier is available at quarterback Saturday for the RiverHawks.  Frazier, a graduate student, comes to NSU from Alabama State via Kilgore College, where he played for head coach J.J. Eckert.  Frazier at Magnolia HS (Texas) tied a Texas state football record for throwing ten touchdown passes in one game. 

>> Northeastern State's defense is tied for second in the MIAA with five sacks this season; at Missouri Southern, they had three.  On the interception side, NSU is looking for their first of the season and is one of three MIAA teams not to pick off a pass.  Dawandrick Crockett was a First Team NAIA All-American in the spring of 2021 and led the nation with 17 passes defended and had six interceptions.   He blocked one pass early in the game at Missouri Southern. 

>> Tim Davis is a sixth-year member for the RiverHawks and averaged 38.9 yards per punt through the first two weeks.  The graduate student forced six fair catches, with a 57 yard punt good for fourth longest in the MIAA this season so far. 

>> Being a freshman for some on the NSU roster will seem like the movie Groundhog Day with a handful of student-athletes who used the 2019 season as a redshirt year, then progressed to redshirt-freshman in the non-season last fall.  Now they will move to being 'COVID'-freshman with student-athletes in football, not losing a year of eligibility because of the loss of the NCAA Fall Championships.  

>> Tyler Crawford is NSU's starting kicker was a late addition to the team after transferring from Nebraska at the start of camp.  A Broken Arrow native, Crawford played three games for the Cornhuskers in 2020 and was their starting punter to finish the season. 

>> Two Northeastern State coaches have won a national championship as a player or as a staff member. Michael Conrad (Texas A&M-Commerce) won an NCAA Division II National Title, and Head Coach J.J. Eckert was a member of the 1994 NAIA Championship at NSU. 

THE SERIES WITH THE GORILLAS
>> Series dates back to 1912 and is the oldest active series for NSU.
>> The two teams have met once on Sept. 18th, and resulted in a 13-13 tie in 1941.
>> Pitt State has won the last ten meetings dating back to 1968.

ABOUT THE GORILLAS
>> Markell Roby, a senior transfer, played Defensive back at Briar Cliff, a two-time NAIA all-conference performer. He recorded 162 Tackles, six interceptions, and 11 pass breakups.
>> Jordan Hendy, a transfer from the University of Toledo, racked up eight tackles and an interception for Toledo in 2019.  He Has seen action on the JuCo level as well playing for San Mateo and having 24 tackles and 9 pass break ups.
>> Jalen Martin transferred from Iowa State and played four seasons for the Cyclones.  Lead the team in 2020 with 29 receptions for 312 yards, and two TDs.
>> Kaden Roy, Senior D-Lineman, is an All-MIAA performer and has recorded 71 solo tackles since 2018; 42 of those came in the 2019 season.
>> Tucker Horan is another returning All-MIAA performer, running the ball 248 times for 1,389 career yards while averaging 5.6 yards per carry and 13 touchdowns.  Horan also has 1,765 career all-purpose yards.
>> Dallis Flower is a two-time NAIA All-America selection as a kick returner and cornerback.  Flower accounted for 731 all-purpose yards, and 33 tackles during the 2019 season.  He also attended Robert Morris, Tiffin University, before transferring to Grand View University and then going to Pitt State.
>> The Gorillas have two members of their coaching staff who were at NSU.  Cornerbacks coach, George Sanders, was a graduate assistant for NSU in 2018.   Ukoh Essang is a graduate assistant at Pitt State and was a team captain for the RiverHawks in 2019 and played from 2015 to 2019.

Opponent scout information is written by Zac Cahill, a member of the NSU strategic communications office and a former MIAA football student-athlete at Emporia State.