NORTHEASTERN STATE (0-1, 0-1 MIAA)
at  MISSOURI SOUTHERN (0-1, 0-1 MIAA)
Saturday, September 11 -- 2 p.m.
Fred G. Hughes Stadium (Joplin, Mo.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State leads 13-11

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State has it's shortest road trip of the season Saturday with the 25th meeting against Missouri Southern State at 2 p.m. 

TOP STORYLINES

1 | The Heat IS ON! Kickoff temperatures in Joplin will be expected to be in the upper 90s at kickoff.  Saturday will be the first September day game since Sept. 24, 2016, with the RiverHawks hosting Fort Hays State. The last September road day game took place in 2015 at Emporia State.  2014 is the last time NSU played a week two-day contest hosting Fort Hays State.

2 | Unlike week one the RiverHawks will not be the lone MIAA game going on this Saturday, however they are the lone day game.  Pittsburg State hosts Nebraska-Kearney and Emporia State has Central Oklahoma, both games are a 7 p.m. kickoff.

3 | 121 miles is the distance between Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium and Fred G. Hughes Stadium and will mark the closest away game for the RiverHawks in the fall of 2021.   On the other side of the spectrum, NSU's final regular season road game of the year on week 11 is 556 miles, at Nebraska-Kearney.

4 | Blake Corn has recorded a sack in the two games he has dressed for at NSU.  The COVID-freshman had two in the RiverHawks opener against Emporia State, second most in the MIAA in week one, and unofficially had a sack in the spring at Tarleton State. 

5 | The head coaches for both Missouri Southern and Northeastern State coach for alma mater, this is the second consecutive week an instance like this has happened.

NSU QUICK HITS
>> Madison Wrather started his 23 consecutive game on the RiverHawks' offensive line with is the longest streak among student-athletes on the NSU roster.  

>> Damani Carter is expected to make a return Saturday after missing week one.  Carter transferred to NSU from Arkansas in 2019, started the first four games of the season before being lost to injury.

>> Also 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 High School (Texas) tied a Texas state football record for throwing ten touchdown passes in one game. 

>> A third piece missing in week one was Dawandrick Crockett and is projected to play Saturday.  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. 

>> Marques Williams is one of seven defenders in the MIAA to hit double-digit tackles in the first week of play with ten against the Hornets. 

>> Northeastern State's defense limited Emporia State to 3.7 yards per carry in 39 attempts which was fifth in the MIAA in week one.  A stark improvement from 2019 where it was 7.9 yards per carry.  In the spring exhibition game at Tarleton State, the NSU line allowed 4.1 yards per carry.

>> Tim Davis is a sixth-year member for the RiverHawks and averaged 41.6 yards per punt during week one.  The graduate student forced four fair catches, with a 57 yard punt good for third longest in the MIAA this season so far. 

>> Jacob Medrano started the opener for the RiverHawks but the team used redshirt-freshman Grant Elerick under center, and true-freshman Ben Ward in drives.  Kaleb Fellers also had a completion in an option play. 

>> 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.  

>> Newcomer Tyler Crawford is NSU's starting kicker and 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 LIONS
>> Northeastern State is the first team to play Missouri Southern as a four-year school in 1968 (W, 45-0)
>> Missouri Southern has won the last four games on their home turf over the RiverHawks.  Northeastern State's last win was on Sept. 13, 2003 (15-10).
>> The Lions have one the last two meetings between the two programs.

ABOUT THE LIONS
 >>  Keandre Bledsoe was an All-MIAA honorable mention at the tight end position and led MSSU with 35 receptions in 2019. 
>> Senior DB Brailon Mouton Set a record at his high school for most receiving touchdowns.  Brailon has changed position since the '19 season from receiver to DB
>> Josh Mercer returned a kickoff for a touchdown against northeastern in 2019, which was the first KR touchdown for the lions since 2005. 
>> Kelvyn Mason, a transfer from Missouri state was an all-state selection in 2017 and 2018
 >> Tulsa Native, Jaylon Alexander returned an interception for a touchdown in 2019, the first time a lion has done this since 2005
>> Senior Jerod Alton, Has seen action on the D1 level and the junior college level as well, recording 11 tackles for the Missouri Tigers in his redshirt freshman season.  At Iowa Western CC he played in 11 games, recorded 16 tackles, and reeled in two interceptions   He was an honorable mention for the All-Region XI selection.
>> Laberntae Davis started in 11 games as center for the lions during the 2019 season.
>> Junior defensive back Jokiem Crawford played for NSU coach Zach Allen while he was head coach at Northeastern Okla. A&M in Miami. 
>> The Lions are limited to five players from Oklahoma.

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.