NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-4, 1-4 MIAA) at
CENTRAL OKLAHOMA  (3-2, 3-2 MIAA)
Thursday, October 6 -- 7 p.m.
Chad Richison Stadium - Edmond, Okla.
All-Time Series: NSU trails 51-28-2

TAHLEQUAH -- The RiverHawks have a short week ahead of them and will travel to rivals Central Oklahoma this Thursday evening in Edmond. Northeastern State and UCO are coming off road contests in Missouri and will have five-day turnaround in-between games.

Thursday's game will be aired on the radio on Billy Country 96.3 - Tahlequah and GoRiverHawksGo.com. The video broadcast can be found on The MIAA Network through the NSU video portal.  

TOP STORYLINES

1 | Thursday's meeting with Central Oklahoma is the lone college football game in Oklahoma and the only MIAA game going on that day. 

2 | This is the state's Division II version of Bedlam.   The series started in 1912 and is the oldest active one NSU presently has, with Pitt State's series a near second by a few weeks.   Of the teams in the MIAA, the NSU and UCO rivalry is the second longest-running series behind Emporia State and Washburn, who have met 115 times. From 1985-96, the NSU/UCO was dormant due to membership changes. 

3 | Northeastern State will look to take back the President's Cup for the first time since 2013.  Central Oklahoma has won the last seven meetings and leads the cup series 15-9.

4 | Central Oklahoma is having a "White Out" game Thursday; Northeastern State fans are encouraged to show up in their GREEN.

5 | Thursday's contest is the only in-state game for the RiverHawks this season and the only contest against an in-state foe.  

NSU QUICK HITS
>>  Malik Antwine leads NSU's receiving group with 279 yards and 19 catches.  The sophomore has three touchdowns and has thrown one on a 46-yard pass in the second quarter at Pittsburg State.  

>> Senior running back Darius Salters has started the previous three games for the RiverHawks and leads the team with 63 carries for 225 net yards.   True freshman Brayden Gilkey had a career-high 13 carries in week four against Lincoln and had 59 rushing yards in the second half.  

>> Jacob Frazier started the first five weeks for the RiverHawks and is fourth in the MIAA with a pass completion percentage of 61.3 and fourth with seven touchdowns.   Ben Ward has come into games four times this season, and Grant Elerick started nine games at quarterback during the 2021 season as a redshirt-freshman.   

>> On third-down conversions, the RiverHawks are sixth in the MIAA, holding a 41.3-percent success rate in moving the chains.  

>> Northeastern State's defense has a new look in 2022.  Mike Lucas took over the RiverHawks' defense in August and is a well-seasoned coach with 30-plus years of coaching at the NCAA Division I college level.  Lucas was the head football coach at Southeastern Louisiana and was most recently the defensive coordinator at Northwestern State.  Damani Carter, an NSU letterwinner, will be the defensive line coach, along with Jalen Alexander, who was at Texas A&M-Commerce and Kilgore College.

>> Northeastern State's defense is ninth in the MIAA, allowing 189.0 rushing yards per game, which improved from the 2021 season, where they allowed 232.9 per outing.  After going through the first three weeks without an interception, Northeastern State has picked off three in the previous two games.   Dawandrick Crockett has the second longest interception return in the MIAA this season at 45 yards at Central Missouri.

>> Jordan Lamotte leads the NSU defense with 35 tackles (26 solo-9 assist) and is in fifth place overall among MIAA players.  His 26 solo tackles are third overall among those in the MIAA.

>>  Tyler Crawford is 6-for-10 on field goal attempts this season, but he is just the third kicker in NSU history to have a pair of 50+ yard made attempts.  The Broken Arrow native is the only kicker in NCAA football this season with three 50+ yard kicks and 11-for-11 on extra point attempts.  Additionally, in NSU history, he is one of two kickers with three 50+ yard made attempts and owns three of the top-14 longest field goals.  Crawford was an MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week selection in week four and also handles punting duties for NSU where he is third in the MIAA in 43.8 yards per kick.

>> Northeastern State's captains for the 2022 season are: Shaakir Smith (#7), Jacob Frazier (#9), and Coltin Knape (#48).

>> Instant replay is available in the MIAA during the 2022 season; the RiverHawks are 0-2 in coaches' challenges.   A charged time out is given to a team if their challenge is unsuccessful. 

>> The RiverHawks' 2022 roster holds 62 student-athletes from Oklahoma. 

THE SERIES WITH THE BRONCHOS
>> Northeastern State's last win in Edmond came on Nov. 10, 2012 (22-20).
>> The Bronchos have won the last seven meetings.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS
>> Central Oklahoma is 2-0 at home this season and has won its previous two Thursday evening games in Edmond.  

>> Central's roster features 84 players from Oklahoma.  

>> Head Coach Adam Dorrel is in his first season at UCO but faced Northeastern State six previously at Northwest Missouri and went 6-0 against the RiverHawks.  Dorrel spent one season at Northeastern State as a graduate assistant during the 1998 campaign. 

>> Central Oklahoma is last in the MIAA in third down conversions at 23.7-percent (18-76) and has attempted the most fourth downs with 14.

>> Running back Jaylen Cottrell is third in the MIAA with 7.1 yards per carry this season.  The redshirt freshman had ten attempts for 97 yards against Northwest Missouri with a pair of touchdowns. 

>> Quarterback Stephon Brown is 17th nationally in completion percentage (63.4).  The senior did not start last season against NSU but was 3-for-6 in pass attempts and rushed for 49 yards.  Brown has 55 rushing attempts this season and three touchdowns. 

>> Kobey Stephens is third in the MIAA with 24.7 yards per kick return.  The defensive back also has 18 tackles, an interception, and has defended three passes.