NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-9, 1-9 MIAA)
vs. NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (7-3, 7-3 MIAA)
Saturday, November 12 -- 2 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc  Wadley Stadium 
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 4-7

TAHLEQUAH -- The RiverHawks close out its season Saturday at home with Nebraska-Kearney, and it is NSU Faculty/Staff appreciation day at the field. Northeastern State Faculty/Staff are welcome to visit the on-field VIP tent, where food will be served during the game. 

The 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 | In all four of their home games this season, Northeastern State has led or has been tied at the end of the third quarter.  

2 | In the previous three games, Northeastern State's defense has forced eight turnovers, and is +5 on the turnover battle. 

3 | Before the game, the program will honor five seniors: #1 Dashawn Williams,  #7 Shaakir Smith, #9 Jacob Frazier, #45 Isaac Little, and #98 Christian Wills.  

4 | Rain is not expected to be in the forecast Saturday and has been a factor in three of NSU's home football games this season.  

5 | Saturday is the 308th game played on Gable Field, the home for Northeastern State football since 1964.   Northeastern State has won 170 games on the current site for the football program. 

NSU QUICK HITS
>>  Dashawn Williams leads the team with five touchdown catches and has 38 receptions.   Against Missouri Western in week seven, the senior had seven catches for a career-high 110 yards.  Williams is ninth in the MIAA with 3.9 receptions per game.  Malik Antwine is second in NSU's receiving group with 431 yards and 30 catches.  The sophomore has three touchdowns and has thrown one on a 46-yard pass in the second quarter at Pittsburg State.

100-Yard Receiving Games (2022)
Malik Antwine - 106 yards vs. Missouri Southern State
Dashawn Williams - 110 yards vs. Missouri Western

>> Isaiah Davis has led NSU in carries in the previous five games and has 362 rushing yards and three touchdowns.   Darius Salters is second in the NSU running back group with 270 rushing yards on 79 carries.   The senior ran in his first touchdown against Missouri Western in week seven.  

>> Grant Elerick earned the starting nod at quarterback for the last two weeks, with Ben Ward sharing drives from under center.  Elerick started nine games at quarterback during the 2021 season as a redshirt-freshman.   Jacob Frazier started the first six weeks for the RiverHawks, and has a pass completion percentage of 61.2 with seven touchdowns.   

>> 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.

>>  The RiverHawks are eighth in the MIAA with 15 sacks and fifth with six tackles for a loss per game.   NSU's defense is fifth in the MIAA in turnovers gained, but the team is being outscored 59-to-40 on points off turnovers.  The secondary is sixth in the MIAA with eight interceptions and third in fumbles recovered (7). 

>> Jordan Lamotte leads the NSU defense with 74 tackles (55 solo-19 assist).  His 55 solo tackles are tied for second overall among those in the MIAA and 16th in the nation.  Lamotte recorded an interception and had a fumble recovery at Northwest Missouri; he also forced a fumble on a tackle against Washburn in week nine.  Isaac Little paces the team with six tackles for loss this season.

>>  Tyler Crawford is 8-for-14 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 D-II football this season with three 50+ yard kicks and is 15-for-15 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.  He also booted a 77-yard punt at Northwest Missouri, which was the second longest in NCAA-DII era.  Crawford was an MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week selection in week four and handles punting duties for NSU where he is fifth in the MIAA in 42.1 yards per kick.

>> The RiverHawks are the second-lowest penalized team in the MIAA, with 48 flags called this season.

>> Instant replay is available in the MIAA during the 2022 season; the RiverHawks are 1-3 in coaches' challenges.   A charged time out is given to a team if their challenge is unsuccessful. 

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

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

THE SERIES WITH THE LOPERS
>> Northeastern State is 3-2 all-time when hosting UNK.
>> The Lopers have won the last four games in the series. 

ABOUT THE LOPERS
>> Nebraska-Kearney is looking for its first undefeated road regular season since 2011 and will be making its first trip to Tahlequah since 2018 and sixth overall visit.

>> The Lopers have 18 student-athletes who are slated to play their final regular season game on Saturday.   UNK is not among teams ranked in the top ten in this week's Super Region 3 poll for the NCAA postseason and will most likely need an invitation from a Bowl committee to play a 12th game. All three of UNK's losses have come against teams that are presently ranked in the national polls.

>> Quarterback TJ Davis is a duo threat in the air and on the ground.   Davis is 13th nationally and leads the MIAA with 1,033 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.   In 2021, he was the runner-up for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. In two previous meetings with NSU, Davis has two rushing touchdowns in each contest.   

>> Behind Davis, the Lopers are fifth in the nation with 254.8 rushing yards per game.

>> UNK head coach Josh Lynn faced Northeastern State as a student-athlete at Eastern New Mexico. Lynn and the Greyhounds handed NSU a 20-14 loss at Gable Field. NSU head coach J.J. Eckert was on the staff as a quarterbacks/wide receivers coach for that contest.

>> The Lopers do not have a player on its roster from Oklahoma.