NORTHEASTERN STATE (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
at EMPORIA STATE (0-0, 0-0 MIAA)
Thursday, September 1 -- 7 p.m.
Jones Field at Welch Stadium (Emporia, Kan.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 10-7-1

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State opens its 107th football season Thursday evening at Emporia State. The RiverHawks and Hornets have kicked off their season three consecutive times, with weather delaying two of those. 

Thursday is the first of six road games for Northeastern State this fall, with half of those played in Kansas. 

TOP STORYLINES

1 | Head Coach J.J. Eckert will be starting his fourth season as head coach this Thursday.  However, this fall will be the first time under his leadership they will play consecutive seasons due to the cancellation of the 2020 season.  

2 | Northeastern State will open its season with one of the largest rosters in recent memory carrying over 143 student-athletes out of fall camp.  Despite that number, the team is projected to have 83 assigned uniforms for week one against Emporia State.  

3 | The RiverHawks are in their tenth football season of MIAA membership and 25th overall as an NCAA member school.  Northeastern State spent 14 seasons in the Lone Star Conference (1997-2010) and one season as an independent before joining the MIAA.

4 | All MIAA six games are on Thursday, giving opening week the distinction of being the lone one without a Saturday football game.  The last time this occurrence happened (2020 excluded) was in week one of the 2019 football season.  Northeastern State and Emporia State was the lone Saturday week one contest in 2021.

5 | Opening week one under the lights has not been an uncommon occurrence for the RiverHawks, with a kick-off time at 7 p.m. or later happening each season since at least 1995.  NSU opens the year with three straight night games, with two later in the season finishing under the night sky.

NSU QUICK HITS
>> The RiverHawks' 2022 roster holds 64 student-athletes who are from Oklahoma. 

>> The offensive line returns with four letterwinners who are expected to start in the Thursday opener.  Quentin Thomas is the lone newcomer to the group; he is a transfer from Northeastern Oklahoma and played at McAlester HS for NSU alum Forest Mazey.

>> Dashawn Williams is the RiverHawks' leading returning receiver from the 2021 season and caught 42 passes for 381 yards.  The senior caught the longest pass of the season at 65 yards at Missouri Western.  It was NSU's second longest play of the year.  Malik Antwine was just behind with 338 yards on 29 catches.

>> Grant Elerick climbed up through the NSU depth chart as a second-year freshman and started nine games at quarterback during the 2021 season.   He completed 100 of 173 passes for 1109 yards and had eight touchdowns; his first start resulted in NSU's first road win since 2015.  Jacob Frazier shared quarterback duties with Elerick and passed for 647 yards.  Ben Ward made 25 passing attempts and played six games as a true freshman. 

>> Isaiah Davis is Northeastern State's leading returning rusher and had two 100-yard rushing games last season.  He was the first running back since 2012 (Joel Rockmore) to have at least two 100-yard days in the backfield in the same season.  Davis had 85 carries for 346 rushing yards and four touchdowns.  He also caught 11 passes for 129 yards and had a pair of touchdowns.

>> Northeastern State's defense will have 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.

>> Trey Hampton paced the RiverHawks' defense with 45 tackles,  with four being take-downs for loss.   Tahlequah product Blake Corn had 3.5 sacks with a combined 24 yard loss.  As a defense, NSU had 21, which was their highest total since the 2015 season. Shaakir Smith, a projected starter on the defensive line, will make his first appearance in a game since 2019.  Smith played in ten games during that season, recording 41 tackles. He had a sack in NSU's exhibition at Tarleton State in March 2021 and did not play last fall.

>> Dawandrick Crockett missed the first two games of the season but deflected six passes and had one fumble recovery.  The senior was a late addition to camp in 2021 after being a NAIA First Team All-American selection.

>> For the first time since 2018, the RiverHawks will have a new kicker fielding punts with Tim Davis, an All-MIAA selection graduating with a master's degree.   Tyler Crawford returns and was NSU's primary kickoff and field goal specialist.  He has experience as a punter, starting two games at Nebraska in the 2020 season and at Broken Arrow High School.

THE SERIES WITH THE HORNETS
>> First meeting resulted in a 0-0 tie at Emporia State on Sept. 30, 1938.
>> The last two times these teams met in Tahlequah, the contest was delayed for over an hour due to a strong thunderstorm.  
>> Emporia State has won the last nine meetings.

ABOUT THE HORNETS
>> Despite finishing the 2021 regular season 6-5, the Hornets were invited to play in the Live United Bowl in Texarkana, Ark. where they lost to Southeastern Oklahoma 37-34.   Five of ESU's losses were by a touchdown or less, and the Hornets were 20 point deficits.

>> Emporia State is picked to finish in sixth, according to the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls.   Four of the first six games for the Hornets will be at home this season.

>> The Hornets are set to return ten of 11 starters from last year's offense that finished 16th in the nation in passing yardage.

>> Braden Gleason was a Third-Team All-MIAA selection in his first full season as a starter. He led the nation in completions, ranked ninth in completion percentage, tenth in total passing yards, 13th in passing touchdowns, 14th in total offense, and 16th in points responsible for.

>> Emporia State has six returning starters from a defensive unit that made its mark on third down and with big plays. The Hornets ranked second in the MIAA and 30th in the nation in third down defense while ranking second in the MIAA and 35th in the nation in defensive touchdowns last season.

>> The Hornets return three All-MIAA picks on special teams from last season. Emporia State led the MIAA and was 15th in the nation in net punting while going an MIAA best 49 of 50 on PATs last season. All-American Ross Brungardt was a First Team All-MIAA pick and a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District performer last year.

>> Emporia State head coach Garin Higgins played for the Hornets, and his first post-playing job was as a graduate assistant at Northeastern State for the 1992 and 1993 seasons. Higgins
returned to NSU for the 2006 season as offensive coordinator before taking over at ESU the following season.