NORTHEASTERN STATE (0-3, 0-3 MIAA)
LINCOLN (0-3, 0-3 MIAA)
Saturday, September 24 -- 2 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc  Wadley Stadium 
All-Time Series: Series is tied at 2-2

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State will host Lincoln (MO) for just the second time in program history and for the first time on Homecoming Saturday at 2 p.m. on Gable Field at Doc  Wadley Stadium.

Saturday'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 | Northeastern State will face Lincoln for the first time as a Homecoming foe, with Saturday's game being the 104th overall. 

2 | The RiverHawks will be looking for its first home win since 2017 and first Homecoming win since 2011.  Northeastern State is 50-50-3 on Homecoming. 

3 | Lincoln's head coach Jermaine Gales is a former Southern Arkansas student-athlete and was a member of a 1997 squad that faced NSU head coach J.J. Eckert who was the starting quarterback for that contest in Tahlequah.

4 | Northeastern State will be honoring its 1982 NAIA Semifinalist and 1991 NAIA Quarterfinalist Teams in between the first and second quarters.  Both teams also claimed Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference Championships. 

5 | Saturday's contest will be the first day game for the RiverHawks this season; temperatures will be on the warmer side at 90 degrees, with rain not expected in the forecast. 

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

>> Instant replay is available in the MIAA during the 2022 season; the RiverHawks are 0-1 in reviewable plays.   A charged time out is given to a team if their challenge is unsuccessful. 

>>  Malik Antwine had his first 100 receiving yard game in week two against Missouri Southern, catching seven passes.  He was involved in both of the team's touchdowns at Pittsburg State in the first half.  Antwine caught a five-yard pass in the first quarter and later lobbed a 46-yard pass in the second quarter.  Dashawn Williams is the RiverHawks' leading returning receiver from the 2021 season and caught 42 passes for 381 yards.  The senior caught both of the RiverHawks' touchdowns in their season opener at Emporia State and had eight receptions.  Williams is also on special teams handling kick and punk returns.

>> On third-down conversions, the RiverHawks are sixth in the MIAA, holding a 40.0-percent success rate in moving the chains.  NSU is the lone team in the MIAA not to have a fourth down attempt.

>> Jacob Frazier started the first three weeks for the RiverHawks and is fifth in the MIAA with a pass completion percentage of 60.2 and is sixth with 385 yards.   Ben Ward came in during the fourth quarter at Emporia State in week one and Pittsburg State during week three.   Grant Elerick started nine games at quarterback during the 2021 season as a redshirt-freshman.   

>> In just over 100 rushing attempts, NSU has split its duties between running backs Isaiah Davis and Darius Salters, along with quarterback Jacob Frazier.   Daivs had a 100-yard game last season when facing the Blue Tigers on the road and a career-high three touchdowns.  Salters leads the team with 116 net rushing yards and 35 attempts.  Northeastern State heads into week four, looking for its first rushing score of the season. 

>> 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.

>> Northeastern State's defense is ninth in the MIAA, allowing 187.3 rushing yards per game, which improved from the 2021 season, where they allowed 232.9 per outing.   The defense is looking for its first interception of the season; they are the lone team in the MIAA not to record one.  In sacks, NSU is tied for third with five.

>> Jordan Lamotte leads the NSU defense with 28 tackles (21 solo-7 assist) and is in fifth place overall MIAA players.  His 21 solo tackles are third overall among those in the MIAA.

>>  Tyler Crawford connected on a 50-yard field goal attempt in week two; it is the longest for an NSU kicker since 2013, the longest this season in the MIAA, and tied for fifth longest across NCAA Division II football this season.  In NSU history, it was tied for the seventh longest.  The Broken Arrow native handles both the NSU punting and kicking duties.  Crawford is 3-for-6 on field goal attempts and made 44-yard field goal at Emporia State.  He started two games at Nebraska in the 2020 season and at Broken Arrow High School.

THE SERIES WITH THE BLUE TIGERS
>> Lincoln visited Northeastern State just once in 2012.
>> The winning team scored 40+ points in three meetings.

ABOUT THE BLUE TIGERS
>> The Blue Tigers enter Saturday's contest winless in their last 17 tries.  Its last win was on Homecoming in Jefferson City against the RiverHawks (27-9) on Oct. 19, 2019.  On the road, Lincoln has dropped 13 consecutive, dating back to Oct. 20, 2018 (23-14 at William Jewell).  

>> Lincoln opened the season with 60 newcomers to its roster.

>> In their previous two contests following the first quarter, Lincoln trailed Northwest Missouri 7-6 and led Fort Hays State 7-3.  The second quarter is different, where the Blue Tigers are being outscored 54-to-3.

>> The Blue Tigers carry three transfers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff,  the program that LU head coach Jermaine Gales hailed from previously. 

>>  Aderias Ealy is one of two players in the MIAA to have a three-touchdown game this season and leads all receivers with four scoring receptions.   Last year against NSU, he had two catches for 86 yards, with the longest being 46 yards in the second quarter, which led to a short goal line touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 in the third quarter.

>> Lincoln's rushing game has been limited to 40 yards per game this season and has averaged 1.1 yards per attempt.

>> The Blue Tigers' offensive line has allowed eight sacks, second most in the MIAA. 

>> 11 of the 46 first downs for the Blue Tigers this season have come from a defensive penalty.