NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-3, 1-3 MIAA) at
CENTRAL MISSOURI (0-4, 0-4 MIAA)
Saturday, October 1 -- 1 p.m.
Walton Stadium/Kennedy Field - Warrensburg, Mo.
All-Time Series: NSU leads 9-8

TAHLEQUAH -- Coming off a 38-10 win on Homecoming over the Lincoln Blue Tigers, the RiverHawks will look to continue that momentum Saturday afternoon, where they will face Central Missouri for the 18th time in school history. 

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 | Saturday's contest is the first of two games in a five-day time span for the RiverHawks, with Northeastern State playing this upcoming Thursday evening in Edmond to play for the President's Cup against Central Oklahoma. 

2 | Dashawn Williams is tied for second in the MIAA with five touchdowns this season and has 17 receptions which is tied for fourth overall.  The senior has found the end-zone in all but one game this season.   Against the Mules last season, he had a season-high 79 yards on five receptions.  

3 | Tyler Crawford is the first NSU kicker since 2015 to earn MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week honors.  He is one of two kickers in NCAA-II football to have pair of 50+ field goals this season and holds both of the longest made attempts in the MIAA this season. 

4 | Northeastern State's defense did not allow a touchdown last Saturday against Lincoln.  August 27, 2011, is the most recent time this happened when NSU shut out Bacone (Okla.) 43-0 in the RiverHawks' season opener.

5 | Saturday is the first of two trips to Missouri for the RiverHawks this season.   Weather will be ideal at kickoff, with a high of 74 expected and a 10-percent chance of rain.  

NSU QUICK HITS
>>  Oct. 1 will mark the 113th anniversary of Northeastern State's first football game.

>> Instant replay is available in the MIAA during the 2022 season; the RiverHawks are 0-1 in coaches' challenges.   Across the MIAA, 22 coaches' challenges and six call reversals have occurred.  A charged time out is given to a team if their challenge is unsuccessful. 

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

>>  Malik Antwine leads NSU's receiving group with 215 yards and 16 catches.  The sophomore has two 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 two games for the RiverHawks and leads the team with 49 carries for 194 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 four weeks for the RiverHawks and is second in the MIAA with a pass completion percentage of 63.6 and fourth with seven touchdowns.   Ben Ward has come into games three 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 third in the MIAA, holding a 45.9-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 186.0 rushing yards per game, which improved from the 2021 season, where they allowed 232.9 per outing.  In sacks, NSU is tied for fourth with six.

>> 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 4-for-8 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 owns both the seventh and eighth longest field goals in program history and is 10-for-10 on extra point attempts.  Crawford also handles punting duties for NSU where he is fourth in the MIAA in 42.7 yards per kick.

THE SERIES WITH THE MULES
>> Central Missouri has won the previous eight meetings. 
>> Northeastern State's last win at UCM was on Sept. 14, 1985 (14-10)

ABOUT THE MULES
>> Central Missouri opened the season with four consecutive games against ranked teams with a combined record of 13-3.   

>> The Mules have opened consecutive years at 0-4 for the first time since the 1978 and 1979 seasons.  The 1988 season was the last time Central Missouri opened the season with five consecutive losses. 

>> Head Coach Josh Lamberson is in his first season at UCM but faced Northeastern State twice previously at Nebraska-Kearney where he went winless against the RiverHawks. 

>> In the MIAA, Central Missouri is tenth in offensive yards (297.8), with its defense eleventh allowing 449.3 yards per game.   The Mules are also eleventh, allowing 193.5 rushing yards per game.

>> At home, Central Missouri is 251-186-13 and is in their 90th season playing at Walton Stadium. 

>> Central Missouri's roster features eight players from Oklahoma. 

>> Quarterback Cedric Case has taken the majority of the snaps this season for the Mules and has 806 passing yards on the season.  The redshirt-sophomore was 24-for-37 in week four at Nebraska-Kearney and had 243 yards in the air. 

>> Defensive back Noah Blair is one of six players in the MIAA to have a pair of interceptions, and he is fourth among association members averaging nine tackles per game.