NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-6, 0-6 MIAA)
vs CENTRAL OKLAHOMA (3-4, 2-4 MIAA)
Saturday, October 21 -- 6 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium (Tahlequah, Okla.) 
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 51-30-2 -- Last meeting was Oct. 6, 2022 in Edmond (55-6 L)

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State rounds out a two-game homestand with Saturday's rivalry contest against Central Oklahoma with the President's Cup on the line. 

TOP STORYLINES

1 | The next chapter in Northeastern State's oldest active rivalry will be written in Saturday's President's Cup matchup with Central Oklahoma. The RiverHawks will look to claim victory over the Bronchos for the first time since 2013. 

2 | This is the fourth and final time the RiverHawks will play under the lights in 2023. Northeastern State's remaining two road games (Missouri Western on Oct. 28, Washburn on Nov. 11) have 1 p.m. start times, while NSU's home finale against Northwest Missouri on Nov. 4 will kick off at 2 p.m. Notably, this is also the final night game across the MIAA this season.

3 | Central Oklahoma enters Saturday in search of their first road win of the season. The Bronchos have dropped seven of eight away from Edmond since the start of the Adam Dorrel era, including losses this season to Central Missouri (41-17), Emporia State (38-27), and Northwest Missouri (34-21). 

4 | After being played on Thursday nights over the last two seasons, the battle for the President's Cup will be contested on a Saturday night for the first time since 2019.

5 | Northeastern State head football coach J.J. Eckert has been involved in the NSU/UCO rivalry as both a player and coach. Eckert has led the RiverHawks in the last three meetings against the Bronchos from the sidelines, while he was also the starting quarterback when the annual rivalry returned in 1997 after a 13-year dormant period due to membership changes. 

NSU QUICK HITS

>>  The RiverHawks 2023 roster holds 60 student-athletes who are from Oklahoma.

>> After having just 14 upperclassmen on the roster in 2022, the RiverHawks possess 35 juniors and seniors on the 2023 roster, well over double last season's total. 

>> Entering the final four weeks of the campaign, NSU remains one of the MIAA's least-penalized teams. The RiverHawks have seen 40 penalties against them in 2023, the third-fewest in the conference. 

>> Jack Meservy is in his first season as the offensive coordinator for Northeastern State. Meservy has been on the football coaching staff at NSU since the start of the Eckert era in 2019. Other roles Meservy has previously held on the Northeastern State coaching staff include running backs coach, equipment manager, and assisting with the program's external communications. Meservy still serves as wide receivers coach in 2023, marking his third season in the role.

>> After throwing a 68-yard touchdown pass to Tagg Campbell and receiving a three-yard strike into the end zone from Devin Blayney against UCM last week, quarterback Ben Ward became the first player to throw and catch a touchdown in the same game since Malik Antwine did so against Pittsburg State on Sept. 17, 2022. 

>> A week after netting 100 yards of total offense against Lincoln, Jordan Guidry led the team in rushing for the second time in three weeks last Saturday against UCM with 48 yards on seven carries. The sophomore ran for a touchdown for the second consecutive game off a five-yard sprint into the end zone in the fourth quarter.  

>> Big plays weren't a rare sight for Northeastern State during Week 7's bout with UCM. On the day, the RiverHawks put together four plays of at least 31 yards, highlighted by their longest play of the season so far on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Ben Ward to Tagg Campbell. 

>> The NSU offensive line has done a stellar job of keeping their quarterbacks safe in 2023. The RiverHawks are tied for second in the MIAA with six sacks allowed across the season, a total that also has them tied for 12th nationally. 

>> Northeastern State is in its second season with defensive coordinator Mike Lucas. Lucas took over the RiverHawks' defense in August 2022, and despite being hired right before the start of the season, he guided them to their best season in years on that side of the ball. The defensive unit surrendered their fewest points per game (33.6) and rushing yards per game (206.7) since 2012 and finished in the top half of the league in passing defense (206.3 passing yards allowed per game). Prior to coming to Tahlequah, Lucas was the defensive coordinator at Northwestern State. Lucas possesses over three decades of coaching experience at the NCAA Division I college level, and was the head football coach at Southeastern Louisiana from 2007-12. 

>> Makarios Brown put together another solid defensive performance in Week 7, making 15 tackles (ten solo) against Central Missouri. The sophomore has logged at least seven takedowns in four of his last five games, while he also leads the team in total tackles (50) and solo tackles (33). 

>> On the defensive line, Dylan Sebock has been a factor of late. The redshirt freshman has recorded four tackles for loss over the last four games. Sebock will look to add to that total against Central Oklahoma, a team that ranks in the conference's bottom half in TFL allowed. 

>> After failing to intercept any passes across the season's first five games, the NSU defense has four over the last two weeks. Notably, Malcom Murphy picked off a pass from UCM quarterback Cedric Case in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's contest to record his first interception as a RiverHawk. 

>> Kicker/punter Tyler Crawford had another busy Saturday last week, punting ten times for 410 yards (41 yards per punt), with a long of 50. The junior has sent a punt at least 50 yards deep in nine straight games in a streak dating back to Nov. 5, 2022. Crawford also struck true on a 32-yard field goal try on NSU's final possession of the game to give him his second make of the season. 

ON THE AIR

>> Northeastern State's football games return to the air on Billy Country 96.3 FM in Tahlequah this season with Bill Huddleston on the call as "the Voice of the RiverHawks", handling play-by-play. Orry Phillips will serve as the primary home color analyst, while Shawn Tiemann will serve as the primary road color analyst. Audio streaming is provided on GoRiverHawksGo.com under the Live tab on the homepage.

ABOUT THE BRONCHOS

>> Central Oklahoma is in its second season under head football coach Adam Dorrel. This is Dorrel's second head coaching stop in the MIAA, as he led Northwest Missouri from 2011-16, where he won three national championships across six seasons. Dorrel also spent five years in the same position at the NCAA Division I level with Abilene Christian (2017-21). 

>> Last week's 586 yards of total offense in a 59-17 win over Lincoln marks the most in a single game across the Adam Dorrel era. 

>> Quarterback Dawson Herl has led the offense for the last two weeks after spending much of the season's first half in a backup role. The junior enters this week with some momentum after a five-touchdown performance in last Saturday's win over Lincoln. Herl is in his first season with the program after spending the previous two with Missouri Southern, where he threw for over 3,000 yards across his time in Joplin. 

>> Running back Trevon Woolfolk has rushed for over 100 yards in four games this season and has logged multiple touchdowns on the ground in three of his last five. The junior currently ranks second in the MIAA in rushing yards (633) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (8). 

>> As a defense, Central Oklahoma ranks ninth in the conference in scoring (30.3 points allowed per game) and sixth in total yards allowed (398.3 per game). They rank seventh in both passing defense (243.4 yards allowed per game) and rushing defense (154 yards allowed per game). 

>> In his second season as a starter, linebacker Connor Johnson leads all Bronchos in total tackles (39) and solo tackles (27), while he's added four tackles for loss, a total that ranks second on the team. 

>> David Vargas and Grayson Miller have combined to form the conference's top punting unit, combining for a league-high 42.9 yards per punt so far this season.