NORTHEASTERN STATE (0-5, 0-5 MIAA)
vs LINCOLN (0-5)
Saturday, October 7 -- 2 p.m.
Dwight T. Reed Stadium (Jefferson City, Mo.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State leads 3-2 -- Last meeting was Sept. 24, 2022 in Tahlequah (38-10 W)

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State travels to Jefferson City to face Lincoln in non-conference action.

TOP STORYLINES

1 | With Lincoln departing the MIAA this past summer in football, this is the first non-conference game for Northeastern State since Oct. 19, 2013, when the RiverHawks did battle with Eastern New Mexico in Tahlequah.

2 | Northeastern State is in search of their third consecutive victory against Lincoln. The RiverHawks defeated the Blue Tigers in Tahlequah last season on Sept. 24, 2022 in a dominant 38-10 showing, while they won a 49-48 overtime thriller in Jefferson City, Mo. on Sept. 25, 2021.

3 | Recently, the RiverHawks have found tremendous production on the ground against the Blue Tigers, rushing for 496 yards across their last two meetings. They'll look to repeat that success against a Lincoln run defense that has struggled this season, allowing 238 rushing yards per game.

4 | Both teams enter Saturday in search of their first victories of the 2023 campaign. The RiverHawks will look for their first win since Sept. 24, 2022, while Lincoln will attempt to secure their first win in almost four years, as the Blue Tigers last emerged victorious on Oct. 19, 2019.

5 | When NSU head coach J.J. Eckert faced then-first year Lincoln head coach Jermaine Gales last season, it was not the first time the two had battled on the gridiron. Gales played at Southern Arkansas and was a member of a 1997 squad that faced Northeastern State. Eckert was NSU's starting quarterback for that contest in Tahlequah.

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 will take the field with 35 juniors and seniors in 2023, well over double last season's total. 

>> Through five weeks, the RiverHawks have seen 27 penalties against them, the fewest in the MIAA. NSU will look to make it two straight seasons as the least penalized team in the conference, after drawing just 50 penalty flags in 2022. Across the Eckert era, the RiverHawks have never ranked lower than fourth in fewest penalties. 

>> 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 will still serve as wide receivers coach in 2023, marking his third season in the role.

>> Running back Jordan Guidry impressed late in last week's contest against Pittsburg State. The sophomore had seven carries on the final drive of the game, rushing for 58 yards (8.3 per carry) with a long of 19. He helped guide the offense down the field on a 12 play, 75 yard drive that ended with a six-yard Grant Elerick passing touchdown to Will Bergner with five seconds left.

>> The Northeastern State offensive line had a solid day in pass protection last week against Pittsburg State, not allowing a single sack on the afternoon against the Gorillas. Currently, the RiverHawk offensive line ranks sixth in the MIAA in fewest sacks allowed (6).

>> 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. 

>> NSU had more success stopping the run against Pittsburg State last week than any of the four teams that had faced the Gorillas prior to last Saturday. After exploding on the ground for 298 rushing yards in week four against Nebraska-Kearney, the Gorillas were held to 146 yards and 3.6 yards per carry against the RiverHawks, both season-lows for the conference's top-ranked rushing attack.
 
>> Leading the NSU defense in week five was linebacker Cam'Ron Holmes, who emerged for a career-high 13 tackles (8 solo) against Pittsburg State. Holmes was one of the defense's top contributors in the second half of September, accounting for 24 tackles (14 solo) over his last three appearances of the month.

>> Northeastern State found five tackles for loss from six different players during last week's action. Chris Lee, Antonio Johnson, and Johnny Jean had one apiece, while Gavin Ragsdale and Marquez Chatman split a takedown behind the line of scrimmage. Blake Corn accounted for the game's lone sack. Notably, Lee has been involved in a tackle for loss in four of five games this season, while Corn leads the team in sacks (2).

>> The RiverHawks have been one of the conference's better units at defending on fourth downs. With five weeks in the books, opposing offenses have converted three of seven fourth down tries (42.9%). This places the RiverHawks among the MIAA's top five in fourth down defense.

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 BLUE TIGERS

>> The Lincoln football program is led by head coach Jermaine Gales in his second season. Gales came to Jefferson City with nearly 20 years of experience as an assistant at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels.

>> Xzavier Vaughn starts at quarterback in 2023 after missing most of 2022 due to injury. Through five games, he has thrown for three touchdowns and five interceptions. Vaughn and the Lincoln passing attack have struggled of late, as the sophomore has only completed 13-of-35 passes over his last two outings for 55 yards.

>> Aderias Ealy has been the top wideout for the Blue Tigers so far. After leading the team in receiving yards (697) and touchdowns (nine) in 2022, Ealy currently paces all Blue Tigers targets five weeks in with 17 catches for 289 yards alongside two touchdowns. Big plays are always a possibility when Ealy has the ball in his hands, as the senior averages 19.3 yards per catch across his career in Jefferson City.

>> Running room has been hard to come by for Lincoln nearly halfway into the season, as the Blue Tigers have been held to 3.1 yards per carry so far in 2023. Vaughn leads the team with 149 rushing yards, though the majority of his yardage came from a 125-yard performance in their opener against Emporia State. Omar Allen is second with 135 yards and has seen at least 12 carries in three of his last four appearances.

>> After seeing limited reps in 2022, sophomore Ian Hackney leads the Lincoln defense at the linebacker position this year with 40 tackles (18 solo). Hackney has recorded at least eight tackles in four of five games this season, and he found his way into the opposing backfield on Sept. 16 against Washburn to record his first career sack for the Blue Tigers.

>> Lincoln's opponents have found the end zone 37 times in 2023. The Lincoln defense allowed eight touchdowns last week against Fort Hays State, while the FHSU defense added another score off of a fumble recovery in a 71-3 win for the Tigers.