NORTHEASTERN STATE (1-8, 0-8 MIAA)
vs NORTHWEST MISSOURI (5-4, 4-4 MIAA)
Saturday, November 4 -- 2 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium (Tahlequah, Okla.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 12-0 -- Last meeting was Oct. 22, 2022 in Maryville (36-3 L)

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State returns home one final time this season to face Northwest Missouri on Senior Day Saturday afternoon. 

TOP STORYLINES

1 | Saturday is Northeastern State football's 2023 home finale. The Nov. 4 contest with Northwest Missouri marks Senior Day as well as this year's Hall of Fame Game, sponsored by Local Bank. As part of the festivities, this year's football senior class will be recognized, as well as this year's NSU Athletics Hall of Fame class. The Hall of Fame Class features five former student-athletes in Dallas Curtis (Football, 1996-2000), Ryan Helsley (Baseball, 2014-15), Taylor Lewis-Eldridge (Women's Basketball, 2009-13), Shon Robinson (Men's Basketball, 2001-03), and Brian Ward (Men's Golf, 2002-06). 

2 | NSU enters the weekend matchup in search of their first win in program history against Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats, who have taken the twelve previous meetings, are one of two teams in the current MIAA that the RiverHawks have not defeated, with the other being Missouri Western. 

3 | The Bearcats have lost four games in MIAA play this season. It is the most defeats they've taken in league play since their winless 1994 campaign where they lost nine games in conference action and 11 overall. 

4 | Running back Blake May will look to have another strong performance in Tahlequah after rushing for a season-high 149 yards against Central Oklahoma in NSU's most recent home date at Doc Wadley Stadium on Oct. 21. May and the offensive unit will battle against an NWMSU defense that gives up the fewest rushing yards per game (61.6) in the conference. 

5 | After cooler weather early in the week, the temperature at kickoff is slated to be a bit more comfortable at 68 degrees under mostly cloudy skies. 

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 two weeks of the campaign, NSU remains one of the MIAA's least-penalized teams. The RiverHawks have seen 47 penalties against them in 2023, the third-fewest in the conference. Their average of 48.6 penalty yards per game stands as the second-fewest.

>> 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.

>> NSU played their first turnover-free game of 2023 last Saturday against Missouri Western, helping the RiverHawks win the turnover battle for the second time this season. 

>> Week nine's shutout loss to the Griffons marked the fourth time this season that the offensive unit was left off the scoreboard. It also marked the end of a three-game scoring streak of at least 21 points.

>> Blake May received nearly half of the team's rushing opportunities last week, taking 13 carries and 48 yards on the ground to lead the team in the running game. In his first season with the program, May is seventh in the conference with 490 rushing yards, while the junior has added two touchdowns on the campaign.

>> Youth has been a key theme of this year's group of targets through the air. Of the team's top nine receivers, eight are freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore receiver Will Bergner leads the way with 22 catches for 281 receiving yards and two touchdowns. 

>> 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 eight sacks allowed across the season.

>> 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 has struggled in recent weeks in keeping the opposition off the board early, as teams have scored a combined 62 points in the first quarter over the last three weeks against them.

>> The RiverHawks have allowed 174.7 rushing yards per game, which is an improvement of over 30 yards from last year's total. Two more tests remain for the rushing defense in Northwest Missouri (Nov. 4) and Washburn (Nov. 11). The Bearcats are second in the MIAA in rushing (1,704 yards), while the Ichabods are in the league's bottom half in both yardage (seventh with 1,143) and rushing touchdowns (tenth with eight).

>> Johnny Jean led the defense during last Saturday's matchup, making seven tackles and five solo stops. Dalton Crumbly, Makarios Brown, and LaKedrick Holmes weren't far behind with six tackles apiece. Through nine games, Brown holds the team's tackling crown with 64 (39 solo).

>> Sophomore defensive back Michael Moton recorded the first interception of his collegiate career after picking off a Missouri Western pass on MWSU's first drive of the game last weekend. After failing to intercept any passes across the season's first five games, the RiverHawks have intercepted at least one in four straight. 

ON THE AIR

>> Northeastern State football's radio home is Billy Country 96.3 FM in Tahlequah with Bill Huddleston on the call as "the Voice of the RiverHawks", handling play-by-play. Shawn Tiemann serves as the primary road color analyst. Audio streaming is provided on GoRiverHawksGo.com under the Live tab on the homepage. 

ABOUT THE BEARCATS

>> Head football coach Rich Wright led Northwest Missouri to three conference titles and five playoff appearances in his first five seasons leading the program. He has over twenty years of experience on the Northwest Missouri staff, serving as a GA from 1995-96 and as the defensive coordinator from 2004-16, coaching four national championship teams during that time. 

>> The Bearcats enter the week following a 52-31 win in Topeka, Kan. over Washburn. Facing a three-point deficit after one quarter of play, NWMSU rode a 28-point second frame to make the Week 9 matchup out of reach for the Ichabods. 

>> Quarterback Mike Hohensee ranks fifth in the conference in passing yards (1,430). He has thrown for 12 touchdowns, though his ten interceptions match his single-season career high from 2021.

>> MIAA rushing leader Jay Harris enters this week with 1,193 yards on the ground alongside 12 touchdowns. Harris has commanded at least 16 carries and has logged at least 104 rushing yards in every game this season. 

>> The NW Missouri defense has surrendered just 61.6 yards on the ground per game, the lowest in the MIAA by nearly 40 yards. They have allowed the second-most passing yards per game (272.4) in the league. 

>> The defensive unit has three of the conference's best at issuing takedowns behind the line in Jake Fisher, Bryce Krone, and Kobe Clayborne. Fisher is tied for the conference lead with 11.5 tackles for loss, while Krone is inside the MIAA's top ten with 8.5 TFL. Clayborne has seven TFL and is tied with Fisher for the team lead in sacks with five. 

>> On special teams, the Bearcats rank third in the nation in punt return defense (0.6 yards per return) and 13th in kickoff return defense (15.1 per return). They've blocked five kicks (ranking 13th nationally) and three punts (tenth) as well.