NORTHEASTERN STATE (0-2, 0-2 MIAA)
vs #12/11 EMPORIA STATE (2-0, 2-0 MIAA)
Saturday, September 16 -- 6 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium (Tahlequah, Okla.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 11-7-1 -- Last meeting was Sept. 1, 2022 at Emporia, Kan. (42-17 L)

TAHLEQUAH -- Northeastern State returns home for Legends Day where they will honor teams from its 1958 NAIA Championship, 1969 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference (OCAC) Championship, and 2010 Lone Star Conference North Division Championship.  A ceremony for the 1958 team will happen at the end of the first quarter, with the 1969 and 2010 teams being announced during halftime.  

TOP STORYLINES

1 |  Emporia State is NSU's first ranked opponent this season. The Hornets enter the contest ranked 12th in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 poll and 11th in the D2Football.com poll. Also ranked nationally in the MIAA are Pittsburg State (#3/3) and Northwest Missouri (#15/13), with both of them coming to Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium later this season.

2 | The RiverHawks enter this matchup looking to snap a four-game home losing streak, though two of those losses were decided by a touchdown or less. Their most recent home victory came on Sept. 24, 2022 in a 38-10 winning effort over Lincoln.

3 | Emporia State opened the season with two straight wins against Lincoln (56-10) and Northwest Missouri (33-13). The victory against Northwest Missouri marked their first in almost three decades against the Bearcats, snapping a 29-game losing streak that dated back to 1994. The Hornets have won nine of their last ten overall, in addition to their last six away from Francis G. Welch Stadium.

4 | The RiverHawks play their third straight game under the lights to start the season. After Saturday night, every game through the rest of the season will be played during the afternoon, with the exception of NSU's Oct. 21 battle with Central Oklahoma for the President's Cup.

5 | RiverHawks vs. Hornets has been a regular sight in the month of September in recent history. This will be the fourth straight meeting between the teams held during the month. It is also their second streak of that length since NSU joined the MIAA. 

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. 

>> Jack Meservy enters 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.

>> Ben Ward and Grant Elerick split reps at the quarterback position throughout week two's contest against Nebraska-Kearney. Ward went 15-of-25 for 125 yards and threw for the team's first touchdown of the year on a 16-yard strike to Drew Elerick in the first quarter, while Elerick logged seven attempts and connected on one of the team's longest plays of the game with a 26-yard pass to Will Bergner in the fourth. 

>> For a second straight week, Blake May led the RiverHawks in carries (12) and rushing yards (54). May averaged 4.5 per carry and had a long of 19 yards. Meanwhile, true freshman Tagg Campbell received five carries and ran for his collegiate touchdown on an eight-yard sprint in the third quarter. 

>> The youth movement continued into week two among the NSU receiving unit. Of the seven players that made catches against UNK, six of them were freshmen or sophomores. Will Bergner and Drew Elerick tied for the team lead in receptions (4) and receiving yards (49), while Elerick found the end zone for his first score of the year. 

>> The red zone offense was a bright spot for the RiverHawks in week two. After missing on their two red zone opportunities in the opener, NSU was a perfect 3 for 3 at finding points inside UNK's 20 last week. Two of those came in the form of touchdowns.
NSU stayed mostly free of the turnover bug during week two. After losing possession five times due to turnovers in the opener, the RiverHawks were 68 seconds away from their first turnover-free effort since Oct. 29, 2022 when a third-and-long pass was picked off by UNK with 1:08 left in the game. 

>> Northeastern State enters 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. 

>> Amarion Partee led the defense in week two with eight tackles (four solo). Partee also made his presence known in downfield pass coverage, recording two pass breakups. 2022 All-MIAA Honorable Mention Chris Lee was a factor on the defensive line, making four tackles (two solo) and being involved in a tackle for loss for a second consecutive week to start the season. Through two weeks, Partee and Lee are tied with Dalton Crumbly for the team lead in tackles (8), while Lee paces all RiverHawks in solo tackles (6) and tackles for loss (1.5). 
 
>> Through two weeks, NSU has found early improvements in defending the run compared to last season. The RiverHawks have surrendered 151 rushing yards per game to start the year, over fifty yards lower than their 2022 average (206.7). 

>> Last week's contest was another busy one for kicker/punter Tyler Crawford. The 2022 All-MIAA talent knocked two punts inside the 20 and sent one deep for a trip of over 54 yards. Crawford has now booted a punt of at least 50 yards in six of his last seven games dating back to last season. He also cleared the uprights for his first made field goal of 2023 with 11:24 in the fourth quarter, striking true from 39 yards out to bring the RiverHawks within a score against the Lopers.

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 color commentator for all home games, while Shawn Tiemann will serve as the primary road color commentator. Audio streaming is provided on GoRiverHawksGo.com under the Live tab on the homepage.

ABOUT THE HORNETS

>> Emporia State is led by Garin Higgins in his 16th season. He carries a 99-77 record into Saturday night's game. Under Higgins, the Hornets have made the playoffs three times and appeared in four bowl games, most recently in the Farmers Bank & Trust Live United Bowl in 2022. Higgins returned to his alma mater in 2007 after spending the 2006 season as the offensive coordinator at Northeastern State. He previously served as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State from 2000-04, where he took the Rangers to two NAIA Championship games and made postseason appearances in all five seasons.

>> Hornets quarterback Braden Gleason has led the MIAA in passing yards in two consecutive seasons, and he opened the 2023 season with eight passing touchdowns across his first two games against no interceptions. Tyler Kahmann has started the year with consecutive eight catch games alongside five receiving touchdowns, while Jaylen Varner is second on the team in receptions with 15. 

>> Billy Ross Jr. led the week two rushing attack for Emporia, rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown against Northwest Missouri. Ross Jr. ran for 713 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022. 

>> Despite losing three All-MIAA talents on the offensive line from last year, the Hornets have only surrendered one sack across their first two games. 

>> Zach Dortch Jr. leads the Emporia State defense in tackles (18) two games in. Chance Rodriguez is second on the Hornets defense with 13, while he's added 2.5 tackles for loss. Sage Sieperda has also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss. Caleb Mondi and Maquay Shaw have each accounted for a sack in the season's opening weeks. 

>> The defense tied a school record set back in 1994 for single-game interceptions last week against Northwest Missouri, picking off six Bearcat passes. Chance Rodriguez accounted for three of the interceptions, tying the single-game school record in the process.