By: Jeff Weseloh, Director of Athletics Media Relations
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio
Opponent: Northeastern State
Time: Saturday, October 27; 1:00 PM
Location: Plaster Stadium; Bolivar, Missouri
Bolivar, Mo. - The SBU Bearcats return home to take on Northeastern State on Saturday, looking to push their record to 2-7 on the season.
The Coaches and the All-Time Series
Keith Allen has already engineered a significant turnaround at SBU, moving the 'Cats from 0-11 his first year as interim coach, to 5-6 in 2008, to the winning record of 6-5 in 2009, another winning record of 7-4 in 2010, and completed a third consecutive winning season in 2011 with a 6-5 record. Allen served as defensive and recruiting coordinator before being named SBU head coach in 2007. His past coaching experience has included stops at San Jose State, Quincy, TCU and Oklahoma.
Kenny Evans is currently in his fifth season as head coach of the Northeastern State football program. He was named head coach in 2008 after 28 years as an assistant coach at six other universities. During that span, Evans coached in six bowl games, two national playoffs, and was part of a coaching staff that won eight conference championships. His ninth conference championship was added in 2010 as the RiverHawks posted their first winning season in 10 years.
Scouting the Riverhawks
Northeastern State comes into this weekend with a 1-6 record, coming off of a 24-23 victory over Central Missouri to claim their first MIAA victory in school history.
Johnny Deaton leads the Riverhawks in passing averaging 210.4 yards per game through the air while throwing 6 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Joel Rockmore leads the NSU ground attack, averaging 100.5 yards per game, while Terrance Dixon also gives the Riverhawks another 47.20 yards per game. Jermaine Sherman is the leading receiver on the team, averaging 73.29 yards receiving per game.
Defensively Langston Jones leads the Riverhawks with 71 total tackles and a team high 5.5 tackles for a loss. Vernon Jones has 5 interceptions on the season, while Terrence Leach has broken up 8 pass plays.
