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September 10, 2009

NSU continues tough schedule on Saturday

By JEREMY SHORT

TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — The Northeastern State football team continues its tough schedule on Saturday when they travel to Wichita Falls, Texas, for a Lone Star Conference crossover game against Midwestern State.

The Mustangs enter Saturday’s contest undefeated with a pair of convincing wins over New Mexico Highlands and Southeastern Oklahoma.

“It’s just another quality opponent,” said RiverHawks coach Kenny Evans. “NSU has not won a game over a Lone Star South team in over seven years. On the plus side, we’ve played two quality opponents and have had a chance to win.”

For Northeastern State, it has been a story of inconsistencies as the offense thrived and defense struggled in the first game against Arkansas Tech, but the opposite was true against Tarleton State last week as the offense struggled and the defense played well.

“We hope the offense will bounce back like our defense did after week one,” said Evans. “We have to stop some of the mistakes we made. They hurt us in some key situations. If we bounce back we’ll have a chance to make some plays and score some points.”

Through the first two games, junior quarterback Woody Wilson is the team leader in rushing (136 yards), passing (279 yards) and total offense (415 yards).

After a stellar game against Arkansas Tech in week one, Wilson had just 43 rushing and 47 passing yards last week against Tarleton.

“We faced one of the toughest defenses in Division 2 last week,” said Evans.

The RiverHawks defense stepped up last week after allowing 460 yards of offense to Arkansas Tech in the opener.

Last week against Tarleton, the Texans gained just 224 yards against the NSU defense, led by senior Terrance Gaston who had seven and a half tackles.

“They were a little embarrassed after week one,” said Evans. “The way they prepared gave them a chance last week. We’re going to have to make sure we play mistake-free on defense. We need to cause turnovers to have a chance to win.”

Against the Mustangs, Northeastern State will have its hands full trying to slow down quarterback Zack Eskridge, who had six touchdowns and no interceptions through the air in the first two games.

Eskridge is a former transfer from Texas Christian University. He has started 11 games in just over one season for the Mustangs.

“He makes very good decisions,” said Evans. “He’s one of the many Division 1 quarterbacks in our league.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Wichita Falls, Texas.

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