ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Searching to shake a four-game skid, Griffon Football takes aim at a one-win Northeastern State squad for Saturday's game in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at Doc Wadley Stadium.

TICKETS + WHERE TO WATCH/LISTEN
Griffon Football is once again gracing the airwaves of KFEQ Radio, as fans can tune in with "The Voice of the Griffons" Tommy Rezac starting at 3 p.m. with kickoff at 4. The game can be heard on KFEQ - AM 680 and the KFEQ Live Stream.

The game is also available to watch for a subscription fee on the MIAA Network. Game admission can be found by clicking on the "Tickets" tab. 

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S GRIFFON LOSS
UNK 39, MWSU 18 - Oct. 8, 2022 - Box Score
Riding a three-game winning streak into Spratt Stadium, Nebraska-Kearney (5-1, 5-1 MIAA) hit the ground running with a 59-yard touchdown run by quarterback T.J. Davis just 42 seconds into the game — the longest rushing play given up by MWSU all season. Missouri Western (2-4, 2-4 MIAA) promptly responded with an 11 play, 65-yard drive capped off by a 13-yard TD run by MWSU's own QB, Reagan Jones. 

The Griffon defense hunkered down in the first quarter, with linebacker Anthony Villaneuva flinging Davis down twice for MWSU's first sacks since week one vs. UCO. What started out as a tightly-contested game with a first-quarter score of 8-7 went south in the second half.

Now leading 18-10 after MWSU kicker Cody Watson nailed a career-long field goal of 38 yards, UNK went 77 yards down Craig Field in 12 plays, scoring on a 23-yard pass from Davis to Bailey Torres. On the ensuing Griffon drive, UNK's Jaylen Perkins picked off Jones and took it back 25 yards to the MWSU 30-yard line. The Lopers eventually scored on another TD scamper by Davis, building a 32-10 lead.

Missouri Western's defense gave up a season-high 250 yards to UNK but allowed a season-low 90 passing yards. Traveon James recorded a new season-high of 169 receding yards in the second 100-yard game of his career after going for 95 in week five at Northwest Missouri State. One of James' eight receptions resulted in a 55-yard catch-and-run on a WR screen, sparking MWSU's longest reception of the season.

ABOUT LAST WEEK'S RIVERHAWK LOSS
UCO 55, NSU 6 - Box Score
Central Oklahoma (4-2, 4-2 MIAA) gave NSU (1-5, 1-5 MIAA) its worst loss of the season, scoring on the Bronchos' first eight drives to build a 55-0 lead midway through the third quarter. The Bronchos rushed for a season-high 286 yards and three touchdowns, while UCO QB Stephon Brown threw his own season-high of three TDs. Due to two interceptions by NSU QB Grant Elerick, the RiverHawks have thrown at least one interception in every game this fall.

With just 63 rushing yards vs. UCO, NSU has yet to produce a 100-yard rusher this season. The RiverHawks passed 137 yards between Ben Ward (67), Elerick (42) and Jacob Fraizer (35). 

PROLIFIC POSITION PREVIEWS
Coaches
Missouri Western Head Coach Matt Williamson is 28-24 overall and 26-24 in the MIAA. In six years at MWSU. Williamson and the Griffons are undefeated vs. NSU at 4-0. Missouri Western has put up at least 57 points in each game vs. the RiverHawks in the Williamson era.

Four-year NSU Head Coach J.J. Eckert is 3-36 overall and inside the conference. Similar to Williamson, Eckert is also an alum for the team he coaches, finishing his undergrad at NSU in 1998. In his career as a head coach, Eckert is 88-97, going 13-8 with Garden City Community College from 2004-07 and 72-53 with Kilgore College from 2007-18. 

Quarterbacks 
Jones, now 5-4 as a starter, is fifth in the MIAA with 1,186 passing yards but has thrown for over 200 yards in three consecutive games after his 244-yard effort vs. UNK. However, Jones has thrown an interception in four-straight contests, with his last pick vs. UNK occurring in third quarter when MWSU trailed, 25-10. His legs have kept the sticks moving for MWSU this season, rushing for the fifth-most yards in the MIAA with 407 on 5.8 yards per carry. 

Fraizer is currently listed as NSU's starting QB despite passing 3-for-5 for 28 yards last Thursday vs. UCO. He is 1-7 as starter dating back to 2021 when he took control of the offense in the final two weeks of the season. Fellow QB Elerick is also 1-7 as starter but hasn't officially been named a starter since Oct. 30, 2021 at Washburn. Between Elerick and Fraizer, their TD-INT ratio is 8-10, as Frazier leads the MIAA with eight interceptions.

QB STATS VS. OPPONENT

• Reagan Jones: 0-0 - 3-for-6, 56 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, long of 46, 1 sack - 31 attempts, 23 yards, 0 TDs, long of 13
• Jacob Fraizer: 0-0 - 8-for-14, 177 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, long of 55, 1 sack - 6 attempts, -6 yards, 0 TDs, long of 5
• Elerick Grant: 0-1 - 6-for-11, 102 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, long of 65, 1 sack - 2 attempts, -3 yards, 0 TDs, long of 8
• Ben Ward: 0-0 - 3-for-6, 52 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, long of 28, 0 sacks - 7 attempts, 26 yards, 0 TDs, long of 7

Running Backs
While Jones ran for 103 yards on 19 carries vs. UNK, MWSU hasn't seen a running back go for over 100 yards since Brandon Hall and Jared Scott did so in week two at Fort Hays State. Despite not hitting the century mark in four games, Hall (345 yards) and Scott (337 yards) sit right next to each other at eighth and ninth respectively in the MIAA, maintaining the Griffons' rushing identity. Missouri Western is second the conference and 23rd in the nation with 210 rush yards per game. Scott ran for 62 yards on a career-high 14 carries vs. the Lopers after just four attempts at Northwest. Hall's 10 carries for 30 yards vs. UNK marks two-straight weeks with double-digit attempts, the first time he's ran the rock at least 10 times in back-to-back games since the first two weeks of the season.

Darius Salters is the main tailback NSU tends to rely, rushing for 225 yards this season that has him placed 15th in the MIAA. However, Isiah Davis' one rushing score during week four vs. Lincoln is the only ground TD recorded by an NSU running back this season. The other belongs to wide receiver Dashawn Williams' 12-yard surge into the end zone also vs. Lincoln. On top of that, Salter's 77 yards vs. Lincoln are the most any RiverHawk running backs have rushed for so far this season.

RIVALRY RECORD RABBIT HOLE
By the Numbers
This is the 12th all-time meeting between Missouri Western and Northeastern State, as the Griffons have never lost in the series. William's 4-0 run vs. NSU involves 54 points per game by his offense. Williamson's defense has been structurally dense vs. NSU, averaging 19.5 points per contest since 2017. Missouri Western is 5-0 in Tahlequah, most recently beating NSU inside Doc Wadley Stadium on Sept. 28, 2019, 58-23.

Last Time Out
Despite putting up their least number of points against NSU since 2016 (45), the Griffons ran away from the RiverHawks on Oct. 16, 2021 in a 57-24 route in St. Joseph. The Griffons scored in a variety of ways, highlighted a program record five made field goals by Thomas Kopcho and two pick-sixes from Terrance March (70 yards) and Kameron Langford (26 yards) and 99-yard kickoff return from Cooper Burton. Jones saw limited action with just a 3-for-6, 56-yard statline, but the then Griffon freshman did throw one touchdown to CJ Parks and caught on as well on a 10-yard trick-play pass from Burton. Safety Kobe Cummings led the defensive charge with a record-tying day, picking off three passes for 146 — both first all-time in program history. 

THIS DAY IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL HISTORY: OCT. 15 
October 15 belonged to Missouri Western back in 1994, as Dess Douglas danced all over Emporia State in 28-21 Griffon win. Douglas ran up and down the Hornets, going off for 197 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. Marcus Bridges also had a strong performance with six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. The win broke a three-game skid and pushed MWSU to 4-3 on the season, sparking a five-game winning streak that concluded the season with a 36-34 win over. No. 8 Truman State.

READING THE RED ZONE REPORT
Northeastern State's 12 trips to the red zone are the least number of attempts in the MIAA, converting nine times for eight touchdowns and one field goal. The RiverHawks' defense is allowing teams to score in the red zone 83.3% of time, the fourth most in the conference. They've allowed 18 TDs and two field goals in 24 stands inside their red zone. Northeastern State's one trip inside UCO's 20-yard line resulted in its only points scored last Thursday. Central Oklahoma went 3-for-3 inside the NSU 20. 

Meanwhile, Missouri Western went 3-for-4 inside the red zone while allowing UNK to go 3-for-3. This is a change in the right direction for MWSU, as the Griffons are 11th in the MIAA with 69.6% conversion rate in the red zone, going 16-for-23 with 13 TDs and three field goals. On the downside for the Griffons, they have turned over the ball on downs four times inside the 20 — tied for the most in the MIAA with Central Missouri. Missouri Western's defense is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to stopping defenses deep in their territory, allowing 15 scores on 20 tries. 

CRAYTON AND RAVENELL - CLIMBING UP THE RANKINGS
With 10 career sacks, A.J. Crayton and C.J. Ravenell are one-and-a-half QB takedowns away from tying Daniel Atkinson for 10th all-time in Griffon history. Ravenell — a 2021 All-MIAA Third Team — member brought down the QB seven times after a two-sack season in 2019. So far in 2022, Ravenell's one sack is courtesy of a second quarter third down-and-11 stop over UCO's Stephon Brown in week one. Crayton is still searching for his first QB sack off 2022 but is still a constant pass-rush presence against opponents. 

KOBE'S DEFENSIVE CANOPY
Senior safety Kobe Cummings is once again making plays all over the field and is near the top of the MWSU tackle leaderboards, listed second with 36 this season. His 261 career tackles list him at sixth all-time within the program. Cummings needs 14 more tackles to pass Pierre Thomas (2000-03) total of 274 tackles to take fifth all-time in team history.