TODAY’S GREAT AMERICAN CONFERENCE GAMES
OUACHITA BAPTIST AT ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
WHEN 1 p.m.
WHERE Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium
RADIO Ouachita Football Network: 101.1FM, KDXE in Little Rock (flagship), KUOA-AM, 1290 and KUOA-FM, 97.7 in Siloam Springs, KCXY-FM, 95.3, Camden, KZNG-FM, 105.5 and KZNG-AM, 1340, Hot Springs, KNAS-FM, 105.5, Nashville, KQOR-FM, 105.3, Mena; 93.7FM KHBM (southeast Arkansas)
INTERNET obutigers.com, uamsports. com
RECORDS OBU (8-0, 8-0 GAC); UAM (4-4, 4-4)
COACHES Todd Knight (108-94 at OBU in 20th season, 136-126-2 in 26th season overall; Hud Jackson (27-57 in eighth season at UAM and overall)
SERIES OBU leads 43-33-1
LAST MEETING OBU won 55-21 in Arkadelphia
COMMENTS OBU Coach Todd Knight said he didn’t think the Tigers would allow themselves to look past a UAM team that defeated them 34-26 in Monticello in 2016. “They’ve got a senior quarterback [Cole Sears], who is playing really, really well,” Knight said. “This is probably our biggest challenge of the season. All our guys have to do is turn on the film and they’ll know.” … Sears is third in the GAC in passing yards per game (244), 1st in yards per completion (14.3), has thrown 13 TD passes and rushed for 7. The Boll Weevils have dominated time of possession (35:10) and are +2.0 per game in turnover margin during their 3-game winning streak. Imani Riley (75-318 rushing) is 1 of 6 backs who have gained at least 101 net yards. DeAndre Washington (22-462 receiving, 6 TDs) and C.J. Parham (21311, 4 TDs) have emerged in the passing game. Defensive back Jimel London has 4 interceptions, including 3 returned for touchdowns, 2 of those coming in the past 3 games. … OBU is No. 2 in the first NCAA Division II Region III rankings and No. 4 in the AFCA Top 25 poll. … Kris Oliver (3,493 rushing) became the GAC’s all-time leading rusher in OBU’s Oct. 18 victory over Southern Nazarene. Oliver, a senior from Arkadelphia, leads the GAC with 699 yards rushing on the season.
HENDERSON STATE VS. SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
WHEN 2 p.m. WHERE Memorial Stadium, El Dorado (Murphy USA Classic)
RADIO 99.1-FM KVMZ in Magnolia; Henderson State Sports Network: 100.9-FM KDEL and 1240-AM KVRC in Arkadelphia, 99.7-FM KWPS in Hot Springs, 106.9-FM KYXK in Gurdon, 104.1-FM KZYP/1310-AM in Malvern, 99.3-FM KAFN/690-AM in Benton
INTERNET hsusports.com, muleridersports.om
RECORDS SAU (7-1, 7-1 GAC), Henderson State (5-3, 5-3)
COACHES Bill Keopple (56-47 in 10th season at SAU and overall); Scott Maxfield (99-51 in 14th season at Henderson State, 128-63 in 17 seasons overall SERIES Henderson State leads 45-33-1 LAST MEETING Henderson State won 36-30 in El Dorado
COMMENTS Henderson State beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 20-17 last Saturday in Arkadelphia despite losing 4 fumbles and passing for 72 yards, 40 coming in the game’s final 24 seconds. Coach Scott Maxfield said he couldn’t remember the last time a team he was associated with passed for so few yards. “Maybe back in junior high when I played quarterback,” he said. The Reddies won thanks to their defense and the kicking of freshman Temo Martinez. Henderson State intercepted 4 passes, 2 by GAC Defensive Player of the Week Jake Chatman. Martinez, the GAC Special Teams Player of the Week, kicked a game-winning 40yard field goal with five seconds to play after making one from 49 yards in the first half. One of the keys to Henderson’s comeback was Maxfield inserting quarterback Kody Whitaker (18-87 rushing; 5-12 passing, 77 yards) who helped bring Henderson State back from an early 14-0 deficit. … Coach Bill Keopple’s Muleriders broke out of a three-game offensive funk when they scored touchdowns on their final seven possessions to beat East Central (Okla.) 48-9 last Saturday in Magnolia. … SAU, ranked No. 6 in the first Division II Region III poll, is 1-5 against Henderson State since the GAC was formed in 2011, the lone victory coming 50-24 in 2016. There have been close losses — 36-30 (2017), 29-28 (2015), 44-36 (2012). SAU also lost 55-41 in 2014 and 66-24 in 2013, when quarterback Kevin Rodgers was setting the state’s all-time collegiate passing record. “In the back of our mind, they’re not the Henderson of old,” Keopple said. “We know we have a chance to win.” … SAU is led by senior quarterback Barrett
Renner (11,919 career passing yards) and wide receiver Karonce
Higgins (7-161 receiving, 3 TDs last week). Renner
(19-26 passing,
242, 4 TDs) has struggled at times, but Keopple said it has more to do with the injuries in the offensive line, at wide receiver and in the backfield than anything Renner has done. “He’s playing a lot better than his numbers show,” Keopple said.
ARKANSAS TECH AT SE OKLAHOMA STATE
WHEN 2 p.m. Central
WHERE Paul Laird Field, Durant, Okla. RADIO 102.3-FM KCJC, Russellville INTERNET arkansastechsports.com RECORDS Arkansas Tech (2-6, 2-6 GAC); SE Oklahoma (5-3, 5-3)
COACHES Raymond Monica (33-32 in sixth season at Arkansas Tech, 78-66 in 12th season overall; Bo Atterberry (32-21 in fifth season at SOSU, 73-49 in 12th season overall)
SERIES Arkansas Tech leads 12-5, 5-2 (GAC)
LAST MEETING Arkansas Tech won 4810 in Russellville
COMMENTS Tech went with a new quarterback last week, junior-college transfer Manny Harris, but it didn’t stop the Wonder Boys from turning the ball over too much in a 35-14 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State last week in Russellville. Harris (26-49 passing, 270 yards, 2 TDs) threw
2 interceptions, including 1 returned for a touchdown.
Both interceptions occurred in the game’s final 6 minutes. Wonder
Boys quarterbacks have thrown 12 interceptions during a 4-game losing streak and 3 of those have been returned for touchdowns by the opposition. The Wonder Boys have thrown 18 interceptions overall and are 11th in the GAC in turnover margin (minus-.88 per game). … Running back Bryan Allen (137-661) is second in the GAC in rushing yards this season and has 3,372 career yards. Allen (13-55 rushing, 4-64 receiving last week) is 81 yards behind Devlon Wortham (3,453) and 121 behind Ouachita Baptist’s Chris Oliver (3,493) in the GAC’s all-time rushing order. … Southeastern Oklahoma is coming off a 20-17 loss to Henderson State when the Savage Storm held the Reddies to 72 yards passing. … SOSU is No. 2 in the GAC and No. 7 nationally in total defense (244.4 ypg) while sitting third in the GAC and No. 10 nationally in scoring defense (15.3 ppg).
HARDING
AT EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.)
WHEN 4 p.m. Central
WHERE Koi Ishto Stadium, Ada, Okla. RADIO 95.3-FM KVHU in Searcy INTERNET hardingsports.com RECORDS Harding (6-2, 6-2 GAC); East Central (2-6, 2-6)
COACHES Paul Simmons (17-6 in second season at Harding and overall); Al Johnson (2-6, first season at East Central and overall)
SERIES Harding leads 13-3
LAST MEETING Harding won 44-13 in Searcy.
COMMENTS Harding, No. 8 in the first Region III rankings, is in a position where it needs to win the rest of its games and hope someone in the top 7 stumbles in order to make the 28-team playoff bracket. The big problem for the Bisons is their 2 losses, by a combined total of 9 points, came to SAU in Week 2 and OBU in Week 6. Any sort of three-way tie with those 2 teams does not work in the favor of the Bisons. The winner of next week’s SAU-OBU matchup would own the tiebreaker edge if all three finished 9-2. … Harding (4-0 in road games) has scored 40 or more points in 4 consecutive road games for the first time, outscoring opponents by an average 35.5 points. Harding is ranked No. 23 in the AFCA top 25, and leads the GAC in total defense (224.6 ypg), rushing defense
(78.8 ypg), scoring offense (37.5 ppg), rushing offense
(331.1) and fewest penalty yards (39.2 pg). … Preston
Paden (10), Cole
Chancey (6), Tristan
Tucker (5), Romar Reades (4) and Jesse Honnas (3) have combined to rush for 28 of the team’s 33 touchdowns on the ground. … East Central has averaged 8.8 points over its past 5 games after averaging 25.0 points in its first 3.