Maxfield seeking 100th win at Henderson State
ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State will look to give head coach Scott Maxfield win No. 100 of his career at the school today when the Reddies face No. 21 Southern Arkansas at the 10th annual Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado at 2 p.m.
SETTING THE SCENE
A victory over the Muleriders would secure a winning season for the 12th time in the last 14 years under coach Maxfield and would stretch HSU's winning streak to five games -- the longest winning streak for the program since the start of 2016.
The Reddies have won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Muleriders, and Henderson State is 10-2 against Southern Arkansas under Maxfield.
The Muleriders did win the last matchup at the Murphy USA Classic in 2016, however, as they defeated the Reddies 50-24.
This will be the Reddies'
fourth time playing in the Murphy USA Classic.
Henderson State first played in the neutral site game in 2013 when it defeated Arkansas Tech 45-14.
In 2014, the top two offenses in the Great American Conference met, as the Reddies got past the Muleriders 55-41 behind 509 passing yards and five touchdowns from Kevin Rodgers.
Henderson State is 2-1 all-time in the Murphy USA Classic. Southern Arkansas is playing in the game for the eighth time and is 2-5 in its previous trips.
REDDIES REPORT
The Reddies overcame a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter last week against Southeastern Oklahoma to storm back and defeat the Savage Storm 20-17 on Temo Martinez's 40-yard field goal with five seconds left.
The win made it four straight victories for Henderson State for the first time in the last two seasons.
Henderson State’s defense was tremendous in the win and allowed just one touchdown drive, as well as a shortfield 42-yard field goal.
The Savage Storm's second touchdown came on a scoop and score. The Reddies are fifth in the GAC in scoring defense (24.4 points per game) and have allowed just 14.5 points per game to opponents during their four-game win streak.
The defense has been particularly impressive in the fourth quarters of the last four contests.
Henderson State has given up just one fourth-quarter touchdown in the past four weeks. Once near the bottom of the league in rushing, Henderson State has found its ground attack.
The Reddies are now third in the GAC in rushing yards (1276) and yards per game (159.5).
Two Reddies picked up GAC Player of the Week honors following the win over SOSU.
Linebacker Jake Chatman was named GAC Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded five tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Chatman leads all GAC linebackers with three picks this season.
Martinez earned Special Teams Player of the Week after drilling field goals of 40 and 49 yards. His 49-yarder tied Bryan Woodard's 2005 school record.
Quarterback Kody Whitaker had his best game of the year last Saturday.
Whitaker entered the game in the second quarter and never came out again, as he carried the Reddies to victory with 95 rushing yards on 18 attempts and 77 passing yards, both of which were season and career-highs.
Ben Johnson is tied for second in the conference in receptions this season with 48, which is a new career-best for him in a single year, surpassing his 46 receptions in 2017.
He has 524 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Reddies' receiving corps.
Johnson is now fifth alltime in program history in receptions (115), and sixth in both touchdowns (13) and receiving yards (1525) in a career.
The backfield duo of Logan Moragne and Querale Hall has been a game-changer for Henderson State in the past month.
Moragne is second in the conference in rushing yards per game (83.1), while Hall is 10th and has scored seven total touchdowns in the last four games. The two backs have combined for 1001 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns this year.
Henderson State snagged four interceptions against Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday -- the most in any game this season and the first time since Sept. 26, 2015, against SWOSU that the Reddies had four or more picks in a game.
The four interceptions give Henderson State 10 total this season, which is the third-most in the GAC.
The Reddies' normally lethal passing attack was slowed by SOSU in the win last week, as Henderson State had just 72 total yards through the air.
Heading into last week, Henderson State led the GAC in almost every passing category.
LAST YEAR'S MEETING
In front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN3, Henderson State outscored Southern Arkansas 22-6 in the fourth quarter to shock the first-place Muleriders 36-30 on Senior Day in Arkadelphia.
Henderson State trailed 30-21 with 13 minutes to go, but got a big kickoff return and then a 2-yard score from Andrew Black to cut the lead to 30-28.
After two big stops by the defense, Evan Lassiter connected with Johnson for a 30-yard go-ahead touchdown with two minutes to play, as the Reddies came back to capture their biggest win of the year.
Lassiter outdueled Renner in the win, as he passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to Johnson.
Renner was 16-of-22 for 192 yards and two scores for Southern Arkansas.