No. 7/8 OBU looking for 31st straight win at No. 22 Harding
SEARCY — In a battle of ranked Great American Conference teams, Ouachita Baptist travels to Harding for an intriguing in-state matchup in Searcy tonight.
The Tigers (3-0) are ranked No. 7 in the D2Football.com poll and No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association poll. Harding (2-1) comes in at No. 22 in the D2Football. com poll.
The matchup pits the two best Division II rushing teams in the country against each other as Harding leads the nation with 380 rushing yards per game and OBU comes in second at 290 per game.
Both team’s quarterbacks are seldom used. OBU’s sophomore quarterback Grant Allen is 18-for-33 passing through three games with one touchdown pass and 278 yards.
On the other side, Harding’s fifth-year senior quarterback has completed 4 of 11 for 79 yards and one touchdown.
Unsurprisingly for two teams that love to run the ball, Harding and OBU lead the GAC in time of possession at 37:02 and 35:22 respectively.
The Bisons utilize a flexbone offensive system that centers around fifth-year senior fullback Cole Chancey who has 341 rushing yards on the year. Chancey is joined by wingbacks Omar Sinclair and Taylor Sinclair in the backfield.
T.J. Cole leads the Tigers with 392 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 64 carries while freshman Kendal Givens has registered nine touchdowns and 279 yards on 47 carries.
The Tigers also use the Wildcat formation, especially in the red zone and in short-yardage situations. Both Givens and Cole can line up in the formation.
The two teams also boast the two best defenses in the conference, OBU allowing just 279 yards per game with Harding allowing 283.7 yards.
Expect another tough battle as OBU looks for its 31st consecutive GAC win. Kickoff from First Security Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
UNDEFEATED REDDIES HOST MULERIDERS
ARKADELPHIA — Heading into its game with Southern Arkansas (2-1) tonight, Henderson State (3-0) boasts a potent offense and strong defense.
Ranked No. 18 in the AFCA top 25, the Reddies are averaging 48 points per game and have registered back-to-back games with more than 600 offensive yards.
Leading HSU’s potent offense, senior wide receiver L’liott Curry has 416 yards on 24 receptions and five touchdowns this season.
Reddies’ senior quarterback Adam Morse has thrown for 889 yards and nine touchdowns so far this year.
Despite a high powered passing attack, the Reddies have been good on the ground as well. HSU has the third best rush offense in the league averaging 243.7 yards per game on the ground.
Duce Sproles and Kris Morris have combined for 428 rushing yards and five touchdowns this season.
SAU senior quarterback Hayden Mallory has 708 yards and eight touchdowns through the air this season. One of his favorite targets is wide receiver Micah Small who has 17 receptions for 274 yards and six touchdowns.
SAU’s defense allows a GAC 11th best 471 yards per game, but the Muleriders have registered 12 sacks this season.
The Reddies narrowly won a 38-31 contest the last time these two teams met in 2019.
Kickoff from Ruggles Field at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
WONDER BOYS LOOK FOR FIRST WIN
RUSSELLVILLE — In a matchup between two struggling in-state teams, Arkansas-Monticello (1-2) travels to Arkansas Tech (0-3) tonight.
Arkansas Tech is coming off a 38-24 loss to OBU. More successful carrying the ball this season, the Wonder Boys have averaged 177.3 yards per game on the ground so far this year.
Transfer quarterback Jack Lindsey accounted for 189 yards of total offense against OBU in his best game of the year on paper. The Wonder Boys are led by running backs Caleb Batie and Ron Thompson
with 146 and 126 yards on the ground, respectively.
UAM has a dangerous weapon in sophomore quarterback Demilon Brown. Brown has 782 passing yards and 141 rushing yards to go with nine total touchdowns on the year.
The sophomore led the nation in total offense after Week 2. The Boll Weevils implemented a run-first game plan in last week’s 58-18 loss to HSU, but Brown has two promising receiving targets in seniors C.J. Parham and DeAndre Washington.
Parham has 299 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while Washington has 173 yards through the air and two touchdowns this season.
The two teams played in an extremely close game in 2019 that the Boll Weevils won 26-23 in overtime.
Kickoff from Buerkle Field at Thone Stadium is set for 6 p.m.