Defense and Davis carry Henderson

HENDERSON STATE 24, ARKANSAS TECH 3

Receiver Darius Davis and the Henderson State defense left Arkansas Tech wondering what hit it Saturday afternoon in Russellville.

Davis, Henderson State’s all- time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, caught three touchdown passes and the Reddies limited the Wonder Boys to 192 yards of offense in a 24-3 victory at Buerkle Field in Thone Stadium.

Davis caught four passes for 181 yards, which included touchdown receptions of 56, 68 and 58 yards. All of them came in the first half as the Reddies jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.

Quarterback Kevin Rodgers eclipsed the 300-yard mark for the 23rd time in his career with 325 yards on 21of-36 passing, but Henderson State Coach Scott Maxfield wasn’t satisfied after his team managed only a field goal in the second half.

“I was not pleased with our offense,” Maxfield said. “We didn’t block well. There was too much pressure on the quarterback, and we have to run the ball better.”

“I was not pleased with our offense. We didn’t block well. There was too much pressure on the quarterback, and we have to run the ball better.”

— Henderson St. Coach Scott Maxfield

Henderson State (7-0, 6-0 Great American Conference) scored twice in the opening quarter. Rodgers hit Davis with a 56-yard strike at the 12:58 mark to give the Reddies a 7-0 lead. After the Reddies forced Arkansas Tech to punt on its opening possession, Rogers and Davis connected again for a 68-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead with 8:30 left in the quarter.

Randy Velazquez kicked a 45-yard field goal to provide Arkansas Tech (3-4, 3-3) its only points of the game with 3:51 left in the first quarter as the Wonder Boys pulled to within 14-3, but Rodgers found Davis again with another touchdown pass as Henderson State took a 21-3 lead with 14:33 left in the half.

Arkansas Tech managed to move the ball inside the Reddies 15 twice more in the half but came up empty both times.

Glennon Bobo tackled Justyn Oliphant for a 4-yard loss, and Chris King broke up a pass on fourth and goal to snuff out the first threat. Later in the half, Robertson broke free for a 25-yard run to the Reddies 2, before Kenrick Burns came up with a touchdown-saving tackle.

The tackle ended up being a big play for the Reddies after Blake Lopez tackled Keltin Smith for a 4-yard loss, which was followed by a holding penalty that forced Arkansas Tech to attempt a field goal. Velazquez’s 30-yard attempt sailed wide left and the Reddies went into halftime leading 21-3.

Both teams struggled offensively in the second-half with the lone score coming on Houston Ray’s 40-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter that gave Henderson State a commanding 24-3 lead.

Henderson State’s defense dominated the second half as the Wonder Boys totaled just 42 yards in the final 30 minutes. The Reddies held the Wonder Boys to threeand-out on six of their eight possessions.

Arkansas Tech finished with minus-4 yards rushing as the Reddies defense totaled a season-best 12 tackles for lost yardage, including 7 sacks. Dijon Benton had a season- high 11 tackles, including 1 ½ sacks.

“I thought our defense did a great job,” Maxfield said. “I am proud their performance. We just need to get the offense to get better and put it all together.”

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 62, SOUTHERN NAZARENE 7

Southern Arkansas (4-3, 4-3 GAC) finished the season unbeaten at Wilkins Stadium in Magnolia after a homecoming victory over Southern Nazarene (0-7, 0-7).

By finishing 4-0, the Muleriders finished undefeated at home for the first time since 1999 when they went 5-0.

The Muleriders had 605 yards of total offense while their defense limited the Crimson Storm (0-7, 0-7 GAC) to 88 yards.

SAU quarterback Si Blackshire threw for 187 yards and three touchdowns, while running backs Deandre Jenkins and Deion Williams each ran for over 100 yards.

The Muleriders had 10 tackles for lost yardage with six coming off sacks.