Henderson Reddies, OBU Tigers win in Oklahoma
WEATHERFORD, Okla. — On its longest trip of the football season, Henderson State played long into the night against Southwestern Oklahoma State here Saturday.
Weather delayed the kickoff more than 2 1/2 hours, the game ending at 11:02 p.m., and it took the Reddies 30 minutes of clock time to take control. Andrew Black’s 31yard touchdown pass to Al Lasker as the first half ended broke a 1010 tie and sent Henderson to a 4517 victory at ASAP Energy Field.
Black’s pass to Lasker gave the Reddies momentum they carried into the second half, outscoring Southwestern Oklahoma 21-0 in the third quarter. Sheldon Watson returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown, and Jeremy Wilson ran six yards and Robert Thomas five yards for scores as the Reddies went up 38-10.
Henderson never trailed but was tied twice, Marc Evans’ 30yard pass to D.J. Jones making it 10-10 with 2:05 left in the first half. The Reddies then marched nine plays in 63 yards for the half-ending touchdown pass to Lasker.
Black completed 13 of 21 passes for 149 yards with one interception and no sacks. Courtney Whitehead caught Black’s first of two touchdown passes from 11 yards out for a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. Wilson finished with 15 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Henderson, 4-0 and tied with Harding for the Great American Conference lead, plays Arkansas Tech at 6 p.m. Saturday in Russellville. The Reddies face Harding at home Oct. 8.
OBU-NW Oklahoma State
ALVA, Okla. — Sophomore Kris Oliver ran for 237 yards and two touchdowns as Ouachita Baptist built a big lead and held off Northwestern Oklahoma State 4234 Saturday night at Ranger Field.
A former Arkadelphia High star, Oliver scored two second-half touchdowns, his 67-yard burst making it 42-27 with 6:19 left in the game. His one-yard plunge extended Ouachita’s lead to 28-14 and was followed by Austin Warford’s 37-yard touchdown pass to freshman Allie Freeman.
Warford, Great American Conference Offensive Player of Week 3, passed for the Tigers’ first two touchdowns, hitting Logan Morris from nine yards with 4:13 off the first-period clock and Ke’Vontae Pope for 68 yards to break a 7-7 tied with 8:18 left in the opening round.
Warford kept for six yards and a 21-7 lead after 10:06 off the clock. The Malvern quarterback efficiently completed 10 of 14 passes for 176 yards and gained 102 on the ground before 51 yards in losses were deducted.
The Tigers are 3-1 before a big game Saturday night against 4-0 Harding in Searcy.
Ark. Tech-S. Arkansas
MAGNOLIA — Southern Arkansas scored a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter and turned back Arkansas Tech twice late in the game to preserve a 2821 Great American Conference victory Saturday night at Wilkins Stadium.
SAU’s Will Gaines went over from one yard out with 7:24 left, capping a 75-yard drive in 12 plays that took 5:37 off the clock. The Muleriders later stopped Tech on down from the SAU seven and survived a fumble on the following drive when Stacy Lawrence intercepted Jaybes Cross on third and goal from the eight with 2:12 left. SAU ran out the clock.
SAU improved to 3-1 overall and in conference play despite four turnovers and a season-low 46 rushing yards. Arkansas Tech dropped to 2-2 overall, both of its defeats on the road.
Tech once led 10-7 but trailed 21-13 when Kristian Thompson’s one-yard run and Chris Eastburn’s two-point conversion tied it with 13:01 left in the game. SAU regained the lead on its next possession.
Barrett Renner passed for three SAU touchdowns, connecting with Tanner Hudson on 18and 14-yard scoring plays in the third quarter. Renner’s 27-yard TD pass to Karonce Higgins late in the second quarter gave SAU a 7-3 lead that Tech turned into a half-ending 10-7 on Bryan Allen’s 19-yard run with 15 seconds before the break, the Wonder Boys driving 60 yards in six plays.
Renner completed 37 of 48 for 399 yards with two interceptions and a sack.
Eric Perez kicked field goals of 39 and 40 yards for Tech, which totaled a season-high 260 yards on the ground but passed for a season-low 85.
Arkansas Tech plays Henderson State at 6 p.m. Saturday at Thone Stadium in Russellville. Southern Arkansas stays home for a 2:30 p.m. game against Southern Nazarene.
Harding-UAM
MONTICELLO — Harding scored on five of its first six possessions, held Arkansas-Monticello to minus-25 rushing yards and blanked the Boll Weevils until the second half of a 57-7 trouncing Saturday night at Convoy Leslie Cotton Bowl Stadium.
Harding scored 30 points in the second quarter, led 36-0 at halftime and improved to 4-0 overall in remaining atop the Great American Conference. UAM (1-3) has lost six in a row to the Bisons.
Quarterback Park Parish, who did not play in the second half, rushed for 88 yards on nine carries and three touchdowns and completed three passes for 37 yards. Harding also scored in the second quarter on runs of 38 yards by Eric Kelly and 14 yards by Romar Reades.
Terrence Dingle went over from one yard out and Rhodes, a freshman from Pine Bluff, scored on runs of 2 yards and 37 yards in the second half. Rhodes had eight carried for 86 yards and three touchdowns.
UAM capitalized on a Bison fumble and scored on a six-yard pass from Cole Sears to Jason Tolliver with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
Harding allowed just one rushing first down to UAM in the strongest performance by a Bison run defense since the 2002 team limited West Georgia to minus-27 yards. Harding outgained UAM 435-131, completing all five passes for 57 yards and recording nine tackles for loss.
The Bisons play Ouachita Baptist at 6 p.m. Saturday at First Security Stadium in Searcy. UAM has a 3 p.m. home game Saturday against Oklahoma Baptist.