SPORTS: HSU, OBU to meet for 92nd Battle of the Ravine

ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State will need a win against its undefeated rival, Ouachita Baptist, to salvage a winning season on Saturday.

Henderson (5-5) will host Ouachita Baptist (10-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. inside Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at Ruggles Field for the 92nd installment of the Battle of the Ravine.

The Reddies are looking to avoid their first losing season since 2009 and their first three-game losing skid to the Tigers since dropping three straight from 2001-03. The Tigers clinched the 2018 Great American Conference championship a week ago with a win over Southern Arkansas (8-2) at Cliff Harris Stadium.

Ouachita is ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II by the American Football Coaches Association and D2Football.com. With a No. 2 ranking in the NCAA Division II’s Super Region 3, The Tigers can all but secure a home game in the Central Region playoffs with a victory.

Henderson leads the all-time series, 43-42-6. The game has been decided by one score or less in four of the last five seasons. The Battle of the Ravine is tied for the oldest rivalry game in Division II.

A win over Ouachita would give Henderson coach Scott Maxfield 100 wins with the program. The Tigers would be the highest-ranked opponent the Reddies have beaten in the Division II era. Henderson defeated No. 12 Delta State in 2007.

Billed as “The Shortest Road Trip in College Football” the Battle of the Ravine was first played in 1895 when Ouachita College defeated Arkadelphia Methodist College, 8-0, on Thanksgiving Day. Every year, the visiting team walks across Highway 67 to their rival’s stadium.

The game was traditionally played on Thanksgiving, but the series was discontinued in 1951 after Henderson won, 54-0, and the pranks between the two schools got out of hand. The rivalry resumed in 1963 and continued uninterrupted until 1993 when Henderson made its jump from NAIA to NCAA Division II.

The series resumed again in 1996 when Ouachita did the same. The game has been played every year since except for 2004-05 when both schools were in the Gulf South Conference and rotated off of each other’s schedules.

The game has been decided by a touchdown or less in 42 of the previous 91 meetings. The longest winning streak by either team was Henderson’s streak of eight straight games won from 1988-98.

Coach Todd Knight’s Ouachita offense is led by a trio of backs, starting with the GAC’s all-time leading rusher, senior Kris Oliver. He is second in the league

with 825 rushing yards this season.

Junior Shun’cee Thomas is fourth with 711 rushing yards and junior Brockton Brown has 497 yards. The three backs have combined for 26 rushing scores in 2018. Ouachita has the No. 9 rushing offense in the country, averaging 278.2 yards per game on the ground.

The Tigers also possess threats on the outside in junior Allie Freeman and senior Drew Harris. The speedy Freeman has 411 receiving yards and is dangerous in the return game, while Harris scored 26 touchdowns last season, including seven against the Reddies.

Henderson senior receiver Ben Johnson is second in the GAC with 61 receptions and sixth in receiving yards with 677 this season. Johnson is tied with Garrett Manning for fourth in school history with 128 career receptions and is sixth alltime at the school with 1,650 career receiving yards.

Junior running back Logan Moragne is third in the GAC with 73.9 rushing yards per game. He is averaging 5.9 yards per carry for 665 total in 2018.

Junior quarterback Richard Stammetti has completed 192 of 365 passes for 2,256 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first season with Henderson. He is one of just five players in the league to throw for more than 2,000 yards and he ranks fifth in the GAC in passing yards and yards per game (225.6).

The Tigers boast one of the best defenses in the country. Ouachita has the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation and allows just 9.6 points per game to its opponents.

Junior defensive back Keandre Evans leads the secondary with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups, while senior defensive back Airric Parker leads the team with 58 total tackles. Sophomore defensive lineman Dameyun McDonald has a team-high nine tackles for a loss with 4.5 sacks this season.

Henderson ranks sixth in the GAC with 378.4 yards per game on offense. The Reddies also rank sixth on defense, allowing 371.8 yards per game. The rush defense is also sixth in the conference, allowing an average of 158.3 yards on the ground.

Senior linebacker Cameron Sonnier is one of just seven players in the conference this year to have 80 or more tackles. Sonnier has 87 total stops with 12 tackles for a loss, a sack, and an interception. His 12 tackles for loss this season is the third-most of any player in the league.

The secondary has been led by senior safety Malik Brown, as well as junior cornerback C.J. Jones. Brown is tied for the conference lead with four interceptions, while Jones is one of eight players leaguewide to have 10 or more pass breakups.

Henderson is the second-least penalized team in the GAC with an average of just 51.7 penalty yards per game.

Last year’s meeting was a backand-forth affair. Seven touchdowns by Harris helped the Tigers win, 49-42, and clinch the GAC title outright.

Henderson fell behind, 49-28, before staging a fourth-quarter comeback. The lead was cut to 49-42 with seconds remaining and the Reddies recovered their onside kick, but they were unable to attempt a pass on the final play.

The Reddies racked up 545 yards of total offense, including a career-high 463 yards passing from Evan Lassister. Harris’ seven touchdowns set a GAC record and he finished with 271 all-purpose yards.

Both schools have planned a number of activities and events around the game on Saturday.

Ticket windows at the stadium will be open three hours before game time. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children.

All students, faculty and staff with valid Henderson identification will be admitted for free, as will children ages 5 and younger. Current Ouachita students will also receive free admission on game day with valid identification.

Ouachita tickets will remain on sale today in the athletic office of the Roy and Christine Sturgis Physical Education Center. All general admission tickets are $7 through 3 p.m. Purchases must be cash only.

Tickets will also be available for purchase on Saturday at Cliff Harris Stadium from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Debit and credit cards will be accepted.

The stadium lot at Cliff Harris will honor season parking passes. All other parking will be general parking.

Ouachita will serve tailgate meals from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Cliff Harris. Ouachita students can scan their identification for meals.

The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and younger. Faculty and staff meal plans do not apply.

The Cub Zone will be open from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Ouachita Campus Store will be open at the stadium from 10 a.m. to noon.

The Tigers will make their way through the tailgate event and across Highway 67 at 11:15 a.m.

The head chefs of both schools, Ouachita’s Chase Nowlin and Henderson’s Stephen Clack, will compete in a Battle of the Chefs as a part of the pregame tailgating festivities. Both chefs’ chili will be put to a blind taste test to determine the winner.

The cost for the full tailgate meal is $8, which includes the chili testing. The cost to participate in the chili testing alone is $2.

Henderson’s tailgate is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in front of the Duke Wells Center. The cost is $8 and 25 percent of the proceeds will be donated to Henderson’s scholarship fund.

The final Reddie Walk of the year will take place at 11:45 a.m. between the Formby Athletic Center and the back gate to Carpenter-Haygood.

For Reddie Club members, the Red and Gray reserved parking lots are located directly behind the main stands and above Clyde Berry Field. The lots require Reddie Club parking passes. Handicapped parking is also available in the Red and Gray lot directly behind the main stands.

Buses will be staged at the corner of 12th and Wilson streets two and a half hours prior to kickoff to allow fans to use the parking lots around Henderson’s main campus. The shuttles also run for up to an hour after the game ends to allow fans to board at the main gate as they exit the stadium.