November 10th, 2024 7:00pm
Wild scores in the GAC this past weekend, but no real surprises across the landscape. Half of the winners won by shutout, and all three couldn’t have been much different. Let’s dig into the recaps.
Henderson State 35, Southwestern OSU 17
HSU- Four more touchdown passes for Andrew Edwards. The Reddies racked up 7.5 yards per play, but only had the ball for 23:26 of game time. Things took some time to get rolling, as it was only 7-3 at halftime in favor of Henderson. The defense wasn’t super effective, tallying only four tackles for loss and allowing SWOSU to convert 5-of-7 fourth downs. Not a pretty win for the Reddies, but they’ll take it.
SWOSU- Some good things for the Bulldogs here, especially being able to sustain drives against a good Henderson State defense. Quarterback Tate Robards threw for 211 yards and two scores as well as one interception, really cementing himself as the guy the Bulldogs are going to build around going forward. Thanks to conversions, the Bulldogs were able to run 84 plays on Saturday. Defense played well in the first half, but couldn’t overcome two second half turnovers by the offense.
Southern Nazarene 24, Arkansas-Monticello 21
SNU- The Crimson Storm played well, rolling up 415 yards of offense, 272 of that coming on the ground. They controlled the clock well, running 17 more plays than the Weevils and allowing UAM to have just four second half possessions. The defense had to deal with the wizardry of Demilon Brown one final time, but turned the Weevils aside with 3:21 left and ran out the rest of the clock.
UAM- This was there for the taking for the Weevils, but some erratic passing in the first half stymied all momentum UAM tried to establish. Monticello rushed for five yards a carry, but 55 yards came on two carries. The other 27 carries netted just 89 yards. The Weevils’ offensive line struggled all day against SNU’s three-man rush. UAM finished with 14 penalties, the majority of which came against the five guys up front.
Arkansas Tech 6, Southeastern OSU 0
Tech- What a win for the Wonder Boys and what a defensive performance it took to get it. There was some bend for Tech, but they never broke, forcing a turnover on the final three possessions for Southeastern to leave with a win and an even record of 5-5. The Wonder Boys didn’t find much success offensively against a good Savage Storm defense, but they got just enough. Ironically, their best drive, a 14-play, 93-yard march, ended in no points due to a missed field goal. Great win for Tech, who will try to upset Harding next week to clinch their first winning record since 2017.
SEOSU- Brutal loss for the Savage Storm. Once again, ineffectiveness at quarterback doomed the blue and gold. Luke Hohenberger got the start and promptly went 1-of-8, forcing a switch to Cergio Perez. Perez did alright, but tossed interceptions on back-to-back possessions in the fourth quarter in Tech territory to sink major scoring opportunities. The offensive line didn’t have a good day, either, giving up five sacks to the Wonder Boys.
Harding 34, East Central 7
HU- Weird box score here, as the 435 rushing yards would suggest a lot more scoring for the Bisons. However, Harding had a 97-yard and 84-yard drive that inflated the numbers a bit. Still, surprising the Bisons weren’t able to put up more points. However, they didn’t need to with a defense that held the Tigers to 2.3 yards per play and 106 total yards. Again, interesting game, but another win for the defending champs.
ECU- The Tigers made it tough on Harding, forcing the Bisons to punt three times, collecting the only turnover of the game and holding Harding to just 5-of-11 on third downs (hey, that’s not great for the Bisons!). Unfortunately, the offense was predictably silenced, but no turnovers for quarterback Sergio Kennedy and only one sack given up. Definitely some small wins in there for the orange and black.
Ouachita Baptist 55, Oklahoma Baptist 0
OUA- It would appear the Tigers took out some anger form last week’s upset loss to SNU on the hapless Bison. Even with freshman quarterback Nate Tenbarge running the show, the Tigers piled up 401 yards of offense and held the Bison to under three yards per play. They also forced nine punts and five turnovers. Pretty dominating bounce back to set up another really big Battle of the Ravine in Arkadelphia next week.
OBU- The Bison join Tech and Southeastern in the quarterback issue category. The Bison have played four quarterbacks this year, two in this one. They combined to throw three interceptions and couldn’t generate much on offense, finishing the day just 3-of-17 on third downs. OBU penetrated the Ouachita 30-yard line just twice and turned it over both times. The defense started well, forcing three straight punts after an opening drive touchdown for the Tigers. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.
Southern Arkansas 78, Northwestern OSU 0
SAU- No, that’s not a typo. Some absolutely ridiculous numbers in this historic performance for the Muleriders. Here are a few: 790 total yards, 403 on the ground, 387 through the air, -2 passing yards for Northwestern, 1.2 yards per play for the Rangers. Somehow, the Muleriders still punted twice and had 11 penalties for 120 yards! Amazingly, this could’ve been worse. Unreal performance from Southern Arkansas, which has to win and win impressively to try to swipe a playoff spot.
NWOSU- Ummm, what is there to say here? Just a terrible day for the Ranges. As a great philosopher once said, “And that’s all I have to say about that.”
This week: 5-1
Season results: 46-14