October 28th, 2024 10:00am
We’re wrapping up week eight in the Great American Conference, a Saturday that saw several tight games across the league. Let’s jump right in and take a look at how things played out.
Harding 49, Southern Arkansas 17
HU- Great bounce back for the Bisons after the disappointing loss at Ouachita last week. Harding rolled up 340 yards on the ground against a very good SAU defense. The defense allowed 417 yards and five yards per play, but stiffened when it had to, turning the Muleriders aside twice inside the five-yard line. The Bisons remained in the hunt for a playoff berth, and should be able to get through these last three unscathed.
SAU- It’s a bummer the Muleriders most likely won’t make the playoffs this season. Once again, SAU fell to the top two in the league and when the GAC isn’t the strongest league in the region, that’s a big hindrance. SAU played really well offensively Saturday, but coming up empty twice inside the Harding five-yard line was a killer in the first half. A muffed punt recovered for a touchdown in between those two drives obviously didn’t help. Make no mistake, SAU is a really good team. Just couldn’t get it done when they needed to.
Henderson State 42, Arkansas-Monticello 7
HSU- Nice bounce back for the Reddies to at least keep their name in the playoff conversation. Obviously, a win over Ouachita in three weeks is a must, but you can’t worry about that if you don’t win the others. Andrew Edwards threw four more touchdowns to four different receivers and the Reddies piled up 243 yards on the ground. The defense held the Weevils to 159 yards, three yards per play and racked up six sacks. Overall, a great, well-rounded performance from Henderson.
UAM- The Weevils were unable to build momentum after last week’s solid win over Arkansas Tech. Demilon Brown carried 22 times including sacks and gained just 30 yards on the ground. He also had just 102 yards through the air with an interception. The defense was gashed all afternoon through the air and on the ground, giving up 6.6 yards per play. Rough showing all the way around.
Ouachita Baptist 38, Arkansas Tech 7
OUA- The Tigers jumped on the Wonder Boys early, leading 21-0 after the first 15 minutes of the game. All five Ouachita touchdowns came on the ground and freshman quarterback Nate Tenbarge got the start in place of Eli Livingston. The Tigers defense had four sacks and 11 tackles for loss, holding the Wonder Boys to four yards per play. The offense went through a lull in the second and third quarters and didn’t have a scoring drive over three minutes in length, but those are minor quibbles in an otherwise solid win.
Tech- The return of Ethan Forrester at quarterback did not go as planned for the Wonder Boys. Tech went three and out on its first five possessions and didn’t score until early in the fourth quarter. After the first quarter alone, Tech was down 21-0 and had managed just 12 total yards. Given the Tigers’ formidable defense, that was probably all she wrote. Tech now has to win two of three to snatch that elusive first winning season since 2017. It won’t be easy.
Northwestern OSU 30, Oklahoma Baptist 28
NWOSU- A nice, surprising win for the Rangers in Alva, on a day where NW scored just two touchdowns on offense. Kale Purvis kicked three field goals, and Wilson Cal all but sealed it with a pick-six with 6:38 to go. NW led, 16-7, going into the fourth quarter before the teams combined to put up 35 points in the final stanza. The Rangers did just enough offensively, as they finished with no turnovers and also held the Bison to just 92 yards on the ground.
OBU- The Bison had plenty of opportunity to win this one, but ultimately, the turnovers did them in. Wide receiver Darius Melton had a big day, catching nine passes for 202 yards and a score. OBU showed great fight after the Cal pick-six, scoring two quick touchdowns, but couldn’t recover the onside kick for a final chance at the win. Camden McCrary came on in relief of Kenny Rosenthal in the fourth quarter to direct those drives. Tough loss for the Bison, who gave themselves a chance in the fourth by holding the Rangers to just 37 yards.
East Central 31, Southern Nazarene 30
ECU- Fun game in Bethany, with the Tigers stealing the win on a 54-yard Brandon Perez field goal with seven seconds left. The Tigers were the beneficiary of a wild play with under a minute to go that moved ECU into field goal range (really, go look it up on the SNU Athletics YouTube channel). Quarterback Sergio Kennedy had his best game of the season, throwing for 247 yards and two scores while rushing for two scores himself. ECU found a groove offensively in the second half, rushing for 131 yards after gaining just a single yard in the first half on the ground.
SNU- Man, what a gut punch for the Crimson Storm. The offense looked great, rolling up 284 yards on the ground and 6.8 yards per play for the afternoon. SNU led the whole way, but came up empty on two first-and-goal situations in the second quarter. The defense had a great first half, but gave up points on four of five ECU drives in the second half. Still, given what we’ve seen from the Crimson Storm this year, it was a very positive performance and should give SNU confidence heading into the final quarter of the year.
Southeastern OSU 30, Southwestern OSU 15
SEOSU- The Savage Storm went back to Cergio Perez at quarterback on Saturday and all he did was throw for 264 yards and three touchdowns. SE eclipsed the 400-yard mark for the second straight week and averaged six yards per play while holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. The defense picked off three passes and gave up just 34 yards rushing. The Savage Storm are rolling right now, and that game at Harding on Thursday looks a little interesting now.
SWOSU- The Bulldogs have had some good moments this year, but the rebuilding struggles have piled up over the past few weeks. What once was a solid ground attack has been stymied the last few weeks, and turnovers have also been a hindrance. The Bulldogs trailed just 9-7 at halftime, but didn’t score again until late in the fourth when the game was all but decided.
Picks results: 4-2
Season results: 37-1