October 3rd, 2024 9:00am
One third of the way through the season, the GAC appears to be Harding, Ouachita Baptist and then everyone else. Plenty of season left to dispel that idea, but after four games, that’s where we stand.
It’s a very light slate of games this week across the league, so I’d expect some wide margins. But in the meantime, here are the players of the week for week four.
Offensive Player of the Week – Braden Jay, RB, Harding, Jr., Cabot, AR
Jay averaged a robust 40.5 yards per carry after he amassed 162 yards on just four attempts as the Bisons defeated Henderson State in a meeting between two nationally-ranked teams. He scored on first-half runs of 69, 44 and 35 yards. His only prior three-touchdown game came in last season’s national championship game.
Defensive Player of the Week – Braeden Winters, LB, Southeastern OSU, Jr., Bartlesville, OK
Winters keyed the Savage Storm’s defensive effort in their 27-21 road victory against Northwestern Oklahoma State. He registered career-highs in tackles, 14; tackles-for-loss, 4.0 and sacks, 2.0. He has tallied at least nine tackles in all four games this season and his 44 tackles rank him sixth in Division II.
Special Teams Player of the Week – Patrick Maxwell, P/K, Okla. Baptist, So., Georgetown, TX
Maxwell punted six times and averaged 41.3 yards per kick as the Bison picked up their first win of the season, 20-10 against East Central. He pinned two inside the 20-yard line and boomed a 54-yard punt in the second quarter, a career high. As the Bison’s kicker, he made a pair of field goals, including a career-long 43-yard try in the third quarter.
Game of the Week: No. 14 Ouachita Baptist (4-0) at Southeastern OSU (2-2)
Yes, you know it’s a bit of a blah week when this is the game of the week. Ouachita has been playing well to start the season, and they’ve been doing it on both sides of the ball. The offense has been efficient with 402 yards per game and 7.1 yards per play. The defense has been great also, allowing just 233 yards per game and 3.5 yards per play. All four numbers are second in the GAC behind Harding. I’d expect that to be more of the same against the Savage Storm, who have been alright on both sides of the ball, but far from outstanding.
Southeastern has won two straight coming into Saturday’s contest, but it will be a challenge for an offense averaging just 4.8 yards per play to move the ball against a very good Tiger defense. Quarterback Cergio Perez will need to take care of the ball to give the Savage Storm a chance in this one. The defense has done some good things this year, forcing several turnovers against Henderson State and holding down SAU for a half, but Ouachita has shown they’re on another level so far this year. Can the defense rise to the occasion?
The Savage Storm have a great opportunity to spring an upset at home. Don’t see it happening, though.
Ouachita Baptist 41, Southeastern OSU 17
Southern Nazarene (0-4) at Southern Arkansas (3-1)
The last two years have produced really great games between these two teams. Unfortunately, I’d imagine that run has come to an end. The Muleriders bounced back nicely against Arkansas Tech last week after a disappointing Week Three loss to Ouachita. They’re well-suited to grind out a win against the winless Crimson Storm. Judd Barton has been fine this year, but this could be a chance for him to build some confidence, as SNU is allowing quarterbacks to complete 70 percent of their passes this year and a league-worst 9.7 yards per attempt. The SAU ground game should be able to find success as well.
The Crimson Storm have a tall task going up against a stout Mulerider defense, which has racked up 10 sacks this year—SNU has allowed 15. Rasheed Noel will miss the game at quarterback, so it will be Bryson Evans under center for SNU, which has scored just three touchdowns and is averaging 7.5 points per game.
Two years ago, SNU put up 49 points in a thrilling win in Magnolia. I would not expect that again on Saturday.
Southern Arkansas 38, Southern Nazarene 13
Arkansas Monticello (2-2) at East Central (0-4)
The Weevils are at that point in the season where things have gone south very quickly the past two years. We’ll see if this year will be different. Demilon Brown has been pretty good this year, and Tyler Reed has been a nice addition at running back. So I think the offense will be able to find some success against a Tiger defense that’s 10th in the GAC in yards per game and yards per play.
On the other side, the Tigers have to just hold on to the ball. ECU has turned the ball over 14 times through four games, including 12 interceptions from Sergio Kennedy. If they can hold onto the ball, they have a chance, but there just hasn’t been much on tape to show there’s some sleeping production ready to break out.
Weevils go on the road and get the win here.
Arkansas-Monticello 28, East Central 14
Arkansas Tech (2-2) at Northwestern OSU (1-3)
After starting 2-0, Tech has been humbled the last two weeks against two of the top teams in the league. The highs for the Wonder Boys have been really good, but last week’s blowout loss to Southern Arkansas was not an encouraging performance. I’d expect Tech to get back on the right track this week, but the fact Tech has now played three quarterbacks is a bit of a concern. Now, Tech is leading the league in passing offense, but the change from Ethan Everson to Hunter Loyd last week was interesting, especially after Everson had performed pretty well the last two weeks. The other concern is Tech still can’t run the ball, averaging just 2.5 yards per carry right now. Northwestern OSU ranks sixth in rush defense in the league, so it won’t be easy to run on the Rangers.
The flip side is Tech’s defense has been really good, ranking third in total yards allowed and fourth in yards per play. I’d expect the defense to have a good day against the Rangers, who aren’t even averaging 200 yards per game so far this year. Linebacker Jyrin Steward has been really good, leading the nation with 14 tackles for loss. Second place nationally? NWOSU middle linebacker Coby Tillman with 11. If you like linebacker play, this should be a good one to watch.
Wonder Boys snap the two-game losing streak in Alva.
Arkansas Tech 27, Northwestern OSU 17
No. 1 Harding (4-0) at Southwestern OSU (2-2)
Here’s all you need to know about the Bisons’ dominance so far this season. They’ve scored 34 touchdowns in four games and have allowed 29 first downs. Last week’s curb-stomping of Henderson State was eye-opening, even for those of us in the GAC footprint that knew Harding was already head and shoulders above the rest of the league. I could bore you with ridiculous statistics, but we’ll just leave it there.
The Bulldogs have been a nice story so far this year, and the hire of Andrew Rice looks really good. While SWOSU probably won’t win this one, we can get a good idea of the Bulldogs’ fight and buy-in by how they play on Saturday.
Bisons. Big.
Harding 56, Southwestern OSU 7
Oklahoma Baptist (1-3) at Henderson State (3-1)
This is an important game for the Reddies, as they try to keep one humiliating loss from turning into two losses. The Reddies are more than talented enough to run the table the rest of the ay, and that HAS to be the focus for this team. It’s an early challenge for new coach Greg Holsworth to re-center his team and wash away the sting of the loss to Harding last week.
Because of last week, the Bison could take advantage of the situation, feeling good about getting their first win and trying to pile on the Reddies while they’re down. Unfortunately, the Bison are averaging less than four yards per play and just 78 yards per game on the ground. I don’t think they have the offense required to move the ball against a solid HSU defense. We’ll also need to see how Aidan Thompson does at quarterback after reclaiming the starting role from Kenny Rosenthal last week.
While this is an intriguing opportunity on paper for OBU, they won’t be able to take advantage. Reddies bounce back.
Henderson State 37, Oklahoma Baptist 14