October 10th, 2024 9:00am
This week marks the official midway point of the season in the Great American Conference. We’ll have first half grades for the 12 teams in Monday’s recap column, but it’s hard to believe we’re already at this point. Seems like we just had media days the other week.
First up, let’s take a look at the players of the week from last week.
Offensive Player of the Week- Andrew Edwards, QB, Henderson State, Jr., Bentonville, AR
Edwards threw a career-high six touchdown passes in leading the Reddies to a 52-7 home win against Oklahoma Baptist. He completed 15-of-21 passes for 242 yards. He added a game-high 73 yards on the ground. His previous high for touchdown passes, five, came last season against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
Defensive Player of the Week- Diego Sanchez, DB, Arkansas Tech, Fr., Houston, TX
Sanchez recorded the Wonder Boys’ first defensive touchdown of the season as he returned a first-quarter interception 62 yards for a score as part of their 44-21 road win against Northwestern Oklahoma State. He added three solo tackles in the victory. He notched Tech’s first interception return for a touchdown since K.J. Reid on October 7, 2017.
Special Teams Player of the Week- Jody Easter, KR, Henderson State, Jr., McGehee, AR
Easter opened the Reddies’ victory against Oklahoma Baptist with a 93-yard kick return touchdown. He became the first Reddie player to return a kick back for a touchdown since Cameron Thomas did so against Northwestern Oklahoma State on October 28, 2023.
Thursday, Oct. 10
Oklahoma Baptist (1-4) at Southern Arkansas (4-1)
On paper, this looks like a get-right game for the Southern Arkansas run game. The Muleriders are averaging just four yards per carry this year and haven’t crossed the 150-yard mark the last three games. On the other side, the Bison are giving up over 230 yards per game on the ground this year and have struggled to stop anyone thus far. With a veteran offensive line and tons of talent in the backfield, the struggles for the Muleriders have been surprising. I’d expect things to correct a bit this week.
Offensively, Oklahoma Baptist hasn’t been able to generate much of anything, averaging just 17 points and 230 yards per game this year. That’s not going to get it done against an SAU defense that’s third in the league giving up just 4.6 yards per play. The switch back to Aidan Thompson at quarterback has helped a little bit for OBU, but it hasn’t really kick-started anything. Asking the offense to find its footing against one of the best teams in the league is a bit of a tough ask.
It’s a Thursday night special in Magnolia, so I’d bet on the Muleriders being able to catch all the Saturday action feeling good about themselves.
Southern Arkansas 41, Oklahoma Baptist 21
Saturday, Oct. 12
Henderson State (4-1) at Southern Nazarene (0-5)
The Reddies bounced back nicely from their drubbing at the hands of Harding to smash OBU last week. Now they’re on the road at the league’s only remaining winless team. The Crimson Storm have been stout against the run this year, allowing just over 100 yards per game on the ground excluding the season-opening game against Harding. However, SNU is also allowing opponents to complete an astonishing 73 percent of their passes. Not a great thing when Andrew Edwards is the quarterback ready to take advantage of that.
The Reddies defense has been solid all year sans the Harding game and the SNU offense still has not been able to get their footing. Injuries have absolutely played a part in that, so we’ll see how things go. The past two weeks have seen some steady improvements for the Crimson Storm, but this is a deep, talented and experienced HSU defense that is allowing just 24 points per game, a number that includes the 66-point showing by the Bisons. For comparison, SNU hasn’t hit 24 points in a game yet this season.
Two years ago in Bethany, these two teams treated the fans to a thrilling overtime game that Henderson State won, 42-41. Don’t think we’ll see a duplicate of that one.
Henderson State 37, Southern Nazarene 17
East Central (1-4) at No. 12 Ouachita Baptist (5-0)
The battle of Tigers Orange and Purple looks pretty one-sided this year. Two years ago in Arkadelphia, this was a fantastic game that ECU had in hand until some late turnovers doomed them from springing the upset. It will take a monumental effort for ECU to win this one, although it was encouraging for the Tigers to see quarterback Sergio Kennedy play well last week without turning the ball over. The obvious key will be taking care of the football once again against a fierce Ouachita defense that’s second in most defensive category in the GAC.
One thing to watch in this one is who starts at quarterback for Ouachita. Sources indicate there’s a possibility Eli Livingston will not suit up on Saturday, so we’ll see how that plays out. Either way, I’d expect the Purple Tigers to have success against an ECU defense that has been middle of the pack this year. I’d expect a heavy dose of Kendal Givens in this one for Ouachita to help out whoever lines up at quarterback. ECU has been solid against the pass this year, allowing just 179 yards per game through the air.
There are definitely some question marks in this one, but this is a game where the overall depth of the respective rosters will decide the game.
Ouachita Baptist 38, East Central 14
Northwestern OSU (1-4) at No. 1 Harding (5-0)
The recent history in this series has not been kind to Northwestern. The Bisons have set school and conference records and the second half was reduced to 10-minute quarters last year. Asking the Rangers to go on the road to the defending national champions and produce a different result seems pretty impossible. However, it will be intriguing to see how Jerry Glanville defends the flexbone. It might only be intriguing for about 10 minutes, but hey, we’re grasping at straws here!
The Bisons machine continues to roll on and are just making sure everyone stays healthy before next week’s trip to take on Ouachita Baptist.
Bisons. Big.
Harding 63, Northwestern OSU 0
Southeastern OSU (2-3) at Arkansas-Monticello (2-3)
This one should be pretty interesting between two evenly-matched teams. The Savage Storm lost a tight, strange game against Ouachita last week, but played pretty well, especially defensively. They’ll be taking on a Monticello team that has lost three straight games and seems to be on the cusp of another second half slide. Demilon Brown remains dangerous, but the defense for Southeastern has done some really good things this year and linebacker Braeden Winters has been one of the best defenders in the league. I’d expect SEOSU to keep Brown in check a bit.
Now, can the Weevils do the same to Southeastern? I’m not sure. The Weevils haven’t been great defensively, but the Savage Storm haven’t really found much offensively outside of the first half of the first game of the year. Now, injuries have definitely played a factor in that, but the fact remains they’re barely averaging 300 yards and 20 points per game. Monticello hasn’t been great against the run (again, Harding game factor), but have been really good against the pass and have eight sacks this year. That’s a good formula against a SE team that’s a bit unsteady at the quarterback position.
Not sure how this one’s gonna go, but I do think it’ll be a pretty even contest. I like the SE defense a lot and I think it carries the day.
Southeastern OSU 24, Arkansas-Monticello 20
Game of the Week: Southwestern OSU (2-3) at Arkansas Tech (3-2)
Not the spiciest game of the week, but the pickings are slim. I’ve been really impressed with what the Bulldogs have been able to do so far this year under first-year coach Andrew Rice. Southwestern has run the ball well this year and has the second-most rushing attempts in the league. However, they’ll be going up against a tough Arkansas Tech front seven that’s allowing just over 100 yards per game on the ground this year. The Bulldogs are last in the league in passing yards per game, so if they can’t find success on the ground, this one could go south in a hurry.
Tech leads the league in passing yards per game, but who’s the quarterback? The Wonder Boys have played three guys so far this year and it’s anyone’s guess who lines up under center on Saturday. Tech ran the ball well on Saturday in the win over Northwestern OSU, and I think they’ll be able to do it again against the league’s worst run defense. Protecting the ball will be key, as the Bulldogs have come up with 15 turnovers this year, which leads the GAC.
Pretty interesting game here, as Tech looks for its first winning season since 2017 and the Bulldogs look to continue to rebound after a winless 2023. I like the home team.
Arkansas Tech 31, Southwestern OSU 21