September 19th, 2024 7:00am
It’s been an interesting start to the 2024 season in the GAC. All the Oklahoma schools are winless and all the Arkansas schools are undefeated. Now, I don’t think that gives a completely accurate indicator of how the rest of the year is going to go, but it’s interesting nonetheless.
Week three gives us our first heavy matchup of the season, but before we get to that, here’s a look at the week two GAC Players of the Week.
Offensive Player of the Week- Andrew Edwards, QB, Henderson State, Jr., Bentonville, AR
Edwards engineered the Reddies to a 34-17 victory against Southeastern Oklahoma State in their home opener. He completed 34-of-43 passes for a career-high 443 yards. Two of his three touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter. The 443 yards ranked as the second-most in Division II for week two.
Defensive Player of the Week- Jyrin Steward, LB, Arkansas Tech, Jr., El Dorado, AR
Steward wreaked havoc against Southern Nazarene as he tallied 5.0 tackles for loss, including a sack in the 26-6 road victory. All told, Steward registered nine tackles. He also forced a fumble, his second in as many games. The 5.0 tackles for loss rank as the most in a Division II game since November 11, 2023. The Wonder Boys have started 2-0 for the first time since 2017.
Special Teams Player of the Week- Carter McElhany, KR, Ouachita Baptist, So., Greenbrier, AR
McElhany registered the sixth 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in league history after he ran the second-half kickoff back for a touchdown in the 56-2 road victory. He owns two kick return touchdowns in his career. On offense, he added a 58-yard touchdown reception.
Thursday
No. 1 Harding (2-0) at Arkansas-Monticello (2-0)
The Bisons have absolutely looked the part of national champions through two weeks, dominating both Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist while scoring 59 points in each game. Next potential victim: the Weevils of UAM. So far, even though Harding hasn’t faced a pair of juggernauts, there hasn’t been even the slightest hint of a problem so far. Sure, maybe the eight fumbles (four lost) could be cause for concern, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a huge red flag.
On the other side, the Weevils seem to have the old Demilon Brown back. Brown literally put the team on his arm and legs and led them to a comeback win over SWOSU last week. However, it would be unfair to expect that same level of production against the ferocious Harding defense. The bigger question will be if the Monticello defense can limit the Bisons’ ground game in any way. The defense has been pretty good through two games, but obviously Harding is another animal.
Thursday night special in Monticello for this one, but I expect the Bisons machine to roll on.
Harding 48, Arkansas-Monticello 10
Saturday
Game of the Week: No. 16 Ouachita Baptist (2-0) at Southern Arkansas (2-0)
Here we go. The first big, heavyweight matchup of the season in the Great American Conference. These two teams are very similar, so it’s going to be a very interesting game. First off, both teams boast stout run games and quarterbacks who have been good, not great through two games. Kendal Givens carries the load for Ouachita, while the Muleriders have a two-headed monster at running back in Jariq Scales and Kadyn Roach. Quarterbacks Eli Livingston of Ouachita and Judd Barton of Southern Arkansas have both rushed for over 100 yards through two games as well. This is going to be a ground-based game and whichever team can establish the run better is going to set themselves up well in this one.
Both quarterbacks are new in the starting role for their respective teams and the results have been…fine. Neither is lighting up the stat sheet, in large part because they don’t have to. But in a game of this magnitude, there are going to be moments where a big throw has to be made. Can these new starters make it? From a weapons perspective, it appears Ouachita has a slight edge at wide receiver, so we’ll see if that edge can give Livingston a boost.
However, the SAU secondary is arguably the best in the conference, led by All-American Melvin Smith. They’ll be ready to pounce on any mistake Livingston makes. Again, in the vein of similarity, the Ouachita defense is no slouch and is loaded with veterans, including in the secondary, which has two picks and nine pass breakups through two games. Seriously, folks, these teams are so similar it’s not even funny. The front seven of both units are experienced and deep, but they’ll be going up against experienced and talented offensive lines.
Honestly, you could flip a coin on this one. I think Ouachita has a slight edge in the passing game, but SAU has the edge on the ground. I think the defenses are pretty equal and should be able to keep the scoring down in this one. Last year, Ouachita dominated a good SAU team in Arkadelphia. I think that will be top of mind for SAU, as the fact that game wasn’t competitive might’ve been a key factor in the Muleriders missing the playoffs. At the end of the day, I like the Muleriders in a close one at home.
Southern Arkansas 27, Ouachita Baptist 24
Southwestern OSU (0-2) at East Central (0-2)
Through two weeks, both of these teams have had a humbling defeat and a loss where they showed a lot of fight. The Bulldogs are probably kicking themselves for letting a three-score let evaporate at home against UAM last week. ECU was gritty in the second half at Southern Arkansas last week and nearly came all the way back from a 28-2 deficit. So it will be interesting to see how this one goes. Certainly, it won’t be two teams down in the dumps.
A matchup I’m watching is SWOSU quarterback Kai Kunz against the ECU defense. The Tigers shut SAU down in the second half last week, but Kunz has shown through two games that he can affect a game through the air and on the ground. Will he be able to do that again in Ada? On the other side, Sergio Kennedy is definitely going through growing pains as the new quarterback for the Tigers. But he’s in a good spot, because he has the confidence of the coaching staff and there have been some flashes through the first two games. Whichever young quarterback can make the most plays is going to lead their team to victory.
I think both teams will come into this one with confidence after what they did last week. They’re both still not great, but there are reasons for optimism. Could be a really even game, but I like the home team in this one.
East Central 24, Southwestern OSU 17
Northwestern OSU (0-2) at Southern Nazarene (0-2)
The Rangers have not been good so far this year. But at least they’ve put the ball in the end zone, which is something the Crimson Storm have yet to do. The scoring offenses in this one seem more suited for the diamond than the gridiron (NWOSU with a 4.5 to 3.0 edge). But jokes aside, this is a game with two teams looking to establish anything offensively. It’s been a struggle for both, with each team facing one top-tier and one middle-of-the-pack opponent so far. Southern Nazarene moved the ball much better against Arkansas Tech last week, but still sputtered out too often. The Rangers haven’t done much of anything to speak of in either game so far.
Defensively, SNU showed some impressive things in limiting Arkansas Tech to 14 rushing yards on 29 carries. They definitely have the edge defensively in this one, as the Rangers don’t really have anything noteworthy on their ledger, besides a decent second half in Monticello.
I don’t want to call this a desperation game, but whoever loses this one probably isn’t looking at the rest of the season with much optimism. I think there will be some extra urgency on both sidelines to put this one in the win column. Once again, I’m rolling with the home team.
Southern Nazarene 28, Northwestern OSU 13
Arkansas Tech (2-0) at No. 17 Henderson State (2-0)
Well, look at that. The Wonder Boys are 2-0 for the first time since 2017 which is also the last time the Wonder Boys finished with a winning record. So perhaps Kyle Shipp finally has something cooking in Russellville. One thing’s for sure: the defense is pretty salty, especially reigning GAC Defensive Player of the Week Jyrin Steward. Five tackles for loss from the middle linebacker against SNU last week is quite impressive. They’ll be put to the test by a Reddies offense that is rolling through two games on the ground and through the air. Tech will need to generate more pressure on the quarterback than they have through the first two games if they hope to hold down Andrew Edwards and the HSU offense. The Reddies should be able to move the ball fine and put up points, but they might not have to do a lot of heavy lifting.
The reason for that is I think the Reddies defense will hold Tech’s offense in check. Ethan Everson lit up the SNU defense last week for over 300 yards through the air, but the ground game was completely ineffective. If the Wonder Boys are that one-dimensional against Henderson, the Reddies pass rush will be able to tee off on the Tech offensive line. However, if Everson can duplicate some of his performance from last week and the ground game looks more like it did against Oklahoma Baptist (245 yards), then we could be in for a great game.
Tech being 2-0 and improving significantly is a great thing for the school and the league. I think Henderson State is really good, though, and will take care of things at home.
Henderson State 37, Arkansas Tech 21
Oklahoma Baptist (0-2) at Southeastern OSU (0-2)
Interesting start for both of these teams. OBU had a tight loss at Tech that could’ve gone either way and a blowout against Harding, while the Savage Storm had a close one against SAU and a close-ish one at Henderson State that probably should’ve been worse. All that to say, no idea what this one will look like! For the Bison, the defense hasn’t been very good so far, so that could be a helpful thing for a Southeastern team who is relying on a young quarterback in Cergio Perez, who has had his struggles so far this year. The key in this one will be if SEOSU can run the ball on a Bison defense that has given up 333 yards per game on the ground thus far. The Savage Storm have good pieces with DJ Brown and a veteran offensive line, so things could shake out well for Southeastern.
On the other side, the Savage Storm defense has had some good moments and has a chance to put the clamps on OBU. The Bison haven’t moved the ball particularly well so far this year, mostly due to the lack of a run game. OBU struggled mightily in 2023 on the ground, but the return of EJ Moore has not resurrected the anemic performances a year ago. Southeastern held Henderson State to 128 yards and 3.7 yards per carry and it took SAU a half to finally get rolling, so the Savage Storm have the pieces to make life difficult for quarterback Kenny Rosenthal and company. I don’t feel great about OBU being able to move the ball consistently in this one.
I’m not sure I can overstate the importance of the run game in this one. If OBU can find something there, this should be a great game. However, I don’t think that’s going to happen, so give me Southeastern.
Southeastern OSU 31, Oklahoma Baptist 20