Box Score

With the offense struggling, it was Henderson State that turned in a strong second-half performance as the No. 7 ranked Reddies beat Southwestern Oklahoma State 28-14, Saturday in Weatherford, Okla.  

On the road for the fourth time in six weeks, Henderson State looked sluggish as the offense was held to its lowest output of the season totaling just 374 yards.

"Our offense didn't execute like we are accustomed too," said Henderson coach Scott Maxfield. "We have to play better than we did tonight. There is a lot of work to do to get us back on track."

Henderson State, 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the Great American Conference, got on the board late in the first quarter as Kevin Rodgers connected with Dustin Holland from 3-yards out to make the score 7-0 with 3:38 left in the opening quarter.

With the Reddies driving on their next possession, Rodgers was picked off by Steven Townsley at the SWOSU 37 to set up the Bulldogs' first score.

SWOSU, 2-4 on the season, methodically drove the ball 63 yards on 14 plays with Mike Farris diving in from a yard out with 7:39 left in the opening half. The Bulldogs converted on four third-down conversions during the drive.

It didn't take long for Henderson to regain the lead as Rodgers hit Darius Davis for a 61-yard scoring strike on the third play from scrimmage to put the Reddies on top 14-7 with 6:50 left in the half.

Henderson was driving for another score late in the quarter as the Reddies moved the ball down to the SWOSU 27 yard-line but Rodgers was picked off for the second time by Joseph, who returned the ball 60 yards down to the Reddie 19.

Karl Hodge scored from 11-yards out four plays later to tie the score at 14-14 at the break.

Henderson State began the second-half with the football and again regained the lead as Rodney Bryson broke loose around the right end for a 33-yard score on the Reddies' first possession of the half. Bryson carried the ball five times and rushed for 59 yards during the drive.

The Reddie defense, which was on the field for nearly 40 minutes, came up big on several occasions in the second half.

The first big play came following Henderson's go-ahead score. SWOSU faced a 4th-and-3 on the Reddie 21, but Dijon Benton tackled Matt Farris for a three yard loss to end the Bulldog drive.

Another big play came early in the fourth quarter as SWOSU faced 4th-and-17 at the Reddie 46. The Bulldogs faked a punt, but Henderson's Zack Richardson wasn't fooled and dropped Dalton Jackson for a seven yard loss.

The offense fed off the big play by Richardson and scored six plays later as Rodgers connected with Mark Czaus for a 12-yard score to put the Reddies on top 28-14 with 8:37 to play in the game.

Southwestern Oklahoma drove down to the Reddie 15 on its next possession but turned the ball over on downs.

Henderson then took over with 3:22 left to play, but the Reddies could not run out the clock and were forced to punt.

SWOSU got the ball back with 36 seconds left, but Wesley Brady sealed the deal with an interception of Ashmore to end the game.

Despite dealing with heavy winds, Rodgers completed 25-of-38 passes for 266 yards. The product of Rockwall, Texas threw for three touchdowns but was also picked off three times. Rodgers had thrown just three interceptions all season entering Saturday's game.

Davis finished just shy of 100 yards receiving having five catches for 98 yards, while Corey Chappell had seven receptions for 70 yards.

Bryson was a work horse on the ground for the Reddies finishing with 103 yards on 18 carries. It was Bryson's first 100-plus yard game of his career.
Henderson's defense limited Southwestern to 275 yards of offense with Davis leading the way with 11 tackles.

"I thought the defense played one of their best games this year," said Maxfield. "Both their (SWOSU) scores were off of turnovers in the first half and we shut them out in the second half. We had our backs up against the wall several times and they responded well."

Lawson Schulz and Kenrick Burns had nine tackles each, with Brady finishing with eight stops.

Southwestern Oklahoma ran 88 offensive plays and had the football for 39:24, while the Reddies were limited to 66 plays, having the pigskin for just 20:36.

The Reddies will hit the road again next week when they travel to Russellville, Ark. to face Arkansas Tech with kickoff set for 2 p.m.