Henderson State begins its quest for a third straight Great American Conference championship on Saturday as the Reddies travel to Bethany, Okla. to face Southern Nazarene in a 6 p.m. kickoff at SNU Stadium.
Saturday's game can be heard on the Reddie Sports Network which includes ESPN 106.9 FM in Arkadelphia, covering all of southwest Arkansas; and ESPN 100.7 FM and 1310 AM Malvern, which also covers Hot Springs.
The game will also be heard on 1250 AM KPZK in Little Rock. Originally the game was to be broadcast on 920 AM The Sports Animal, but had to be moved due to the Arkansas Travelers playoff game for Saturday's game only.
A listen LISTEN LIVE link will also be available on the Henderson State Athletic web site at www.hsusports.com.
(CLICK HERE) Saturday's game against Southern Nazarene will be the third meeting between the two teams with the Reddies claiming victory in both games by scores of 63-21 in 2012 and 82-10 last season. Henderson State will be making its first-ever trip to Bethany, Okla.
Southern Nazarene will be looking for it first GAC win as the Crimson Storm finished 2013 with a 0-10 conference record and 0-11 overall.
Alec Loffoon is set to start at quarterback for SNU. The 5-11, 177-pound junior from Fort Worth, Texas played in two games last year completing 6-of-10 passes for 41 yards.
Also working in at the quarterback position will be James Mauro who is a 6-7, 240-pound junior. Mauro transfers from Western Kentucky where he played for one season completing 12 of 18 passes for 172 yards.
Defensively the Crimson Storm return six of their top eight players including linebacker Matthew Gregg who had 85 tackles including 9.5 for lost yardage. Gregg finished ninth in the GAC in 2013 in total tackles.
Linebacker Mike Hicks was injured for part of 2013 but still managed to record 56 stops, while cornerback BJ Smith had 69 tackles.
The Reddies kick off their 107th season of football and enter the game ranked No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association preseason top 25.
The two-time defending Great American Conference Champions return eight of its top 10 receivers and two-time GAC Offensive Player of the Year and Harlon Hill Finalist
Kevin Rodgers (6-3, 215, Grad.).
The two-time All-American quarterback from Rockwall, Texas led the nation in yards passing per game (400.6 yards) while having 40 touchdown tosses. In his 30 games as quarterback, Rodgers has completed 727-of-1091 passes (67%) for 10,076 yards and 90 touchdowns.
Rodgers is a top candidate for the 2014 Harlon Hill Trophy and is Lindy's Sports Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. A current graduate student working on his MBA, Rodgers has a 25-3 record as Henderson's starting quarterback.
Henderson State returns All-American wide receiver
Darius Davis (5-11, 212, Sr.) who holds the HSU single-season and career record for yards and touchdowns. Last season, Davis was third nationally in yards receiving (1597), fifth in average yards per game (133.1), and fourth in receiving touchdowns (16).
Wide receivers
Dustin Holland (5-9, 190, Sr.) and
Israel Valentin (5-9, 185, Sr.) look to cap off great careers. The two have combined for nearly 3000 yards the past three seasons with Holland having 1721 yards receiving. Valentin is one of Henderson's all-time leaders in kick return yardage having totaled nearly 1000 yards while averaging 24.7 yards per return.
Joseph Snapp (6-2, 195, Jr.),
Corey Chappell (5-7, 160, Jr.), Marc Czaus (5-11, 191, Jr.), and
Zann Jones (6-0, 215, Jr.) will also see plenty of action at the wide receiver position.
Snapp totaled 18 catches for 352 yards and four touchdowns a year ago while Chappell caught 27 passes for 353 yards.
Czaus caught 10 passes for 59 yards, but had a great spring including a team best seven catches for 93 yards in Henderson's spring game.
Jones totaled six catches for 94 yards in 2013.
Henderson's ground game will be controlled by
Ryan McDonald (5-10, 200, Jr.) and
Jaquan Cole (5-8, 185, So.).
McDonald led the Reddies in rushing with 605 yards in just eight games. The Charleston, Ark. product scored seven touchdowns and averaged 75.6 yards per game. Cole carried the ball 44 times and totaled 177 yards, scoring a pair of touchdowns.
Since the inception of the Great American Conference in 2011, Henderson State has produced 10 all-conference offensive lineman with three earning All-American honors. Although the 2014 Reddie front line has no returning starters back from a unit that helped Henderson rank first nationally in total offense and scoring, five players returning played a significant role in 2013.
The left tackle position will feature
Marc Gonzalez (6-3, 285, Sr.) and John McGee (6-4, 280, So.). Gonzalez played in nine games and was part of an offensive line that helped the Reddies lead the nation in total offense and scoring. McGee also got plenty of playing time last year playing in 10 games.
Justin Carpenter (6-4, 290, So.) and newcomer
Charles Korn (6-4, 305, RFr.) will alternate at right tackle.
Carpenter sat out the 2013 season after transferring from the University of Central Arkansas. Korn is a redshirt freshman who has great potential. The product of San Antonio, Texas attended 'Velocity Sports Conditioning and Training Center' with Nike SPARQ Training qualifications. Korn was a 26-5A All-District tackle at Churchill High School in 2011.
Garrett Whitley (6-3, 305, So.) and
John Guerra (6-4, 300, Sr.) are featured at left guard, while
Deveron Powell (6-4, 303, So.), and
John Laubacher (6-4, 325, RFr.) are listed on the depth chart at right guard.
Powell has the most experience with the Reddie offense having been part of the program the past three years. Powell has played in more than 20 games for the Reddies, while Laubacher lettered three years and was an all-district selection at Lake Dallas High School.
Anthony Brister (6-3, 290, So.) and
Cory Stitle (6-1, 270, Fr.) will handle duties at center. Brister saw a great deal of playing time last year after redshirting in 2012. The product of Henderson High School in Texas, was named All-East Texas and second-team all-state his senior year after. Stitle was an all-district, all-conference and all-state selection at Aledo High School.
Despite most of the talk being about the Reddie offense last season, Henderson's defense also put up some impressive numbers.
The Reddies ranked fourth nationally in yards allowed per play (4.37), sixth in yards given up per pass attempt (5.69) and yards allowed per rushing attempt (2.92).
Henderson allowed just 24 points per game which was second in the GAC. The Reddies also finished second in the league in total defense (345.8 yards per game) and led the GAC in interceptions with 17.
Three All-GAC selections return on the defensive side of the football including first-team defensive end
Glennon Bobo (5-11, 245, Sr.). The senior from Ashdown totaled 14.5 tackles for lost yardage to earn a spot on the Daktronics Super Region 3 Second Team.
Defensive back
Christian Love (6-0, 180, Jr.) earned second-team All-GAC honors after totaling 72 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Cornerback Cameron Devereaux (5-10, 190, Sr.) has played in 31 games in his three years at Henderson and has compiled 90 tackles including 37 last season.
Left corner
Chris King (5-10, 190, Sr.) was fourth on the team in total tackles in 2013 with 66 stops, while having a team best four interceptions and seven pass break-ups.
Gary Vines (5-11, 190, So.) had an impressive freshman season at defensive back in 2013, ending the year with 46 tackles, three picks and eight pass break-ups.
Also returning on defense are linebackers
Zack Richardson (6-2, 210 Sr.) and Blake
Lopez (5-11, 200, Jr.), and free safety
Kenrick Burns (5-9, 200, Jr.).
Richardson totaled 30 tackles with a pair of interceptions, while Lopez totaled 52 stops. Burns played in all 12 games and had 24 total tackles.
Last year the Reddies opened the season rolling to an 82-10 win over Southern Nazarene. Henderson set several records including a HSU and GAC best 855 yards of total offense.
Kevin Rodgers put up Peyton Manning like numbers, completing 17 of 25 passes for 468 yards and six touchdowns in under three quarters of play. Rodgers was 13 for 19 with 444 yards in the first-half, with all six scoring tosses coming in the first 30 minutes.
Three receivers went over 100 yards including
Israel Valentin who collected 118 yards on three receptions. Valentin had touchdown catches of 59, 5 and a 29-yard acrobatic reception.
Dustin Holland totaled 124 yards on three catches and a 59-yard score, while
Robert Jordan had four grabs for 111 yards and a 41-yard touchdown to open the game.
Henderson State also put points on the board with the ground game as the Reddies totaled 298 yards rushing led by
Ryan McDonald who ended the night with 135 yards on 16 carries. McDonald had touchdown runs of 49 and 9 yards.
SPECIAL LINKS
Henderson State Game Notes (CLICK HERE)
Listen to Reddie Football (CLICK HERE)
Watch Reddie Football – Through SNU Webcast (CLICK HERE)
