Henderson State will play its first Arkansas opponent of the season as the Reddies take on unbeaten Arkansas Tech, Saturday at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia with kickoff set for 2 p.m.
 
Saturday's game coincides with Henderson State's 19^th Annual Reddie Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony which takes place in the Garrison Center Grand Ballroom beginning at 10 a.m.
 
Tickets to the event are $15 and can be obtained by contacting the Henderson Athletic Department at 870-230-5161. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.
 
This year's inductees include James Barnes, Grady Bean, Russell Cerrato, Devon Hughes, Don Mixon, Saprina Reed-Burnett, and Bethany Wright.
Also selected to this year's Hall of Honor class is Paul Dixon, who will receive the Distinguished Service Award, and Dr. William Durand, who will be presented the Willie Tate Meritorious Humanitarian Award. 
 
The game will feature two of the top defensive teams in the Great American Conference as the Wonder Boys lead the league in total defense and scoring defense allowing just 264.8 yards and 14.8 points per game.
 
The Reddies are third in the league in total defense allowing 327.0 yards per contest, and are second in scoring defense giving up just 17.0 points per game
 
Arkansas Tech will be playing in Carpenter-Haygood Stadium for the first time since 2009.
 
The Wonder Boys are coming off a 44-21 win over Southern Arkansas last week in a game that saw ATU total 508 yards of offense, while allowing 414 yards defensively.           
 
Tech averages a GAC-best 45.0 points per game and is also averaging 482.5 yards of total offense per game. Over 300 of those yards are coming on the ground as Tech ranks second in the GAC in rushing offense at 300.2 yards per game.
 
The remainder of the total offense is being gained through the air as the Wonder Boys are averaging 182.3 yards per game.
 
Under center for the Wonder Boys is senior transfer Arsenio Favor. Favor has thrown for 723 yards and five touchdowns. Additionally, Favor has added 202 yards and a team best 10 touchdowns as a rusher for the Wonder Boys.
The leading ball-carrier for Tech has been Brayden Stringer as he has carried it 61 times for 375 yards and one score. Stringer ranks second in the league averaging 83.8 yards per game.
 
Defensively, opponents are averaging 94.2 yards rushing and 170.5 yards passing per game. The Wonder Boy defense has forced eight turnovers including six interceptions this year.
 
The Wonder Boys have racked up 21.0 tackles for lost yardage with 7.0 being sacks. 
 
The leading tackler for ATU is Logan Genz. On the year, Genz has totaled 30 tackles with 7.5 coming for lost yardage while totaling 1.5 sacks. Genz also has one of Tech's two fumble recoveries. Cua' Rose follows with 21 tackles including three interceptions.
 
Last week, Henderson State was able to slow down the high-powered offense of Southwestern Oklahoma as the Reddies shutout the Bulldogs 33-0. SWOSU entered the game averaging nearly 460 yards of offense while scoring 45 points per game. The defense allowed just 220 yards and forced five turnovers.         

Gary Vines leads the Reddie defensive unit with 25 tackles while having three interceptions which is tied for the league lead. Vines had two picks last week against SWOSU.           
 
Lawson Schulz also has 25 tackles this season and has four tackles for lost yardage. The junior linebacker also has four pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. Schulz had a career-high 13 tackles in the season opener against Southeastern Oklahoma.

Offensively, the Reddies did not commit a turnover last week against SWOSU. Henderson turned to the running game and totaled 227 yards on the ground. It was the first time since the Reddies played Nicholls State last year that Henderson had more rushing yards than passing yards.
 
Jaquan Cole recorded his first career 100-yard game of his career with 143 yards on 21 attempts including a 72-yard touchdown run. Cole continues to lead the Reddies rushing attack averaging 86.5 yards per game which ranks fifth in the GAC.                     

Dallas Hardison completed 14-of-24 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown last week. The junior from Bentonville, Ark. has completed 87-of-137 passes for 828 yards this season for a 63.5 completion percentage.     

JaVante Mack continues to be Henderson's top receiver with 24 receptions for 216 yards.  Corey Chappell follows Mack with 161 yards on 11 receptions. The senior from Rowlett, Texas ranks second in the GAC in kickoff returns averaging 30.2 yards per return. Chappell had a GAC record return of 100 yards against Northwestern Oklahoma.   
           
Arkansas Tech and Henderson State meet for the 91st time in a series that dates back to 1920. HSU leads the all-time series at 43-42-5 following HSU's 24-3 win last season. HSU has won the last four meetings and five of the last six games. Scott Maxfield has a 5-4 record all-time against Tech.

Maxfield will be going after his 73^rd win as Henderson's head coach which would tie him for second in HSU history with legendary coach Duke Wells who recorded a 73-78-11 record in 18 seasons at Henderson.
 
Those unable to attend the game can tune in to the Henderson State Sports Network. The game will be carried locally on 100.9 FM KDEL in Arkadelphia being the flagship station.
 
Additional stations broadcasting Saturday's game are 100.7 FM and 1310 AM in Malvern, 103.3 FM and 690 AM in Benton, Ark., and 920 AM, The Sports Animal in Little Rock. The Henderson State Sports Network will be also available on-line at hsusports.com.

The broadcast team of Phil Elson, RJ Hawk and Hunter Lively will call all the action of Reddies football with the Domino's Pregame Show set for 1 p.m.

Live stats and live video will also be available on-line at www.hsusports.com.