Henderson State claimed its third Great American Conference title as the No. 9 Reddies beat Oklahoma Baptist 22-14, Saturday in Shawnee, Okla.
 
Henderson's win coupled with Arkansas Tech 28-14 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma clinched the Reddies' third GAC title in four years. It is Henderson's fourth conference championship in six years which included a Gulf South Conference co-championship in 2010.
 
Henderson State benefitted from four Oklahoma Baptist turnovers including the Reddie secondary adding to their NCAA Division II leading 24 interceptions with two Saturday afternoon.
 
Both teams struggled in the first half with Henderson forcing the first turnover of the game when Kenrick Burns scooped up a Frankie Edwards fumble and returned it 39 yards to the Bison 18.
 
The Reddies, however, lost 17 yards on the first play from scrimmage due to a bad snap and would fail to pick up a first down on the possession.
 
In the second quarter, Calen Peters would get a big 46 yard gain to get the Reddie offense moving. However, Henderson would have to settle for a 37-yard field goal attempt by Houston Ray.
 
Ray, who entered the game having made 15-of-17 field goals, had his kick blocked by OBU's Jesse Salisbury to keep the Reddies off the board.
 
Henderson would get the ball back and began driving down the field as Rodney Bryson rattled off runs of 16 and 18 yards moving the ball down to the Bison 20.
 
On 1st-and-10 from the 20, Bryson was stripped of the football by Dillon Burley and recovered by D'Ante Meeking at the OBU 14.
 
Oklahoma Baptist would then put together an 11-play, 86-yard drive to score the only points of the half with 32 second left as Jacob Cheatham recovered a Edwards fumble in the end zone.
 
A 34-yard pass from Dezmond Stegall to Derek Serowski and a 12-yard run by Stegall were the big plays in the drive.
 
OBU began the third quarter with the football and drove the ball down deep into Henderson territory before Segall coughed up the football with Josh Davis recovering at the Reddie 23.
 
On Henderson's first offensive play of the half, Joseph Snapp recorded his longest reception of his career as Hardison connected for 69 yards down to the Bison 8.
 
Following a sack of Hardison for an 8-yard loss, the junior from Bentonville hit JaVante Mack for a 16 yard touchdown.
 
Mark Czaus then connected with AJ Smith for the two-point conversion to give Henderson an 8-7 lead with 11:13 left in the third quarter.
 
The Reddie defense stood strong on OBU's next possession holding the Bison on four-and-out, getting the ball back on the Henderson 45.
 
Henderson would drive down the field with Hardison finding Czaus on two key receptions of 10 and 26 yards to keep the drive alive.
 
Hardison would later hit Mack for a 25-yard touchdown strike to increase the lead to 15-7 with 5:17 left in the third quarter.
 
In the fourth quarter with the Bison driving again, Sheldon Watson picked off a Stegall pass and raced 100 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead to 22-7 with 13:00 left in the game.
 
The Reddie secondary again came up big on OBU's next possession as Gary Vines recorded his fourth interception of the year.
 
OBU scored late in the half to make the score 22-14 with 1:51 left in the game as Stegall got free for a 16 yard score..
 
The Reddies would be forced to turn the ball over on downs on their next possession giving OBU the ball back with 1:37 remaining.
 
Henderson's defense would hold strong and get the ball back to secure the win and championship.
 
Henderson would total 341 yards of offense with Bryson leading the Reddie ground game with 99 yards on 25 carries.
 
Peters would also have a solid game rushing with 74 yards on 9 attempts.
 
Hardison finished with 183 yards passing completing 12 of 20 passes including a pair of scoring strikes.
 
Mack had three catches for 49 yards to lead the Henderson receivers, while Czaus totaling 46 yards on three receptions.
 
Lawson Schulz led the Reddie defense with nine tackles including two tackles for lost yardage, while Josh Davis had eight tackles and a fumble recovery.
 
Henderson State will complete the regular-season next week as the Reddies face Ouachita Baptist in the 89th meeting of the Battle of the Ravine at Cliff Harris Stadium on the OBU campus with kickoff for the "Shortest Road Trip in College Football" set for 1 p.m.
 
Tickets for the game will be available at the Henderson State Athletics Department located at the Duke Wells Center beginning Monday, Nov. 9. Fans can purchase tickets Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
 
No phone orders will be accepted and payment must be in the form of a check or cash.
The cost of the tickets are $8 each and all tickets are for general admission seating.
 
Prior to the game, members of the Reddie Club are invited to the Donor Room located at the Haygood Field House from 10 a.m. to noon. 
 
All members will be treated to a meal provided by Riverside Catfish & Catering. Menu items include, fried catfish, fried shrimp, chicken strips, french fries, hushpuppies, baked beans, cole slaw along with iced tea and lemonade.
 
All Reddie fans are invited to the Reddie tailgate from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in front of the Duke Wells Center with Aramark providing meals at a cost of $8. There will also be numerous inflatables for children to enjoy.
 
Additional tailgating is available in the adjacent lots located near the Formby Athletic Center and Duke Wells Center.
 
The Reddies lead the all-time series with the Tigers having a 42-40-6 advantage.
 
GAME NOTES
JaVante Mack, who entered the game with two touchdown catches all season, had two scoring receptions against Oklahoma Baptist. 
Joseph Snapp now has 1258 career yards receiving moving past Guss Robey for 10th on the all-time list. 
Sheldon Watson interception return set a school and GAC record of 100 yards. 
Watson's 100-yard TD interception, was Henderson's third returned by the Reddie defense for a touchdown this year. 
Henderson State added two more interceptions increasing the total to a NCAA Division II leading 24 picks. 
Henderson State was held scoreless in the first half for the first time since a 24-3 loss to South Alabama on Oct. 29, 2011.