Henderson State scored nearly every way possible as the Reddies beat Northwestern Oklahoma 25-17, Saturday in Alva, Okla.
Coach
Scott Maxfield reached a milestone as he picked up his 100th career coaching win including 71 at Henderson State. Maxfield, third in wins at Henderson State, needs just three more victories to surpass legendary coach Duke Wells.
The Reddies held a 25-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter but had to hold off a furious charge by NWOSU as the Rangers got an interception return for a touchdown by Jordan Norris and then got a 55-yard touchdown pass from Reid Miller to Arte' Miura taking advantage of a HSU defender falling down.
The Reddie defense would then take over the rest of the way getting a sack by
Grady Ollison while
Lawson Schulz pressured Miller and had a key tackle down the stretch for a 3-yard loss.
Kenrick Burns came up with the final big defensive play with an interception to end the game.
Corey Chappell opened the game with a record-setting 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was the second time that the senior from Rowlett, Texas returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown during his career.
The Reddies made the score 8-0 as
Mark Czaus ran for the extra point following Chappell's big return.
Northwestern Oklahoma got on the board late in the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Will Hawkins, but the Reddies would answer as
Houston Ray kicked a 26-yarder of his own with 13:13 left in the second quarter to make the score 11-3.
Henderson's defense, which limited the Rangers to just 100 yards of offense in the first-half, put points on the board midway through the second half.
With NWOSU's Miller getting pressure from the Reddie defensive line, the Ranger signal caller forced a pass that was deflected by HSU corner
Tavares Garner and ended into the hands of Schulz who then went 45-yards for the score to make the score 18-3.
NWOSU, 1-2 on the year, got the ball to begin the second half, but on the second play from scrimmage Garner intercepted a Miller pass to give Henderson the ball on the NWOSU 33.
The Reddie offense would finally put points on the board as Henderson ran the ball three consecutive plays with JaQuan Cole breaking free for an 18 yard score with 12:52 left in the third quarter.
Henderson State's offense finished the game with 330 yards of total offense with
Dallas Hardison completing 26-of-41 passes for 207 yards.
JaVante Mack led the Reddies receiving corps with 64 yards on five receptions, while Czaus had eight receptions for 49 yards.
The Reddie defense pressured Miller the entire game forcing five interceptions with
Gary Vines along with Garner, Schulz, Avery and Burns.
Vines led Henderson with nine tackles while also having three pass break-ups.
The defense collected nine tackles for lost yards along with nine pass break-ups.
"Our defense played a great game forcing five interceptions and pressuring their quarterback the entire game," said Maxfield. "But with five interceptions you would think we would score more than 25 points. We have some problems offensively that we have to get worked out in a hurry."
Henderson State returns home on Saturday, Sept. 26 to take on Southwestern Oklahoma for Military Appreciation and Family Day with kickoff slated for 2 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.
NOTES:
Scott Maxfield coached his 150th career game as a head coach and recorded his 100th career victory.
For the second time in his HSU career,
Corey Chappell returned a kickoff for a school record 100 yards for a touchdown. He also returned a kickoff 100 yards on Oct. 26, 2013 against Harding in a 45-30 win in Searcy.
For the first time this year Henderson State had more time of possession than its opponent. Reddies controlled the ball for 32:52 while NWOSU had 27:08 in time of possession.
JaQuan Cole scored his 10th career touchdown.
The Reddie defense record five interceptions. First time HSU had 4 or more interceptions in a game since Nov. 2, 2013 vs. UAM when HSU had 5 picks.The HSU defense entered the game with just two sacks, but recorded four
