Henderson State will play its 1,000th game in program history as the Reddies play host to East Central for its annual homecoming game, Saturday at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium/Ruggles Field with kickoff slated for 2 p.m.          

The Reddies are looking for its first home win of the season, while the Tigers are attempting to end a six-game losing skid.
                       
Henderson State, 4-3 on the season, won its 16 consecutive road contest played in Oklahoma and a NCAA Division II record 30th straight road game last week with a 21-20 victory over previously unbeaten and nationally-ranked Southeastern Oklahoma.
 
Henderson rallied from a 17-0 first quarter deficit behind a career-high performance by quarterback Evan Lassiter who completed 28-of-42 passes for 316 yards.
 
The senior from Coral Springs, Fla. has started the last four games at quarterback for the Reddies and has completed 60 percent of his passes (118-of-195) for 1152 yards and five touchdowns.   

Also having a career-day against SOSU was wide receiver Austin Bennett who caught 8 passes for 127 yards including his first touchdown reception of the year. The senior from Marvel, Texas leads the team with 322 receiving yards, averaging 12.4 yards per catch.
 
Darion Gray has been utilized more in the Reddie offense. After not having a catch in the first two games, the junior from Huffman, Texas has 288 yards on 25 grabs including a season-best 9 catches for 63 yards last week.
 
Andrew Black and Blake Faulk lead the Reddie rushing attack, with Black having 261 yards on 62 attempts, while Faulk has 257 yards on 46 carries. Both are averaging nearly 43 yards per contest. Black totaled 104 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns last year against ECU.
 
Henderson's defense limited one of the top offenses in Southeastern Oklahoma to a season low 277 yards last week.
 
The Reddies will have to get plenty of pressure on the ECU quarterbacks as the Tigers average 260.3 yards passing, third best in the GAC.       

Sam Johnson will be one of those players that will look to give the Tigers fits as the senior from Sapulpa, Okla. has 9.5 tackles for lost yardage along with 5.0 sacks.
   
Sheldon Watson has a team-best 50 tackles on the year and has picked off a GAC leading four passes.
 
Malik Brown follows with 44 tackles including 34 solo stops. The junior defensive back from Huntsville, Texas has three interceptions and five pass break-ups.
 
East Central enters Saturday's contest with a 1-6 record after losing last week to Southern Arkansas 35-28. The Tigers have lost six straight.
 
Offensively, the Tigers are averaging 27.3 points and 410.9 yards of total offense per game, with 260.3 of the yards coming through the air and the remaining 150.6 yards being gained on the ground.
 
Their points per game average and total offense ranks eighth in the GAC while their passing offense is fourth and their rushing offense eighth in the league.     
The Tigers have featured two signal-callers under center this year with junior transfer Noah Holle getting a majority of the action.     
 
Holle has started four of ECU's seven games on the year and has completed 60-of-114 passes for 818 yards and six touchdowns.
 
However, RayJohn Austin-Ramsey started last week's game against Southern Arkansas.  Austin-Ramsey has completed 78-of-137 passes for 997 yards and six touchdowns on the year. Last week against SAU, the junior from San Antonio, Texas completed 27-of-43 passes for a career-high 324 yards.            
The Tigers' leading rusher is Ontario Douglas with 734 yards on 121 carries with 7 touchdowns. Douglas is also the leading rusher in the GAC averaging 104.9 yards per game. 
 
The freshman from Lawton, Okla. carried the ball 22 times for 66 yards last week against the Muleriders.   

In terms of receiving, the Tigers are led by Trinity Benson. On the year, the junior from Lewisville, Texas has caught 38 passes for 443 yards with three of those receptions being touchdowns. Benson is currently third in the GAC in receptions per game (5.5 rpg) and fourth in receiving yards per game (63.3 ypg) as well.         
 
Defensively, the Tigers are allowing 40.3 points and 457.0 yards of total offense per game. The Tigers' leading tackler is Camnik Campbell with 43. Campbell had 12 tackles including 1.5 stops for loss last year against the Reddies.
 
East Central and Henderson State meet for the 29th time in a series which dates back to 1928, with the Reddies leading the series 16-11-1.

The Reddies have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. In 2015, ECU snapped a 9-game losing streak by beating the Reddies 35-28. It was the Tigers' first win against HSU since 1985. Henderson has an 11-3 record all-time in home games. 
 
In 1975 the two teams met in the Bicentennial Bowl which matched the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Champion (ECU) against the Arkansas Intercollegiate Champion (HSU). The Reddies came away with a 27-14 win in a game played in Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium.
 
HOMECOMING EVENTS 
Numerous events are scheduled for this weekend beginning Thursday with the presentation of the Homecoming Queen Candidates at Arkansas Hall at 7 p.m.

The annual Homecoming Pep Rally will take place at 8 p.m. on the Henderson State University Quad.
On Friday, the Homecoming Golf Scramble is scheduled to be played at DeGray Lake Golf Course with lunch beginning at 11 a.m. and tee time set for Noon. Those wanting to play (teams and/or individuals) should contact Troy Mitchell at 870-464-7799 to register.
The Homecoming Block Party is set for Friday night in downtown Arkadelphia at Slim & Shorty's beginning at 6 p.m. Live music will be provided by Dixon Road and DJ Dooley.

Tailgating will begin Saturday at 11 a.m. with Sodexo providing a homecoming meal for $10 ($5 for children under 12). The meal includes: Italian Sausage or Steak Sandwich, Baked Potato Salad, Cucumber Salad, Chips, Dessert and Tea, water or lemonade.
There will also be plenty of games and inflatables for children of all ages.
 
Fans unable to attend Saturday's Homecoming can follow the game courtesy of the Henderson State Sports Network with 106.9 FM KYXK in Arkadelphia being the flagship station.

In addition, affiliates 99.7 FM KWPS which covers Hot Springs, as well as 100.9 KDEL in Arkadelphia and KZYP 1310 AM and 104.1 FM in Malvern. The game can also be heard on 920 AM, The Sports Animal in Little Rock.

The Henderson State Sports Network will also be available on-line at hsusports.com.   

The broadcast team of Phil Elson, RJ Hawk and Cyrus Wittig 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.
 
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