Henderson State at East Central
Koi Ishto Stadium | Ada, Oklahoma | 3 p.m. CT
Live Video | Live Stats | Live Radio Broadcast | Game Notes

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — After back-to-back wins for the first time this season, Henderson State looks to keep its winning streak alive when it heads to the Sooner State for the last time this year to face East Central at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Ada, Oklahoma.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
- Henderson State (3-3) is riding high after its biggest win of the season last Saturday, a 56-21 showing against Oklahoma Baptist. The Reddies are looking to notch their first three-game winning streak since they opened the 2016 season 5-0. A win would push HSU above the .500 mark for the first time this year.

- The Reddies have found a rushing attack each of the last two weeks, but specifically in the win over the Bison. Henderson rushed for 383 yards, which was the most in Scott Maxfield's tenure and the most since 2004 when the Reddies ran the triple option.

- The series with East Central is one of Henderson's longest with any Oklahoma institution. The teams have met 29 times dating back to 1928, with the Reddies holding the upper hand 16-12-1. The Tigers have been problematic recently for HSU and have picked up wins in two of the last three years. Henderson is just 4-8-1 all-time at East Central.

- Head coach Scott Maxfield is now just three wins away from securing his 100th win at Henderson State. He trails Sporty Carpenter by 22 games in his quest to become the Reddies all-time winningest coach. Should Henderson win the next two weeks, Maxfield would have a chance to notch win No. 100 at the Murphy USA Classic against Southern Arkansas.

REDDIES REPORT
- Saturday proved to be far and away Henderson's most productive offensive game of the season, but it was also one of the most productive games from the Reddies in recent memory. Henderson's 599 yards of total offense was its most in a game since 2016.

- Running backs Logan Moragne and Querale Hall stole the show in the win. Hall ran the ball 15 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns, while Moragne carried 15 times for 165 and one score. It was the first time since 2011 that two HSU players both ran for over 100 yards in the same game. Hall's 173 yards was the most for a Reddie back since Jaquan Cole ran for a school-record 245 yards against Arkansas Tech in 2015.

- Not to be outdone, the defense played arguably its best game of the season as well against the Bison and forced a season-high four turnovers. Two of those came from defensive back Shane Sanders, who had two interceptions in the game's first eight minutes, the first of which he returned 30 yards for a touchdown. It was the Reddies first defensive score of the year. Sanders efforts earned him GAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

- The Reddies are the only 3-3 team in the GAC as of Saturday. Henderson is in fifth place in the league standings and is one game ahead of a log-jam of six teams who are 2-4. HSU is one game back of both Harding and Southeastern Oklahoma State, who are tied for third in the conference.

- Henderson has proven to have a very capable offense this year and the stats back that up. The Reddies are second in the GAC in total offense (423.3 yards per game) and third in scoring offense (31.4 points per game). HSU is one of only three teams in the league to average 30 or more points per game. The rushing attack has also come a long way in the past two games. HSU now ranks seventh in the GAC in rushing yards per game (148.2) after sitting near the bottom of the league during the early portion of the year.

- Several Reddies are near the top of the conference statistically. Richard Stammetti is third in the GAC in passing yards (1641) and yards per game (273.5) and is tied for the league-lead with 14 touchdown passes. Logan Moragne is fourth in rushing yards per game (79.6) and Querale Hall is 10th (55.6). Ben Johnson, John Murray, and Chase Lodree are all tied for second in the league in receiving touchdowns (4). Johnson is second in the conference in receptions (38). Temo Martinez is seventh in the GAC in scoring with 40 points. Cameron Sonnier is ninth in tackles (50).

- Both Ben Johnson and Cameron Sonnier are closing in on some big milestones. Johnson is 33 yards away from moving into 8th all-time at Henderson in receiving yards. With 111 yards he can jump all the way up to sixth in program history. He is also just one receiving touchdown away from moving into a tie for third all-time in touchdown grabs at HSU. Sonnier is nine tackles away from cracking the Top-10 all-time at Henderson and needs just four tackles for loss to move into sixth in program history in that category.

- The stats say that the Reddies have been superb this season at making in-game adjustments. Henderson is out-scoring its opponents 109-58 in the second and third quarters so far this year. 

SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL
- East Central enters Saturday's showdown 2-4 on the season but the Tigers have won two of their last four games. ECU is led by first-year head coach Al Johnson, who was hired away from the University of Wisconsin, where he was an assistant offensive line coach.

- The Tigers are led by sophomore linebacker RJ Williams and senior defensive lineman Andre Shelton. Williams leads the team and is eighth in the GAC in tackles with 54, and also has 7.5 tackles for loss this season with three sacks. Shelton is tied for second in the conference in sacks with 3.5 this year and has six total tackles for loss.

- Offensively, senior receiver Trinity Benson is the top playmaker for ECU. Benson is eighth in the GAC in all-purpose yards (515) and is second in the league in scoring with 42 points. He has three rushing touchdowns and four receiving scores this season. Throwing him the ball will be either senior RayJohn Austin-Ramsey or senior David Cornwell, a one-time 5-star recruit and Alabama signal-caller.

- ECU has struggled mightily this year on the offensive side of the ball. The Tigers rank second-to-last in the GAC in total offense (221.3 yards per game) and scoring offense (16.7 points per game). East Central has been out-gained by its opponents this season 2219-1334. 

- The defense has kept the Tigers afloat and practically won them two games in 2018. ECU was out-gained 503-177 in its 29-27 win over UAM, but the defense forced six turnovers to save the day. In the 18-11 win over SWOSU, the Tiger defense came up with a safety, two turnovers and held the Bulldogs to 214 yards to help ECU overcome just 181 yards of total offense.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
- East Central came into Carpenter-Haygood Stadium last season and spoiled Homecoming for Henderson State, as the Tigers jumped out to a 21-0 lead and held off the Reddies late surge to win 24-16. It was the Tigers second-straight win in Arkadelphia.

- Henderson trailed 21-0 just minutes into the second quarter and 24-3 entering the fourth but got two touchdowns in the final period to cut the deficit down to 24-16 with three minutes to go. The Reddies never got the ball back, however, as ECU was able to run out the remainder of the clock with its ground game and hold on for the win.

- Evan Lassiter was 41-of-60 for 322 yards for the Reddies, while Andrew Black, in his first ever game at receiver, caught seven passes for 66 yards. RayJohn Austin-Ramsey threw three touchdown passes in the first half and Trinity Benson had three catches for 68 yards.

HOW TO LISTEN
- The game will be broadcast and available by the Henderson State Sports Network on KDEL 100.9 FM and KVRC 1240 AM in Arkadelphia, KWPS 99.7 FM in Hot Springs, KYXK 106.9 in Gurdon, KZYP 104.1 FM/1310 AM in Malvern, 920 AM in Little Rock, and on KAFN 99.3 FM/690 AM in Benton. Coverage begins one hour prior to kickoff. The radio broadcast can also be heard on the web by going to the audio link for the game at hsusports.com.