ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State will look to give head coach Scott Maxfield win No. 100 of his career at the school on Saturday when the Reddies face No. 21 Southern Arkansas at the 10th annual Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado, Arkansas, at 2 p.m.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
- A victory over the Muleriders would secure a winning season for the 12th time in the last 14 years under coach Maxfield and would stretch HSU's winning streak to five games -- the longest winning streak for the program since the start of 2016.

- Saturday is the 82nd meeting all-time between the two old South Arkansas rivals. The Reddies lead the series 45-34-2 and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings. Henderson is 10-2 against SAU under coach Maxfield. The Muleriders did win the last match-up at the Murphy USA Classic in 2016, however, as they defeated the Reddies 50-24.

- This will be the Reddies' fourth time playing in the Murphy USA Classic. Henderson first played in the neutral site-game in 2013, when it defeated Arkansas Tech 45-14. In 2014, the top two offenses in the GAC met as the Reddies got past SAU 55-41 behind 509 passing yards and five touchdowns from Kevin Rodgers. HSU is 2-1 all-time in the Murphy USA Classic. SAU is playing in the game for the 8th time and is 2-5 in its previous trips.

REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies overcame a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter last week against Southeastern Oklahoma to storm back and defeat the Savage Storm 20-17 on Temo Martinez's 40-yard field goal with five seconds left. The win made it four-straight victories for HSU for the first time in the last two seasons.

- Henderson's defense was tremendous in the win and allowed just one touchdown drive, as well as a short-field 42-yard field goal. The Savage Storm's second touchdown came on a scoop and score. The Reddies are fifth in the GAC in scoring defense (24.4 points per game) and have allowed just 14.5 points per game to opponents during the four-game win streak.

- The defense has been particularly impressive in the fourth quarters of the last four contests. HSU has given up just one fourth quarter-touchdown in the past four weeks.

- Once near the bottom of the league in rushing, Henderson has found its ground attack. The Reddies are now third in the GAC in rushing yards (1276) and yards per game (159.5).

- Two Reddies picked up GAC PLayer of the Week Honors following the win over SOSU. Linebacker Jake Chatman was named GAC Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Chatman leads all GAC linebackers with three picks this season. Temo Martinez earned Special Teams Player of the Week after knocking in field goals of 40 and 49 yards. His 49-yarder tied Bryan Woodard's 2005 school record-long kick.

- Quarterback Kody Whitaker had his best game of the year last Saturday. Whitaker entered the game in the second quarter and never came out again, as he carried the Reddies to victory with 95 rushing yards on 18 attempts and 77 passing yards, both of which were season and career-highs.

- Ben Johnson is tied for second in the conference in receptions this season with 48, which is a new career-best for him in a single year, surpassing his 46 receptions in 2017. He has 524 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Reddies' receiving corps. Johnson is now fifth all-time in program history in receptions (115), and sixth in both touchdowns (13) and receiving yards (1525) in a career.

- The backfield duo of Logan Moragne and Querale Hall has been a game-changer for HSU in the past month. Moragne is second in the conference in rushing yards per game (83.1), while Hall is 10th and has scored seven total touchdowns in the last four games. The two backs have combined for 1001 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns this year.

- Henderson snagged four interceptions against Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday -- the most in any game this season and the first time since Sept. 26, 2015, against SWOSU that the Reddies had four or more picks in a game. The four interceptions give HSU 10 total this season, which is the third-most in the GAC.

- The Reddies' normally lethal passing attack was slowed by SOSU in the win last week, as HSU had just 72 total yards through the air. Heading into last week, Henderson led the GAC in almost every passing category.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
- Southern Arkansas enters Saturday's showdown 7-1 on the year, with its lone loss coming two weeks ago to Southeastern Oklahoma, 21-0. The Muleriders are the No. 21 team in all of DII according to the AFCA poll and have climbed as high as No. 15 earlier this season. They are led by head coach Bill Keopple, who is in his 10th season in Magnolia, Arkansas. SAU has won 30 games in the last four seasons. In the first DII regional rankings, which were released on Monday, SAU was No. 6 in Super Region 3. If the season ended today, the Muleriders would be in the NCAA DII Playoffs.

- SAU has the top-ranked total offense in the GAC and averages 419.4 yards per game. The Mulerider defense is fourth in the league in both scoring and total defense, allowing 310.9 yards and 17.5 points per game to opponents.

- Barrett Renner, a four-year starter at quarterback, leads the SAU offense. Renner is one of the top signal-callers in the GAC and has thrown for 2014 yards and 18 touchdowns this season while completing a GAC-best 65.5 percent of his passes. His top target is Karonce Higgins, who is tied for second in the conference with 48 receptions and leads the league in receiving yards (826) and touchdowns (7). Lorenzo Alexander is the Muleriders' top back and has rushed for 507 yards and five scores in 2018.

- The defense for SAU is led by the 2017 GAC Defensive Player of the Year, defensive end DaVondrick Lison. Lison is second in the GAC with 12.5 tackles for loss this season and fourth in sacks with 3.5. Opposite him is defensive lineman Anthony Washington, whose numbers are even better: Washington has a league-leading 14.5 tackles for loss this year and 4.5 sacks.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
- In front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN3, Henderson State out-scored SAU 22-6 in the fourth quarter to shock the first-place Muleriders 36-30 on Senior Day in Arkadelphia.

- HSU trailed 30-21 with 13 minutes to go, but got a big kickoff return and then a 2-yard score from Andrew Black to cut the lead to 30-28. After two big stops by the defense, Evan Lassiter connected with Ben Johnson for a 30-yard go-ahead touchdown with two minutes to play, as the Reddies came back to capture their biggest win of the year.

- Lassiter out-dueled Muleriders' quarterback Barrett Renner in the win, as he passed for 213 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to Ben Johnson.

- Renner was 16-of-22 for 192 yards and two scores for SAU, who fell to 6-3 on the year.

MURPHY USA CLASSIC INFORMATION
- Advanced tickets for the game are $5 each.  Tickets will be $7 at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado on game day. Fans can purchase advanced game tickets Tuesday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Duke Wells Center Athletic Offices on the Henderson State campus. No phone orders will be accepted and payment for tickets must be cash or check. 
 
- Henderson State students will be admitted free to the game with valid I.D. Children five and under will also be admitted free of charge.  
 
- Tailgate Alley (Fifth Street) on the south end of Memorial Stadium will open at 11 a.m. Country music artist Adam Doleac will perform at noon. The Showband of Arkansas and HSU Spirit Squads will participate in a Pep Rally prior to the game at approximately 1 p.m. Henderson State activities will be on the east side of Tailgate Alley as the visiting team.

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.