Henderson State (4-1) at Southwestern Oklahoma State (2-3)
ASAP Energy Field at Milam Stadium | Weatherford, Oklahoma | 3 p.m. CT
Live Video | Live Radio Broadcast | Live Stats | Game Notes

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State will look to match its win total from last season on Saturday afternoon when it faces Southwestern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
- The Reddies (4-1) have had great success in Weatherford in recent years. HSU has not lost to SWOSU on the road since 1980 and has won all four road contests at SWOSU since the formation of the Great American Conference in 2011 (4-0). In those wins, Henderson has out-scored the Bulldogs a combined 160-67 with an average margin of victory of over 23 points. Saturday's contest is the 12th all-time meeting between the schools. HSU leads the series 8-3 and has won six of the last seven.

- Henderson's defense has made great strides the last several weeks and now ranks second in the GAC in total defense (296.4 yards per game to opponents) and third in scoring defense (15.2 points allowed per game). The Reddies have held three of their opponents this season under 300 yards of total offense and are Top-20 in all of NCAA DII in scoring defense.

REDDIES REPORT
- HSU's defense continues to be dominant on third downs and in fourth quarters in 2019. Henderson is No. 1 in the GAC and ranked sixth in the country in third down percentage defense (23.5%). Opponents have converted on just 16 of 68 third down opportunities against the Reddies this season. HSU has also allowed just seven points and 264 total yards in fourth quarters so far this year. The Reddies have held Southern Nazarene, Arkansas Tech, Harding and Northwestern Oklahoma to a combined 130 yards of offense in the fourth quarters of the last four contests.

- The Reddies' passing game leads the GAC with 1388 total yards through the air and an average of 277.6 yards per game. Receiver L'liott Curry leads the conference in touchdown receptions (6), is second in the league with 530 receiving yards and is third with 38 total catches. Quarterback Richard Stammetti is second in the GAC in both passing yards (1337) and passing yards per game (267.4).

- Running back Logan Moragne has had a strong season on the ground and has racked up 351 rushing yards on 62 carries. Moragne is second in the league with six rushing touchdowns this year and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. The senior from Little Rock had a career-high three rushing scores in the win over NWOSU.

- The Reddies' offensive line has not given up a sack since the fourth quarter of the Arkansas Tech win and has allowed just four sacks all season. HSU has thrown 68-straight drop back passes without a sack dating back to the contest with the Wonder Boys.

- Henderson has out-scored its opponents this season 156-76 in five games and out-gained them on offense by over 600 yards, 2103-1482. The Reddies have more than doubled up their opposition through the air, where they have thrown for 1388 yards and held opponents to just 624 total passing yards.

- After not recording an interception in the first four weeks of the year, four different Reddies had picks in the win over NWOSU last Saturday: Dedric O'Bryant, Patrick Jones, Rickey Henderson and Trevor Pipkin. The interceptions were the first of all four players' careers at Henderson. It was the first time HSU picked off four passes in a game since the Homecoming win over Southeastern Oklahoma State last season.

- Braden Boykin's 45-yard punt return in the third quarter against Northwestern Oklahoma was the longest punt return by a Reddie since Darion Gray's 51-yard return against Sioux Falls in the 2015 NCAA DII playoffs. Boykin leads the GAC and is No. 16 in the country in punt return average (13.4 yards per return) this season.

- As a team, the Reddies' defense has already racked up 35 tackles for loss this season -- an average of seven per game. Nickelback Mercardo Anderson and defensive lineman Denzel Walter are tied for the team lead with 4.5 tackles for loss each. True freshman Jakob Neel of Bryant High School, who earned the first two starts of his career against Harding and NWOSU, has four tackles for loss and has made at least one in four games this year.

- With a win, Henderson would match its best start since 2016 when it opened 5-1 before finishing 8-3. The Reddies are one of 11 teams receiving votes in this week's AFCA Top-25 Coaches Poll and are attempting to break into the AFCA Top-25 for the first time since 2016 in the coming weeks.

- The Reddies have been almost automatic when playing GAC road games in Oklahoma. Since the inception of the conference in 2011, Henderson is 19-1 all-time versus Oklahoma-based conference schools on the road and did not lose its first GAC game in the Sooner State until last season against Northwestern Oklahoma State. 

SCOUTING SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
- Southwestern Oklahoma State enters Saturday's contest 2-3 on the year. The Bulldogs won their first two games of the season over Southeastern Oklahoma and East Central, but are riding a three-game losing streak after dropping contests to UAM, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas.

- SWOSU is led offensively by senior quarterback Tyler Marr, who has passed for 1078 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, and also run for a team-high 148 yards. Marr completes just 45.5 percent of his passes (65-for-143) but when he does they tend to go for big gains. He averages 16.5 yards per completion and has seven receivers who average 15 yards per reception or more this year. Marr's favorite target has been Jared Rayburn who has caught 18 passes for 375 yards and five scores. A pass-heavy team, SWOSU is fourth in the conference in passing offense (221.4 yards per game) but runs the ball less than any team in the league (141 total rushing attempts).

- On the defensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are led by senior defensive back Braden Sweet, who is fourth in the GAC with 44 tackles this season, as well as senior linebacker CJ Jennings, who has five tackles for loss this year -- tied for most in the league for a linebacker. SWOSU has struggled defensively at times in 2019. Southwestern ranks eighth in the GAC in scoring defense (30 points per game) and ninth in total defense (417.2 yards per game). The Bulldogs have allowed teams to move the ball this season and are last in the GAC in opponents first downs, allowing 25 per game to their opposition. 

- The Bulldogs passed HSU last week to become the most penalized team in the GAC this year with an average of 78.8 penalty yards per game. SWOSU's defense has been opportunistic, however, and is second in the conference with 11 turnovers gained this season.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
- Henderson State led with under a minute to play, but Southwestern Oklahoma State produced a one minute, 80-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with 28 seconds left and held on in the final moments to defeat the Reddies 35-31 in Arkadelphia.

- The Reddies led for the majority of the contest, but found themselves trailing at the 12:02 mark of the fourth quarter after a 21-yard touchdown pass from the Bulldogs gave SWOSU its first lead of the night, 28-24. HSU responded with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead, but with two minutes left, SWOSU engineered an 80-yard touchdown drive in just one minute and seven plays to go up 35-31.

- Needing a touchdown, the HSU offense was able to move the ball down to the Bulldogs' 20-yard line with two seconds left, but Stammetti's final throw to the end zone was broken up and SWOSU held on for the win. Stammetti was the catalyst on offense for Henderson on the night and finished 34-of-55 for 365 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. 

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 106.7 in Gurdon, KZYP 104.1 FM/1310 AM in Malvern, KAFN 99.3 FM/690 AM in Benton and KAAY 1090 in Little Rock. 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.

SLIM & SHORTY'S WATCH PARTY
- For those unable to follow the team to Oklahoma, join your fellow Henderson State fans and head over to Slim & Shorty's for the official watch party of Reddie road games. Slim & Shorty's is located at 617 Clinton Street in downtown Arkadelphia and will be broadcasting the game beginning at 3 p.m.