No. 23 Henderson State (6-1) at Southeastern Oklahoma State (1-6)
Paul Laird Field | Durant, Oklahoma | 2 p.m. CT
Live Video | Live Radio Broadcast | Live Stats | Game Notes

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — No. 23 Henderson State (6-1) will look to match its best start since 2015 on Saturday when it travels to Durant, Oklahoma to face Southeastern Oklahoma State (1-6) at 2 p.m.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
- Henderson broke into the AFCA Top-25 Poll for the first time since Sept. 4, 2017 on Monday when the Reddies came in at No. 23 in the country. HSU becomes the third ranked GAC team in the poll, joining No. 18 Harding and No. 5 Ouachita Baptist. The Reddies will look to stay ranked longer than in 2017 when they were ranked for just one week before falling out of the poll with a loss to Arkansas Tech.

- Saturday's meeting is the 30th all-time between the two schools. HSU has dominated the series 23-6 and has won nine-straight contests over SOSU dating back to 2010. The Reddies defeated the No. 19 and unbeaten Savage Storm 21-20 in their last trip to Durant in 2017 despite falling behind 17-0 early in the first quarter. Henderson escaped in 2018 with a last-second 40-yard field goal for a 20-17 win.

REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies have been on a roll the last three weeks in wins over Northwestern Oklahoma, Southwestern Oklahoma and East Central. Since falling to No. 22 Harding 14-13, Henderson has won three-straight contests by an average of 33 points per game. Overall this season, HSU has outscored opponents 239-100 in seven games and 155-57 in first halves. 

- Henderson is No. 1 in the GAC in scoring offense (34.1 points per game) and No. 2 in total offense (422.6 yards per game). HSU's defense has also been stout and ranks third in the league in both scoring defense (14.3 points per game to opponents) and total defense (309.9 yards per game allowed). The Reddies have held five opponents this season under 20 total points. HSU remains the only team in the GAC that is Top-3 in the conference in total offense, total defense, scoring offense and scoring defense.

- Richard Stammetti eclipsed 4000 passing yards in his career at Henderson with 265 yards through the air against East Central. Stammetti is just the fifth player in program history to pass for 4000 or more yards and is 158 yards away from moving into fourth-place all-time at HSU in passing yards. He ranks second in the GAC in passing yards per game (250.4).

- L'liott Curry has been one of the best receivers in the country this season and has caught 48 passes for 658 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019. Curry's eight scores are the sixth-most ever for a receiver at HSU in a single season. The senior from Guthrie, Oklahoma has caught a touchdown pass in five of the Reddies' seven games, including one in each of the last three weeks.

- Return man Braden Boykin was honored by the GAC on Monday when he was named the league's Special Team Player of the Week following the win over ECU. Boykin returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter against the Tigers. It was the first punt return for a score for HSU since 2013 and the 10th longest punt return in program history. Boykin leads the GAC and is third in all of NCAA DII in punt return average (17.4 yards per return).

- Henderson's offensive line has allowed just four sacks this season, which is second-best in the GAC, and has not allowed a sack in four-straight games. The last sack on a Reddie quarterback came over a month ago in the fourth quarter of the Arkansas Tech game on Sept. 21. The offensive front has also been solid in the run game. The Reddies have run the ball just 216 times this season, the second lowest amount of any team in the GAC, but have rushed for 1125 yards; an average of 5.2 yards per carry.

- HSU has done a remarkable job protecting the ball in 2019. The Reddies are +3 in turnover margin this season and have lost just seven turnovers in seven games. Henderson has lost just one fumble all year, which leads the conference. 

- Since week one, when they were penalized for 212 yards, the Reddies have been far and away the least penalized team in the GAC. HSU has 421 penalty yards on the year, 212 of which came in the opener against Oklahoma Baptist, but just 209 total penalty yards in the six games. Henderson has averaged a meager 34.8 penalty yards per game since the season opener, which is the best mark in the league in that time span.

- The Reddies' lead the GAC and are No. 15 nationally in third down percentage defense. Henderson has been excellent in getting off of the field defensively and has allowed opponents to convert on just 25 of 92 third down opportunities in 2019.

- Henderson's last four contests with Southeastern Oklahoma dating back to 2015 have all been nail-biters. The Reddies are 4-0 in those games, but the total margin of victory for HSU in those four contests is 13 points. In 2016, the Reddies survived 13-11 on a missed SOSU field goal in the final seconds, then outlasted the unbeaten Savage Storm 21-20 the following year. Temo Martinez's 40-yard field goal with five seconds remaining was the difference last season on Homecoming for HSU.

SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
- Southeastern Oklahoma State enters Saturday's game 1-6 overall and in GAC play. The Savage Storm have struggled under first year head coach Tyler Fenwick and have lost five-straight games since defeating NWOSU in week two on Sept. 14.

- The Savage Storm are led offensively by quarterback Rollin Kinsaul, who is 95-for-165 for 1009 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions this season. SOSU's top receiver is Braxton Kincade, who has caught 26 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns. Southeastern is 10th in the GAC in scoring offense (17.3 points per game) and eighth in total offense (353.3 yards per game). SOSU has thrown the ball more than any other team in the GAC this season (284 attempts) and is No. 3 in passing offense (246.4 yards per game).

- Defensively, SOSU is led by linebacker Conner Swope, who has 50 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in six games this year. Defensive back Josh Mulumba leads the team with 53 tackles, and also has 3.0 tackles for loss and two interceptions this season. The Savage Storm are sixth in the GAC in total defense, allowing 357 yards per game to their opponents, and seventh in scoring defense, giving up just over 27 points per contest. 

- SOSU has struggled on both lines of scrimmage so far in 2019. The Savage Storm are last in the GAC in both sacks for (4) and sacks against (19). Southeastern gave up five sacks last week in its loss to SAU. Turnovers have also hurt SOSU, who is last in the GAC this season with 21 total turnovers and a turnover margin of -16.

- Since 2014, Southeastern Oklahoma has been unquestionably the best of the Oklahoma-based GAC schools. The Savage Storm had five-straight winning seasons from 2014-2018 and dominated their Sooner State counterparts, losing just three total contests to the other five Oklahoma schools in those five years.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
- True freshman kicker Temo Martinez connected on a 40-yard field goal with five seconds left to lift Henderson State to a thrilling 20-17 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Homecoming.

- After falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter and fighting back, the Reddies found themselves with the ball on their own 41-yard line with 24 seconds to play in a 17-17 game. Despite struggling to throw the ball all day, Henderson came through with its biggest play of the game on first down, when Kody Whitaker found Chase Lodree deep for 40 yards to put the Reddies in position for a field goal at the Savage Storm 19-yard line. The pass accounted for more than half of HSU's passing yards in the game. Two plays later, Martinez came through with a low, line-drive that just barely cleared the crossbar from 40 yards, to give HSU the win.

- The Reddies had just 72 passing yards in the win but rushed for 168 yards to just 66 for SOSU. The game was marred by turnovers, as Henderson lost four fumbles and the Savage Storm threw four interceptions. Neither team was able to make the other pay for its mistakes, however, as the eight combined turnovers led to just 13 points off of them between the two sides.

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 2 p.m.