No. 20 Henderson State at No. 5 Ouachita Baptist
Cliff Harris Stadium | Arkadelphia, Arkansas | 1:05 p.m. CT
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ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — No. 20 Henderson State's magical season culminates on Saturday afternoon when the Reddies make the walk across U.S. Highway 67 to face No. 5 Ouachita Baptist in the 93rd Battle of the Ravine at 1:05 p.m. A victory would give HSU a share of its fourth Great American Conference title and first since 2015.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
- Since falling to No. 23 Harding in week four 14-13, the Reddies (9-1) have been on a tear. Henderson has won six-straight games by an average of over 18 points per game. HSU completed its first perfect regular season at home since 2013 last week with a thrilling 38-31 win over Southern Arkansas.

- The all-time series between Henderson and Ouachita heading into Saturday's showdown is, fittingly, tied 43-43-6. The Tigers have won the last three meetings dating back to 2016, but the Reddies have won three of the last four contests played at Cliff Harris Stadium. A win would give head coach Scott Maxfield his eighth career victory over OBU, which would tie Sporty Carpenter for most all-time.

REDDIES REPORT
- The Reddies jumped up two spots in the final installment of the Super Region 3 rankings on Monday, from No. 9 to No. 7. The top seven teams in the region at the end of the season will advance to the NCAA DII Playoffs. Henderson's last playoff appearance was in 2015 when it defeated Sioux Falls in the opening round for the program's first ever NCAA postseason victory.

- Receiver L'liott Curry has been the catalyst for the Henderson offense all season. The senior from Guthrie, Oklahoma leads the GAC and is No. 8 in the nation in receiving yards (1019) and touchdowns (13). Curry has five games this season with 100-plus yards receiving and is one of just three players in all of NCAA DII with 1000 or more yards, 70 or more receptions and 13 or more touchdowns this year. He has caught a touchdown pass in six-straight games for HSU and has five in the last three weeks.

- Nickel Mercardo Anderson joined an elite club on Monday when he became just the second GAC player ever to earn three GAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in a single season. The last player to accomplish that feat was Clarence Laster of SWOSU in 2011. Anderson, a sure-fire candidate for GAC Defensive Player of the Year, has 69 tackles, a league-high 13 tackles for loss, four interceptions and three sacks this season.

- Quarterback Richard Stammetti became the third player in HSU history to throw for 5000 yards in a career on Saturday against SAU. The senior from Las Vegas, Nevada is second in the GAC in passing yards (2556) and tied for first in passing touchdowns (24). 

- Receiver Braden Boykin has been a big weapon in the punt return game for Henderson this season. Boykin leads the GAC and is No. 6 in the country in yards per punt return (16.3). Boykin had HSU's first punt return for a touchdown since 2013 with a 78-yard run back against East Central on Oct. 19, but has had the opportunity to return just one punt in the last three games.

- Running backs Logan Moragne and Querale Hall have been a solid one-two punch for the Reddies in 2019, as the duo has combined for 1243 yards and 30 touchdowns. Moragne has 12 rushing scores on the season and has a touchdown in nine-straight games for Henderson. Hall needs just nine more yards to reach 1000 rushing yards in his career at HSU.

- As a team, Henderson is second in the GAC in scoring offense (34.5 points per game) and third in total offense (414.8 yards per game). The Reddies rank third in the conference in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) and fourth in total defense (347 yards allowed per game). HSU's rush defense, which will be tested on Saturday, has been particularly good against the top rushing teams in the GAC. Harding, Southern Arkansas and UAM all were held to under four yards per carry by the Reddies defense this season.

- The Reddies defense, after not recording a turnover until week four against Harding, has come up with 18 in the last seven games. Henderson has the best turnover margin in the GAC (+8) and leads the league with 13 interceptions. HSU has lost just one fumble all season on offense, which is the best mark in the conference. The Reddies have also been very aggressive and have 64 tackles for loss as a team on the year. Henderson boasts 20 different players who have registered a tackle for loss, including 13 that have two or more. Offensively, HSU has been tackled for loss just 29 times. 

- Red zone scoring and stopping opponents in the red zone have been keys to the Reddies' success all year. Henderson has scored on 31 of 36 total red zone possessions this season and three of its five "missed opportunities" came on kneel downs to end games inside opponent's 20-yard lines. Of the Reddies' 31 scores in the red zone this season, 25 have been touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, HSU's opposition is just 22-for-32 (68.8%)  inside the red zone in 2019, which is the third best mark in the conference defensively.

SCOUTING OUACHITA BAPTIST
- No. 5 Ouachita Baptist comes into Saturday's contest 10-0 on the year and in the GAC. The Tigers have won 26-consecutive GAC games dating back to 2017 and are one win away from tying the record of 27-straight set by Henderson State from 2012-14. OBU clinched at least a share of its third-straight GAC title with a 35-7 win over UAM last week. Ouachita is the No. 3 team in the latest Super Region 3 rankings. The Tigers are led by head coach Todd Knight, who is 122-95 in 21 seasons at the school. He is the longest tenured coach in the conference and the state of Arkansas.

- Offensively, OBU has become a juggernaut wth its rushing attack. The Tigers average over 240 rushing yards per game and have scored 30 rushing touchdowns this season. They are led by running back Brockton Brown, who is their go-to weapon in short-yardage situations and has rushed for 880 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2019. Ouachita's quarterback, Brayden Brazeal, is also a threat to run and has been efficient through the air, completing an NCAA DII-high 76.4 percent of his passes and throwing just one interception. His favorite target by far is receiver Allie Freeman, who has 79 of OBU's 130 total receptions this season for 795 yards and six scores.

- The Tigers are equally strong on the defensive side of the ball. Ouachita is second in the GAC in both scoring defense (13.1 points per game allowed) and total defense (301.1 yards per game allowed). OBU has weapons at all three levels. Up front, the Tigers look to ends LaFoy Smith, who leads the GAC with six sacks, and Dameyun McDonald, who has 6.5 tackles for loss this year. Linebacker Austin Guymon is the team's leading tackler with 74 stops this season and on the back end OBU boasts cornerback Keandre Evans, a First Team All-GAC selection and finalist for the Cliff Harris award, given to the nations top small college defensive player, in 2018.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
- Henderson State had its chances against No. 4 Ouachita Baptist and nearly made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter, but mistakes plagued the final period for the Reddies and closed the door on a comeback attempt, as they fell in the 92nd Battle of the Ravine, 38-10.

- Despite trailing 24-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Reddies (5-6) had life with a 2nd-and-goal on the OBU 3-yard line as they looked to close the deficit to one score. However, a loss of seven yards on 2nd-and-goal, followed by an incomplete pass and a missed 27-yard field goal swung all the momentum back to the Tigers. OBU got a 42-yard rushing touchdown on its next drive, followed by an interception deep in HSU territory that led to a final touchdown, to ice it.

- As a team, Henderson played the No. 4 team in the country well statistically. OBU out-gained the Reddies just 312-295 in total yardage and HSU won the time of possession battle, but two interceptions and a lost fumble led to 21 points for the Tigers on the day. Stammetti completed 21-of-37 passes for 203 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions to lead HSU.

BATTLE OF THE RAVINE QUICK FACTS
- Billed as "The Shortest Road Trip in College Football" the Battle of the Ravine was first played in 1895 when Ouachita College defeated Arkadelphia Methodist College 8-0 on Thanksgiving Day. Every year, the visiting team walks across U.S. Highway 67 to their rival's stadium. The two stadiums are exactly 3696 feet, or 0.7 miles, from one another according to Google Maps. The Battle of the Ravine is tied for the oldest rivalry in all of NCAA DII football.

- The game was traditionally played on Thanksgiving but in 1951 the series was discontinued after Henderson won 54-0 and the pranks between the two schools got out of hand. The rivalry resumed in 1963 and continued uninterrupted until 1993 when Henderson made its jump from NAIA to NCAA DII. When OBU did the same in 1996, play resumed once more. Since then, the game has been played every year other than in 2004 and 2005, when both schools were in the Gulf South and rotated off of the other's schedule.

- Of the 92 previous meetings, the game has been decided by a touchdown or less 42 times. The longest winning streak by either team is held by HSU, who won eight-straight from 1988 to 1998. The largest margin of victory for the Reddies was 62-0 in 1932. Ouachita's largest margin of victory came in 1919 when they won 66-0.

SATURDAY GAMEDAY INFORMATION
- For all the information you need about the 93rd Battle of the Ravine, follow this link to the 2019 Battle of the Ravine Information Guide, where you can find details on tickets, parking, tailgating and more.