ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State took the lead with 1:44 remaining on Saturday in the 93rd Battle of the Ravine, but No. 5 Ouachita Baptist engineered a 74-yard drive, which was capped by a score with 30 seconds to play, to win it 24-21 at Cliff Harris Stadium.

The No. 20 Reddies (9-2) got off to a dream start and led 14-0 after the opening quarter, but the Tigers weathered the tide and eventually tied the game up 14-14 on their first possession of the second half. 

Ouachita (11-0) took its first lead 17-14 on a 36-yard field goal at the 11:40 mark of the fourth quarter, but Henderson's defense gave the Reddies a golden opportunity with 5:41 to play when Mercardo Anderson forced a fumble with a hit on OBU's Shun'cee Thomas and Jake Chatman recovered it, which gave HSU the ball at the Tigers' 41-yard line.

Suddenly with all the momentum and time in its favor, Henderson put together an eight-play, 41-yard drive that ended with a touchdown run from Querale Hall from 10 yards out, to go in front 21-17 with 1:44 left in the game. 

Needing a score on what was sure to be their final possession, Ouachita hit two big plays — a 32-yard lob from Brayden Brazeal to Justin Dean and a 20-yard pass from Brazeal to Keemontre McKnight — to move down to the HSU 7-yard line with 44 seconds on the clock. The Reddies defense stood tall on the first two plays, but on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, OBU punched it into the end zone to seize a 24-21 advantage.

With only 30 seconds remaining and one timeout, Henderson was unable to manufacture a miracle drive, as the clock ran out to secure the win for OBU.

Hall led the Reddies' offense with 14 carries for 76 yards and a score, while Logan Moragne also chipped in the other two touchdowns for HSU. L'liott Curry had six receptions for 83 yards in defeat. Chatman finished with 12 tackles to lead the team and Anderson had 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and the late forced fumble.

Henderson State, who was ranked No. 7 in the final Super Region 3 rankings on Monday, will now await its postseason fate. The top seven schools in the region, which will be officially announced tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. on the NCAA DII Selection Show, will advance to the NCAA DII Playoffs. The Reddies two losses this season have come to two Top-15 teams on the road by a combined four points.