Henderson State vs. Southern Nazarene
Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at Ruggles Field | Arkadelphia, Arkansas | 6 p.m.
Live Video | Live Radio Broadcast | Live Stats | Game Notes

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — Henderson State will look to stay hot offensively on Saturday against Southern Nazarene in its home opener at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
- The Reddies are after their first 2-0 start to a season since 2016 when they opened 5-0 and climbed as high as No. 5 in the country. HSU has not won its home opener since 2016 when it defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 13-11 on a late missed field goal. Evening kickoffs at home have not been kind to the Reddies in recent years, as they are 0-4 their last four home games with 6 p.m. start times.

- Recent trends seem to favor Henderson on Saturday: HSU is 34-7 all-time against GAC opponents from the state of Oklahoma and has outscored SNU 381-104 in the previous seven meetings. The Reddies lead the series 6-1, but the Crimson Storm won on their last trip to Arkadelphia, 42-24 in 2017.

REDDIES REPORT
- Scott Maxfield earned the 100th win of his career at Henderson State in style, as the Reddies' offense had a terrific game in the opener against Oklahoma Baptist. HSU's 507 yards of total offense was the most in a single game since the Reddies put up 599 against the Bison in 2018. With the win, Maxfield joined Sporty Carpenter as the only two coaches in program history to reach 100 career victories at the school. Maxfield needs 19 wins to tie Carpenter, and 20 to eclipse him, for the most victories all-time as the Reddies' coach.

- The passing attack, in particular, was spectacular, as Richard Stammetti passed for 357 yards and four touchdowns, and L'liott Curry caught eight balls for 178 yards and three scores in his first game at Henderson State to earn GAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Curry's day was the best receiving game by a Reddie receiver since 2014 when Darius Davis had 181 yards and three touchdowns against Arkansas Tech. Stametti is currently No. 7 in all of NCAA DII in passing yards. Curry was one of just three players in the country to snag three touchdown passes in week one and is No. 7 in the nation in receiving yards.

- After one week, the Reddies are on top of the GAC in total offense (507), passing offense (357), scoring offense (35 points), and passing efficiency (200.6). Stammetti leads the league in passing yards (357) and passing touchdowns, while Curry is the conference leader in receiving yards (178), touchdown receptions (3), and scoring (18 points). Logan Moragne was one of just three backs in the GAC to eclipse 100 yards rushing in week one, and is third in the league with 101 rushing yards.

- The Reddies' defense allowed 28 points and 406 total yards of offense in the win but came up with two big stops in the fourth quarter after OKBU had trimmed the deficit down to 28-21. Junior linebacker Colby Turner led the way for Henderson with a career-high 13 tackles and a half-tackle for loss. His 13 tackles were the second-most by any player in the GAC in week one. Defensive tackle Denzel Walter had 1.5 tackles for loss and is tied for sixth in the league in that category.

- The return game, which struggled at times in 2018, was another bright spot for Henderson on Saturday. Junior receiver Braden Boykin returned two punts for 27 yards against the Bison, good for an average of 13.5 yards per return which led the GAC last weekend. The Reddies' longest punt return of the season in 2018 was 13 yards. Boykin surpassed that in his first game on his first return, which went for 18 yards in the first quarter.

- One issue that Henderson will look to clean up against Southern Nazarene is penalties. The Reddies were penalized 15 times against Oklahoma Baptist for 212 yards, both of which led the league in the first week of the season. The 15 penalties tied for third-most in a game in school history for HSU and the 212 penalty yards were the most of the Maxfield era. The issue seems to be an outlier -- Henderson was the fourth-least penalized team in the GAC last season and had not racked up 100 or more penalty yards in a game since 2015 before Saturday.

- The home opener against Southern Nazarene presents an opportunity to get back on track at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field for the Reddies in 2019. Henderson is 24-14 all-time in GAC home games but is just 3-8 in the friendly confines of home in the last two years. The Crimson Storm were responsible for one of those losses in 2017 when they picked up their first-ever win over HSU with a 42-24 victory in Arkadelphia.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
- Southern Nazarene comes into Saturday's contest 0-1 on the season after dropping its opener 34-14 at home to Southern Arkansas. The Crimson Storm are led by head coach Andy Lambert, who is 9-25 in four seasons at SNU. He is responsible for nine of the program's 10 total conference victories.

- The Crimson Storm are led offensively by quarterback Gage Porter, who threw for 118 yards and one touchdown in week one, as well as wide receiver Reid Roelofs, who caught three passes for 100 yards and that one score from Porter against SAU.

- Defensively, linebackers Josh Jordan and Dylan Meador formed a strong one-two punch for SNU in the first week of the year. Jordan finished with a team-high seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and forced a fumble, while Meador had six tackles and an interception.

- Through one week, Southern Nazarene is 10th in the GAC in both scoring offense (14) and defense (34). SNU is currently last in the conference in total offense after mustering just 130 total yards in the loss to Southern Arkansas. The Crimson Storm were the only school in the league who did not surpass 200 yards of offense in week one. SNU and Henderson State were very comparable in total defense, however, as SNU allowed 416 yards and HSU allowed 409.

- It has been a difficult transition from NAIA to NCAA DII for the Crimson Storm. Since joining the GAC in 2011, Southern Nazarene is 10-65 against DII competition and did not win its first GAC contest until the season finale of 2015.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING
- Henderson State's defense pitched a shutout in the final 30 minutes and came up with two turnovers deep in opponent's territory that led to the deciding 14 points, as the Reddies defeated Southern Nazarene 24-10 and improved to 2-3 on the year.

- The Reddies' defense was dominant in the second half and allowed just 69 total yards on 31 plays over the final 30 minutes to the SNU offense. Henderson out-gained SNU 343-206 and rushed for 131 yards in the win, which was a season-high at that point. HSU trailed 10-7 at halftime on the road but got a field goal and touchdowns from John Murray and Querale Hall in the second half to pull away for the win.

- Hall was the story for the offense and had a then season-high 15 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown to lead the Reddies' rushing attack. Stammetti completed 16-of-33 passes for 212 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while Ben Johnson had four catches for a game-high 76 yards receiving. Cameron Sonnier had 12 tackles and a sack to lead the defense. Kody Whitaker saw his first action of the season when he scored the only touchdown of the first half for HSU on a 1-yard run.

IMPORTANT GAMEDAY INFORMATION
- Several different parking options are available for game day. CADC SCAT buses will be staged at the corner of 12th and Wilson streets three hours prior to kickoff, allowing fans to use the parking lots around Henderson's main campus. The free shuttles will travel down 12th street and drop fans off in two locations: the front of the Wells Center on M.H. Russell Drive, for those who wish to partake in pregame activities, and at the main gate to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium and Ruggles Field. The shuttles will also run up to an hour after the game ends, allowing fans to board at the main gate as they exit and ride back to their cars on campus.

- The two other available public parking lots are the Formby Center lot, located directly in front of the Formby Athletic Complex and next to the Reddie Villas, and the South Wells Center lot, located directly in front of the Duke Wells Center.

- For Reddie Club members, Red and Gray reserved lots are located directly behind the main stands and above Clyde Berry Field. These lots require your Reddie Club parking passes. Handicapped parking is also available in the Red and Gray lot directly behind the main stands.

- Ticket windows at the stadium open two hours before game time. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children. All students, faculty or staff with a valid Henderson State ID will be admitted for free, as will children five years old and younger.

CHICK-FIL-A COMES TO REDDIE GAMEDAY
- In addition to their normal game day offerings at concessions, beginning this Saturday, Sodexo is adding Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches to the slate of food choices for Henderson State football games. Sandwiches will be sold for $4 and can be purchased at the concessions stands on the home side of the stadium. CLICK HERE to see the full Sodexo concessions menu.

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, 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.