ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – A battle of two elite units will take place in Searcy, Arkansas this Saturday, Oct. 15 at First Security Stadium as the Henderson State Reddies and their conference's top-ranked rushing defense faces off against the No. 12 Harding Bisons and their second-ranked rushing offense in the GAC.   
 
STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
For the second time this season, Henderson will aim to continue its streak of not losing back-to-back games since 2018. Following its first loss, HSU responded with a 31-23 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State inside Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. This time, following the loss to ECU, the Reddies will look to down No. 12 Harding in Searcy for the first time since 2017. Henderson leads the all-time series over the Bisons, 33-22-1.
 
No. 12 Harding has won four of the last five meetings against Henderson by an average of 20.5 points per game. Since the formation of the GAC, however, the road team has had the upper hand in the rivalry. The Reddies having never beaten the Bisons in Arkadelphia while HU has lost all but once against HSU in Searcy. Harding's last win on their home field against the Reddies came in 2019 after losing five in a row dating back to 2011.  
 
REDDIES REPORT: OFFENSE
Henderson's offense had a difficult time getting anything going against East Central and the Tigers' third-ranked defense in the GAC this past Saturday. The Reddies mustered a season-low 342 total yards. A big contributing factor to the lack of offensive production was turnovers. After losing fumbles on the first two offensive possessions, quarterbacks Landon Ledbetter and Andrew Edwards each tallied one interception.  
 
Wide receiver Xavier Malone managed to keep his streak alive of a touchdown in every game this season as he brought in a five-yard slant route at the goal line for HSU's only touchdown of the game. The senior wide out now has nine touchdowns on the year, which leads the entire country. The former-Northeast Mississippi Community College transfer is also fourth in the nation with 123.3 yards per game.
 
Malone is nearing admission into the Henderson St. record books in a couple categories. In just 17 games played as a Reddie, the Mound Bayou, Mississippi native has 12 career receiving touchdowns and 1710 yards. Two more touchdowns will tie him for fifth all-time in receiving touchdowns and 50 more yards will put him seventh in program history in receiving yards.
 
Henderson's scoring offense fell to sixth in the GAC at 30.5 points per game. The Reddies do still rank among the top-third with 440.7 yards of total offense per game. Henderson's passing offense is currently fourth in the league with 238.7 yards per game. In five games and four starts, Edwards is sixth in the conference with 197 passing yards per game while throwing 72 or more fewer passes than any quarterback in the Top-5.
 
Coming into this season, HSU's offensive line looked to be one of the most experienced units in the entire conference. Through six games, that has proven true as Henderson has allowed the third fewest sacks on the year with seven. The only two teams who have allowed fewer sacks than HSU – Ouachita Baptist and Harding – have thrown it 47 and 94 less times, respectively, than the Reddies.     
 
REDDIES REPORT: DEFENSE – SPECIAL TEAMS
Henderson held East Central to 102 rushing yards, which was the Tigers' fewest yards on the ground since its opener against Harding. The Reddies have established themselves as one of the premier rush defenses in the league after allowing a league-low 108 yards on the ground per game through six contests, including 3.1 yards per rush.
 
East Central was the first team to score 30 or more points against Henderson this season. The HSU defense allowed 23 first downs; four via the rush, 15 via the pass, and four via penalties. Infractions have plagued this Reddie defense lately with opponents picking up an average of five first downs from penalties a game over the last four matchups.
 
Linebacker Jakob Neel delivered a team-high 10 tackles against the Tigers Saturday, putting him atop the Reddie tacklers with 37 take downs on the season, including 22 assisted tackles, to go along with three and a half tackles for loss. Neel is twentieth in the entire league with 6.2 tackles per game.  
 
Redshirt freshman defensive end Gary Lewis continues to wreak havoc in the opposing backfield. Lewis leads the team with eight and a half tackles for loss, seeing at least half a tackle for loss in five of six games played this year. In addition to his work in the other team's backfield, the Fordyce, Arkansas native is putting relentless pressure on the opposing signal caller as he has recorded a team-high seven quarterback hurries.
 
Henderson left some points on the field in Ada by way of the kicking game. The Reddies missed two field goals Saturday, one of which came on the opening drive of the second half after a 13-play, 83-yard drive. On the season, HSU's kicking game has made 20-of-23 PATs and 5-of-8 field goals.
 
Kickoff return specialist Jody Easter, in addition to seeing four returns for 50 yards, was utilized in the offensive game plan for the first time this season. Offensive Coordinator Hayden Hawk schemed up a run on a jet sweep for the freshman speedster, which Easter took for 10 yards, in addition to catching a pass out of the backfield.   
 
SCOUTING HARDING
The No. 12 Bisons return to First Security Stadium after doubling up Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Oklahoma, 56-28. Harding ran for 308 yards, including 6.2 yards per carry, while also throwing for 161 yards for 469 total yards of offense. Six touchdowns came on the ground for HU between four different players.
 
Harding's triple-option attack has them as the No. 2 rushing offense and scoring offense in the GAC at 322.5 yards per game and 35.2 points per game. The Bisons have exceeded 300 yards on the ground in three of their six games, including 448 yards against Southern Arkansas earlier this season, as HU is running the ball an average of 56 times a game.
 
The 12th ranked team in the country boasts three players who have exceeded 300 rushing yards already: Jhalen Spicer (382), Will Fitzhugh (315) and quarterback Cole Keylon (309). Spicer leads the Bisons rushing attack despite have the fewest rushing attempts of the trio thanks to seeing 11.2 yards per carry. Fitzhugh is fifth in the entire GAC with eight touchdowns on the ground.
 
Of the 18 times Harding has connected on a pass through the air, senior wide receiver Kage Citty has been the recipient on eight of them as the Searcy, Arkansas native leads the team with 251 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The passing game for the Bisons have come in chunk plays with both Citty and Roland Wallace averaging over 30 yards per completion.
 
In addition to having the second ranked scoring offense in the league, Harding also boasts the No. 2 scoring defense in the GAC at 19 points per game, due in large part to its conference-best 33 minutes and 37 seconds time of possession per game. Southern Nazarene's 28 points this past Saturday was the most points the Bisons have allowed this season.
 
Harding has been stout defensively both against the run and against the pass as HU is second in both categories among the conference ranks. Redshirt freshman linebacker Clark Griffin leads the unit with 30 total tackles while junior defensive lineman Nathaniel Wallace spearheads the attack in the opponent's backfield with four tackles for loss and three and a half sacks.
 
The Bisons' Kendale Allen, a sophomore defensive back, returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown this past weekend against Southern Nazarene. Allen has eight returns for 299 yards for an average of 37.4 yards per return this season, which is fourth in Division II. Since giving up a punt return for a touchdown in the season opener against Southwestern Oklahoma State, HSU has not allowed a special teams touchdown.
     
THE COACHING MATCHUP
Henderson head coach Scott Maxfield is 9-7 against Harding since taking over the Reddie football program in 2005. In that time, Maxfield is 5-3 when playing the Bisons in Searcy, Arkansas, including winning five of the last six on their home field. Since the formation of the GAC in 2011, Maxfield is 47-9 on the road and has never lost more than two true road games in a single season.
 
Harding head coach Paul Simmons is in the midst of his fifth season as head of the Bisons program and is 46-12 in that time. Simmons has led HU to the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Simmons is 21-5 when his squad plays inside First Security Stadium. He is 1-1 against the Reddies at home.
 
THE LAST MEETING
Harding's triple-option offense had its way last year in Arkadelphia as the then-No. 20 Bisons ran for 438 yards and five scores, claiming the 46-21 victory. Both teams remained in step of the other through the early going of the opening quarter before a safety off a blocked punt gave HU the spark it needed. Already ahead 9-7, Harding went on to score 27 unanswered points.
 
Xavier Malone was the second leading receiver behind L'liott Curry for Henderson on the day with 67 yards on six catches while also seeing one rush for seven yards. Tight end Mike Benning also caught two passes for 35 yards, including a long of 22.
 
Randarius Terry and Deldric Shields each forced a fumble while Jacob Greenfield totaled eight tackles, behind only former-Reddie Patrick Jones with 12. Sacks and tackles for loss were hard to come by as Harding only put the ball in the air twice, opting to run it 61 times.
 
TICKETING INFORMATION
All visiting seats are general admission within the visitor section of First Security Stadium in Searcy, Arkansas. An adult ticket is $10 while a student ticket is $5. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
 
WHERE 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 FM in Gurdon, and KZYP 104.1 FM/1310 AM in Malvern. Coverage begins one hour prior to kickoff.