ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – No. 22 Henderson State returns to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at GeoSurfaces Field Saturday, Oct. 7 when Southern Nazarene comes to town for Hall of Honor weekend in Arkadelphia. The Reddies and the Crimson Storm are set to begin at 2 p.m. with Hall of Honor recognitions taking place at approximately 1:37 p.m. on the field prior to kickoff.  
 
STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
No. 22 Henderson State got back on track after its loss to Harding with a 27-14 victory at Oklahoma Baptist this past Saturday. The Reddies have now started a season 4-1 or better in each of the last four years and 5-1 or better in two of the last three. Henderson will now look for its fifth straight victory over Southern Nazarene in what will be the 11th all-time meeting as HSU leads the overall series with the Crimson Storm, 9-1.
 
After starting out the 2023 campaign with a 53-20 loss against then-No. 15 Harding, Southern Nazarene has won three of its last four by an average 18 points per game. The Crimson Storm are now 3-2 through the first five games of a season for the first time since 2017. A win Saturday would mark SNU's best start to a season in the NCAA Division II era. The Storm are undefeated on the road in 2023 and are 6-2 away from Bethany over the past two seasons.
 
REDDIES REPORT: OFFENSE
After failing to start fast in the two previous games, Henderson's offense scored after just four offensive plays on its first drive against Oklahoma Baptist, scoring touchdowns on each of its first three drives. A field goal on its fifth drive gave the Reddies 24 points at the half – its most points in a first half this season. The red-and-gray were a perfect 4-for-4 on red zone trips.
 
Henderson recorded its second most rushing yards this season with 184 yards on 4.8 yards per carry, led by reserve running backs Jeremiah Davis and Fredrick O'Donald. Davis recorded a season-high 68 yards on 10 carries, including a 35-yard burst on HSU's first play from scrimmage, while O'Donald saw his own season high of 54 yards on the ground. The Reddies ran the ball 38 times compared to 23 passing attempts.
 
Quarterback Andrew Edwards was not asked to do much against the Bison as he threw a season-low 23 passes while still recording his third multi-passing touchdown game of the season. The passing attack has not been as efficient in the last three games compared to the first two for the Reddies. Against East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State, HSU completed 71.2 percent (37-52) of its throws. The last three games: 53.3 percent (48-90).
 
Eight different receivers caught a pass Saturday with no receiver having more than two receptions. Chris Hatzis and Cayden Davis were on the receiving end of both of Edwards' touchdown throws while they each brought in one more pass for 20 and 14 yards, respectively. Jalen Abraham was the evening's leading receiver for the visitors with two catches for 26 yards as HSU has not had the same pass catcher lead them in receiving in back-to-back games yet this season.
 
Offensive line coach Ryan McFadden changed up the offensive line personnel and positioning on Saturday, moving the likes of Andrew Weatherford, who replaced injured right tackle Brandon Bishop, and Blaise Smith across the line while introducing Quintlyn Rogers to the starting five. That new-look front five gave up just two sacks to the GAC's third-most sacks leader in the Bison coming into Saturday's contest.
 
REDDIES REPORT: DEFENSE – SPECIAL TEAMS
Henderson State's defense shut out Oklahoma Baptist for nearly three quarters before the Bison scored a garbage-time touchdown with less than a minute remaining in regulation. After OKBU scored a touchdown on its second drive of the game, the HSU defense forced six punts and two turnover-on-downs on Oklahoma Baptist's next eight consecutive drives. For the game, Henderson forced seven punts, which is the most punts HSU has dictated on the road since facing the same OKBU squad on Sept. 7, 2019.
 
The Reddies once again put on a clinic at stopping the run, allowing the Bison to rush for just 62 yards on 30 carries – OKBU's second fewest rushing yards in a game this season. Henderson has allowed more than 88 rushing yards just once this season and that came against the nation's top rushing team in Harding. The red-and-gray are allowing 121 rushing yards per game through five contests while being tasked to slow down a Southern Nazarene team averaging 266.2 yards on the ground per outing and have not run for less than 145 yards in a game in 2023.
 
Linebacker Jacob Neel recorded a season-high 10 tackles to lead the team Saturday. The 2022 All-GAC Honorable Mention selection now has a team-high 34 tackles on the year with three tackles for loss, one sack, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. Neel and the rest of the Reddie front seven has also recorded 18 sacks through five games, which is the most in the conference and seventh in all of NCAA Division II.
 
Behind Neel and the front seven, the HSU secondary recorded seven pass break-ups and allowed 198 passing yards – the second fewest this season behind Harding, which only threw the ball four times – while having the second most pass attempts of any Reddie opponent this season. Henderson's much-improved pass defense is now seventh in the GAC with 192.2 passing yards allowed per game. Defensive back Kolbi Crawford is eighth in the league with four pass break-ups and an interception.
 
Kolby King matched his season long with a 38-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as King was perfect on his all attempts, going 2-for-2 on regular tries and 3-for-3 on extra points. Saturday was the third game this season in which King has made a pair of field goals as he has made eight field goals and accounted for 41 points in five games. With six regular season games remaining, the Kilgore College transfer needs to make five more field goals to crack the HSU Top-5 all-time list for most field goals made in a single season.
 
Henderson saw two big returns on the evening, one on a punt and one on a kickoff, that sparked the offense. On Oklahoma Baptist's first punt, Devon Adams returned it 15 yards to the Bison 40 before the Reddies cashed it in for six 1:23 later. Later in the quarter, Jody Easter got back into the return game with a 44-yard kickoff return to the Bison 50 after OKBU tied the game at 7-7, allowing HSU to utilize a short field and retake the lead seven plays later.   
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN NAZARENE
Southern Nazarene did not trail Southern Arkansas this past weekend until SAU's touchdown with 9:45 remaining in regulation put the Muleriders ahead for good, 28-21. Losing by seven, the Crimson Storm had a crucial overturned call on a reception down to Southern Arkansas' 20-yard line before SNU had to punt it away two plays later. An interception with 1:41 gave the Storm one final opportunity before an interception of their own with 19 seconds left allowed the Muleriders to run out the clock with the seven-point victory.
 
Penalties were costly for the Crimson Storm as they had 10 for 73 yards, including two game-altering holding calls on their final drive of the contest. On SNU's first play of its final drive, a 33-yard pass to SAU's 40 was negated by a holding call. Later in the series, Southern Nazarene had a 24-yard pass from the Muleriders' 43-yard line down to the 19 before another holding call brought the ball back to the Storm's 47.
 
Southern Nazarene's close loss has them tied for fifth in the GAC at 3-2. The Crimson Storm's two losses have come against then-No. 15 Harding, 53-20, and Southern Arkansas most recently. Their wins have come on the road at Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State and at home against Southwestern Oklahoma State. The combined record of those three teams is 1-14. This year is the first time SNU has ever beaten ATU, NWOSU and SWOSU in the same season in the Storm's Division II era.
 
2022 GAC Player of the Year Gage Porter continues to be the engine behind the Crimson Storm offense. Porter has accounted for 1443 of SNU's 2220 total yards, with 645 coming on the ground and 798 through the air. Henderson quarterback Edwards has been just as crucial to the success of the Reddies' offense, accounting for 1355 of HSU's 1904 yards. Porter and Edwards have accounted for the most total yards of any GAC quarterbacks this season.
 
Porter has recorded 77 more carries than the Crimson Storm's second leading rusher. Jarrell Farr and Angel Ramirez perform the rushing duties aside from Porter, with the pair having combined for 385 yards on 47 carries and one touchdown. Porter has tallied a Division II-best 11 rushing scores this season. Farr doubles as a receiving threat for the Storm offense, leading the team with 17 receptions for 193 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Southern Nazarene comes into Saturday's matchup boasting the fourth-ranked scoring offense and total offense in the conference at 32.4 points and 444.0 yards per game, respectively. Similar to Harding, the Crimson Storm make their money in the run game as they are second in the league behind the Bisons with 266.2 rushing yards per contest. While the Storm do not pass it often, they are extremely able in defending the pass as they lead the league at 149.0 passing yards allowed.
 
THE COACHING MATCHUP
Henderson State head coach continued his dominance over Oklahoma Baptist, having never lost to them in his 19 years in Arkadelphia. Maxfield has seen similar success against Southern Nazarene, having only lost to them once. A win on Saturday will give the Reddie head ball coach his 130th all-time victory at HSU.
 
Southern Nazarene head coach Dustin Hada has revolutionized the SNU football program in three short years in Bethany. Last season, Hada led the Crimson Storm to their best record in the GAC era at 5-6 and is on the cusp of besting that record. With Southern Nazarene 3-2 to start a season for the first time since 2017, Storm fans are looking for what could be their first winning season as a part of NCAA Division II.   
 
THE LAST MEETING
An absolute classic took place in Bethany, Oklahoma, last October as Henderson State came from behind for a 42-41 overtime victory over Southern Nazarene. After the Crimson Storm opened a 20-7 lead at halftime, HSU used 21 points in the third to claim the slight 28-27 edge heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation. A touchdown with 3:54 remaining from HSU was met with a SNU touchdown and a successful two-point conversion with 52 seconds left to continue play. In the extra period, however, Southern Nazarene's game-winning two-point try was kept short as the Reddies won the thriller.
 
Henderson State running back Korien Burrell rushed for a program-record five touchdowns and 135 yards on the afternoon, matching the 2022 GAC Player of the Year quarterback Gage Porter's five scores on the ground as both players shared league Player of the Week honors for their efforts. As a team, Henderson rushed for 251 yards as part of its 420 total yards while SNU outgained the Reddies with 431 total yards.
 
Both defenses picked off the opposing quarterbacks once as Darrick Rose Jr. was the responsible party for the Reddies, with his takeaway in the third helping spark HSU's comeback. Henderson logged five tackles for loss with linebacker Jordan Owens recording one of those take-downs behind the line of scrimmage as he logged a team-high eight tackles. Former-Reddie Andrew Croker backed up Owens with seven tackles, including the game-winning tackle on SNU's two-point try in overtime.
 
HALL OF HONOR
The 26th Hall of Honor class at Henderson State will be inducted on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the Garrison Center grand ballroom and will be honored at approximately 1:37 p.m. on the field before kickoff on Saturday. The 2023 class features two stars from the gridiron in record-setting quarterback Nick Hardesty and two-way standout Keaton Stigger, GAC All-Decade baseball selections Bryant Haralson and Jordan Taylor, women's golf standout Kendall Earp-Motes, and NAIA All-American diver Kris Weber-Martin. Receiving special recognition as a part of this year's Hall of Honor class is Randy Hicks, former Reddie basketball player and high school coach and administrator, who is the recipient of the Willie Tate Meritorious Humanitarian Award.
 
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 two 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 at GeoSurfaces 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 can also be purchased digitally at hsusports.com/tickets. For more information on buying tickets online, CLICK HERE. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children. Children five years of age or younger are allowed free admission. All students, faculty or staff with a valid Henderson State ID will be admitted for free, as will children five years old and younger.
 
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.