ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – No. 25 Henderson State will begin its first NCAA Division II Playoff run since 2015 Saturday when it heads north to Warrensburg, Missouri, to take on No. 6 Central Missouri. Kickoff from Walton Stadium at Kennedy Field is set for 1 p.m.
 
STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
No. 25 Henderson State is in the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the first time since 2015. The Reddies punched their ticket to the postseason after defeating No. 10 Ouachita Baptist, 31-27, to claim the at-large bid. Henderson holds a 1-3 overall record in the program's four trips to the NCAA Tournament, with its only NCAA postseason victory coming in 2015 in the opening round against Sioux Falls from inside Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, 23-16. The red-and-gray will match up with No. 6 Central Missouri in first-round action as the teams will meet for the first time since 1986.
 
Central Missouri is in the NCAA Division II Playoffs as the No. 4 seed in Super Region 3 for the first time since 2019 and its fifth overall appearance after a 10-1 campaign and a share of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Championship. The Mules are 3-4 all-time in the NCAA Playoffs, with its last postseason win coming at home against Indianapolis in 2019, 37-27. Regarding Saturday's matchup, Central Missouri is 2-0 against Henderson State with the two meetings coming back in 1985 and 1986.
 
REDDIES REPORT: OFFENSE
In the regular-season finale, Henderson State accumulated over 300 yards of total offense for the ninth time this season and the sixth consecutive game. It was only the second time, however, the Reddies were outgained. The red-and-gray are 1-1 in 2023 when their opponents have more yards than them and are 8-1 when outgaining the opposition. Overall, Henderson is fourth in the GAC and 22nd in all of Division II with 433.5 yards per game.
 
Quarterback Andrew Edwards put the finishing touches on a brilliant sophomore campaign, tying a GAC record with five Player of the Week nods after leading the Reddies to a 31-27 victory over then-No. 10 Ouachita Baptist for the first time since 2015. Edwards, who started the game 1-for-5 before completing 20 of his next 24 attempts, threw for 218 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 36 yards and a score to earn the weekly honor.
 
Edwards' final regular-season performance of 2023 earned him All-GAC Second Team honors. The Bentonville, Arkansas, native finished the year first in the conference in passing yards (2760), passing touchdowns (27), total touchdowns (37) and completion percentage (66.3%) and second in total yards (3185) while also having the fewest turnovers (3) of any GAC quarterback. Edwards is also ranked second nationally in passing efficiency, behind only 2022 Harlan Hill winner John Matocha of Colorado School of Mines.
 
Wide receiver Chris Hatzis and tight end Cayden Davis earned All-GAC First Team selections after finishing the regular season with 841 and 341 receiving yards, respectively, as the duo was responsible for 42.8 percent of HSU's receiving yards this season. Hatzis' recognition marks the fourth consecutive year in which the Reddies have produced a First-Team All-Conference selection while Davis is the first Henderson tight end to earn First-Team accolades.
 
Henderson St. earned an additional two First Team selections in center Conner Justus and offensive lineman Robert Dunham. On a banged up unit all year long, Justus and Dunham proved to be staples on the HSU offensive line as the duo started 10 and 11 games this season, respectively. Justus and Dunham helped bolster an offensive line that paved the way for 182.3 rushing yards per game, good enough for fifth in the league. The Reddies' frontline allowed 22 sacks this season, which was seventh in the conference.     
 
REDDIES REPORT: DEFENSE – SPECIAL TEAMS
Henderson State, which had never beaten Ouachita when losing the turnover battle since 2011, claimed two game-changing takeaways against then-No. 10 Ouachita Baptist. With the Tigers holding a 6-0 lead after forcing an HSU three-and-out on its first drive, Kirby Owens II picked off OUA quarterback Riley Harms to immediately shift momentum. Jakob Neel, who earned All-GAC Honorable Mention honors, claimed the second turnover with a late fourth-quarter fumble recovery off a strip-sack from Gary Lewis as Henderson claimed the 31-27 victory.
 
Lewis, who was named First Team All-GAC, recorded his team-leading seventh and a half sack against Ouachita along with All-Conference Honorable Mention Dylan Ndambuki. Lewis and Ndambuki are currently tied for third for the most single-season sacks in program history. As an entire unit, Henderson has accumulated 40 sacks this season – the most sacks ever for the Reddies in the GAC era and the current third most in the nation.
 
Henderson's rush defense proved formidable once again Saturday, holding the league's fourth-ranked rushing offense coming into the Battle of the Ravine to just 113 yards on the ground. Prior to the cross-street rivalry, the Tigers had not run for fewer than 130 yards all season. The red-and-gray have the second best rush defense in the GAC at 124.8 yards per game.
 
Cornerback Josh Brown headlined the Henderson secondary with the end-of-year awards, claiming Second Team All-GAC honors. In his first year with the program, the Blinn Community College-transfer led the Reddies with three interceptions, including HSU's first multi-interception game since 2021 in week three against Arkansas Tech. Henderson St. has improved significantly in its pass defense from last year to this year, closing the regular season with the fourth-ranked pass defense in the GAC (175.8 ypg).
 
On Saturday, it was Ouachita Baptist who made the mistakes in special teams. The Tigers missed two extra-points and a field-goal while also failing on a fake punt. Henderson converted all of its extra-points and hit on one of its two field-goal attempts. Defensive back Cameron Thomas also claimed a 41-yard kickoff return to open the second half, giving the Reddies the ball at their own 42 before scoring a touchdown eight plays later for a 21-13 lead.
 
Punter Axel Robertson delivered one punt that went 45 yards against the Tigers for his long of the afternoon, but the Navarro College-transfer saw two more go for a grand total of 35 yards, seeing an average of 26.7 yards per boot on the day. One of Robertson's punts Saturday was returned for a touchdown before off-setting penalties forced a re-kick to the fortune of the Reddies.
 
THE OPPONENT: No. 6 CENTRAL MISSOURI
Central Missouri's historically high-powered offense has fueled UCM's run to becoming co-MIAA Champions and earning a berth in the 2023 NCAA Division II Playoffs. The Mules boast the top-ranked offense in the entire country, averaging 598.9 total yards of offense, while also owning the fourth-ranking scoring offense at 50.2 points per game. Central Missouri has scored 50 or more points four times this season, including a season-high 77 against Emporia State.
 
Leading one of Division II's top units is quarterback and Harlon Hill-hopeful Zach Zebrowski. A  Southern Illinois-transfer, Zebrowski leads the nation in passing yards (4265) and passing touchdowns (49). Central Missouri's prolific passing offense averages 47.6 pass attempts a game. Zebrowski, who was named the 2023 MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, has registered at least 300 passing yards in every game but one this season.
 
The Mules also have a 1000-yard running back in Marcellous Hawkins and a 1000-yard receiver in Arkell Smith to go along with their 4000-yard quarterback. Central Missouri is one of only two DII teams with a 1000-yard back and 1000-yard receiver and is the only team in the country with the trifecta. Hawkins is 16th in the nation with 1026 rushing yards and Smith leads Division II with 1224 receiving yards, having posted seven 100-yard games and four games with multiple receiving touchdowns.
 
Central Missouri does allow 238.5 passing yards per game, which is seventh in the MIAA. In UCM's one loss this season, Pittsburg State had 323 passing yards while also keeping the ball away from the Mules' juggernaut of an offense with 35:52 in time of possession compared to 24:08 for Central Missouri. Henderson State is coming off its longest time-of-possession game in GAC history when it controlled the ball against Ouachita Baptist for 39:35.
 
Linebacker Cale Miller leads the defensive unit for the Mules with 63 total tackles and 8.5 tackles-for-loss, which is tied for 15th in the MIAA along with teammate David Olajiga. Overall, UCM has four guys with at least five tackles-for-loss as that quartet aids in Central Missouri's fifth-ranked rush defense in the conference with 122.0 yards per game. After giving up 115 or more yards on the ground in each of their first six games, the Mules have since held opponents below 105 rushing yards in four of their last five contests.
 
One of Central Missouri's six First Team All-MIAA selections was defensive back Wyryor Noil, who is leading the team and is tied for fourth in the nation with 15 pass break-ups and tied for sixth with five interceptions. Noil is first and second, respectively, among MIAA ranks this season. Noil of UCM and Brown of HSU will look to make an impact Saturday against two of the least turnover-prone quarterbacks in the nation in Zebrowski, who has five interceptions on the year, and Edwards with two interceptions.      
 
THE COACHING MATCHUP
Henderson State head coach Scott Maxfield has been at the forefront for what will be all four of HSU's Playoff trips come Saturday. Maxfield is 134-64 in his 18 seasons with Reddie football, having claimed three GAC Championships and now four NCAA Playoff appearances. Saturday will be Central Missouri head coach Josh Lamberson's first time to the postseason as a head coach, having served as the Mules' offensive coordinator during their playoff runs in 2010 and 2011. In his second season at the helm, Lamberson was voted the 2023 MIAA Coach of the Year.
 
Despite the teams having not played each other since 1986, Henderson State and Central Missouri are connected through current and former staff. Henderson State Athletics Director Shawn Jones is an alum of Central Missouri and worked for 13 years in the UCM athletics department. Current Mules assistant coach Hayden Hawk served as HSU's offensive coordinator from 2018-2022.
 
THE LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE
After an early-season loss to East Central in the 2015 season, Henderson State won nine straight, including a four-point win over Ouachita Baptist, to capture its third GAC Championship and earn what was then its third trip to the NCAA Playoffs. The Reddies played host to Sioux Falls in the opening round as HSU and its top-ranked defense in the GAC held the Cougars to 16 points while recording three interceptions for the 23-16 win in what is still Henderson's only NCAA Playoff victory.
 
Despite Sioux Falls outgaining Henderson, 422-282, the red-and-gray held true in the redzone, allowing the Cougars to score just one touchdown when inside the 20-yard line while holding them to three field goals. On the flip side, Henderson's offense scored touchdowns on all three of its redzone trips. As a unit, the Reddies recorded six tackles for loss to go along with the previously-mentioned three interceptions, including the game-winning interception at the goal line as time expired, and a fourth-quarter safety to open a 23-13 lead.
 
On a day where Henderson only needed seven completions from quarterback Dallas Hardison, running back Jaquan Cole carried the ball 31 times for 147 yards and one touchdown. Only two Reddie running backs have rushed for more yards in any game since that 147-yard performance, which currently stands as an HSU NCAA Playoff record. Hardison was responsible for one of the Reddies' three touchdowns on that day, finding Mark Czaus for an 18-yard touchdown for HSU's last offensive score of the contest and Czaus' only reception of the game.
 
Henderson State hosted Emporia State one week later in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs. The Hornets got the better of the Reddies that day, 29-3, after HSU committed a season-high six turnovers, including four fumbles. Henderson's offense managed a season-low 137 yards of offense, including 25 rushing yards. The red-and-gray defense also allowed a season-high 268 rushing yards. Henderson converted on just one of four redzone trips and went 1-for-2 on field-goal attempts while ESU scored on all three of its redzone appearances and made five field-goals.
 
For the second straight week, Hardison completed seven passes while Andrew Black also completed eight passes for a combined 15-for-35 showing for 112 yards and two interceptions. On the defensive side of the ball, Josh Davis led the team for the second straight week with nine tackles, including two and a half tackles for loss. That season, Davis recorded a team-high 103 tackles, which is currently the seventh most single-season tackles in program history, and 15 tackles-for-loss, which is tied for the fourth most tackles-for-loss in a single campaign.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans who wish to attend have the option to purchase tickets ahead of time or at the site of competition.

General admission tickets are $10 and are on sale now. Students and kids five years old and younger are $5. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time online by clicking THIS LINK. All Reddie fans are encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of time to skip the line.

For fans who wish to purchase tickets on gameday at the site of competition, Central Missouri ticket booths will open Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m.

Central Missouri's ticketing office's phone number is 660-543-8339 and their ticketing email is tickets@ucmo.edu for further assistance.
 
HOW TO WATCH
For the 2023 NCAA Division II Playoffs, the NCAA and HUDL TV have partnered to allow viewing of all Division II football games through the quarterfinal round on a pay-per-view basis.
 
For those who wish to watch No. 25 Henderson State football's first-round NCAA Playoff game against No. 6 Central Missouri, fans can visit NCAA.com and pay a one-time fee of $9.95 to view Saturday's first-round contest.
 
Fans can also pay $19.95 for viewing access of all Division II football games through the quarterfinal round.

Neither Henderson State nor Central Missouri are responsible for streaming of Saturday's playoff game. The NCAA controls all streaming rights of the opening rounds for Division II football contests.
 
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.