ADA, Okla. - The Greg Holsworth era of Henderson State Football started on a winning note Thursday. Beginning the season with a road test at East Central, the visiting Reddies defeated the Tigers 41-17 in the 2024 opener.
Though they experienced the early-season hiccups all teams face at this point in the year, HSU (1-0) jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Reddies added two touchdowns in the next quarter to take a 24-10 lead into the halftime break. ECU forced a turnover on the first drive of the second half and capitalized on the short field to make it a one-score game. From there, however, it was all Henderson. Holsworth's Reddies scored 17 unanswered down the stretch to provide the final result and secure the former HSU defensive coordinator's first career win as a head coach.
Starting quarterback Andrew Edwards is now 2-0 in season openers after going 14-of-24 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns in Thursday night's game. The Bentonville native added 24 yards on the ground.
Reigning All-Region tight end Cayden Davis led the team with 99 receiving yards: a total highlighted by an 84-yard touchdown reception with less than a minute to go in the third quarter. Jalen Abraham caught Edwards' first touchdown of the night on an eight-yard scoring strike. Timieone Jackson hauled in six catches for 51 yards.
Frederick O'Donald has a strong case for weekly award consideration after rushing for 141 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers. His longest run of the night was a 72-yard dash to the end zone early in the third quarter. Jeremiah Davis had 61 yards on the ground to complete an effective one-two punch from the Reddies' backfield.
On the other side of the ball, Henderson's defense spoiled the debut of Tiger quarterback Sergio Kennedy by intercepting the ball from the redshirt freshman three times. Bryant Hammond II, Tim Jennings, and Cameron Thomas each came up with a pick for the Reddies. In his first game with HSU, defensive back Jaylen Powell had four tackles, one tackle for loss, and one fumble that was recovered by Gary Lewis. Kolbi Crawford led the defense with seven total tackles and six solo tackles.
On top of his fumble recovery, Lewis, who appeared on the D2Football Elite 100 Preseason Watch List, had six tackles and a team-best three tackles for loss. Jordan Batts, Jakobe Shell, Jakob Neel, Ty Thomas, and Catrell Wallace all recorded a tackle for loss. Shell also had a forced fumble, while Wallace was responsible for the only Reddie sack of the night.
On special teams, Kolby King made field goals from both 39 and 41 yards. He also went a perfect five-for-five on his PAT opportunities.
After a milestone win in enemy territory, Holsworth will look to earn his first home victory as a head coach when Henderson State returns to Arkadelphia next week to take on the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm (0-1). The visitors from Durant, Oklahoma, are still in the hunt for their first win of the season after suffering a 36-31 loss at home against Southern Arkansas. Kickoff for the Reddies' home opener against the Savage Storm is slated for 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.
