ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- Henderson State returns to Arkadelphia Saturday for a matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Reddies will be honoring the newest members of the Henderson State Hall of Honor; nine individuals and a team will be inducted in a ceremony on Friday night.
STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENES
Henderson State used an impressive third-quarter performance and held on to a late SWOSU comeback effort to get their fourth win of the season. HSU will honor the newest inductees to the Henderson State Hall of Honor this weekend.
Northwestern Oklahoma State is still looking for its first win of the season. The Rangers have lost their last eight games dating back to last season; that eight-game skid includes last season's 44-10 loss to the Reddies in Alva.
REDDIES REPORT: OFFENSE
Reddie quarterback
Andrew Edwards added another accolade to his highly accomplished career last weekend. The senior from Bentonville ran for a career-high 122 yards in the win over Southwestern Oklahoma; the output was the first 100-plus yard rushing effort from a Henderson quarterback since Andrew Black in 2017.
Henderson State used a massive third-quarter in Saturday's win; the Reddie offense outgained SWOSU 215-3 in the frame, scoring 21 unanswered points and taking a 28-17 lead into the final period of action.
The ground game was particularly effective for HSU, as the Reddies outgained Southwestern Oklahoma 299-153. The rushing output was the most by a Reddie offense since 2023, when they ran for 302 yards in a win against Southern Nazarene.
Andrew Edwards and
Jeremiah Davis rank 11th and 12th in the GAC in rushing offense, respectively, and the team as a whole ranks 5th in the league in running the ball.
The pass game, however, has not been neglected; the second-best passing offense in the GAC, Henderson is the only team so far this year to throw double-digit touchdown passes. The balanced offense is a key to Henderson ranking sixth in all of Division 2 in total offense, averaging over 473 yards per game.
The Reddie receiving corps spread the wealth in Saturday's win, with the usual suspects leading the way. Senior tight end
Cayden Davis led the team with 66 yards on five catches, with
Micah Greene pulling in four catches for 52 yards and the game-opening touchdown. The duo of
Maddox Davis and
Cayden Davis remain third and fourth in the league, respectively, in receiving yards, while
Aundreus Griffin ranks second in the league with three receiving touchdowns.
REDDIES REPORT: DEFENSE
The Reddie defense continues to impress through the first month of the season. Henderson ranks third in the GAC in total defense and fourth in scoring defense, and is one of just two teams to give up less than five yards per play on average, despite having the third most defensive snaps in the league.
HSU is the second best in the league in terms of defensive efficiency, or the fewest points given up per 100 possessions. A large part of that stat is due to the effectiveness of the secondary, who have already intercepted eight opponent passes this season, best in the GAC. The Reddies are well ahead of pace to surpass last season's 13 interceptions.
Linebacker
Gerard Culotta continues to pace the Reddie defensive corps; he once again led Henderson in tackles in Saturday's win with nine, including 0.5 tackles for loss. The redshirt freshman from Montgomery, Texas ranks seventh in the GAC with 35 total tackles on the season.
Saturday's win in Weatherford was a rare game in which the HSU defense did not force a turnover. In fact, neither team turned the ball over. This was the first game in 2025 where Henderson did not either force and recover a fumble or intercept an opposing quarterback's pass.
REDDIES REPORT: SPECIAL TEAMS
Henderson State continues to lead the GAC in punt return yards and attempts. The Reddies are just one of two teams in the league to have more than 100 total punt return yards, and they remain the only team to have returned a punt for a touchdown in the GAC in 2025.
On the other side of the ball, the Reddies'
Axel Robertson has the second-highest average punt distance in league play this season. The senior from Katy, Texas is averaging just over 41 yards per game on 15 attempts.
THE OPPONENT: NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
Northwestern Oklahoma State comes into today's game with the worst scoring offense and defense in the GAC. The Rangers are averaging just over 10 points per game while allowing over 38. Their totals are slightly better, ranking 11th with 233 offensive yards per game and allowing 425 yards to opposing offenses.
NWOSU has struggled to find a consistent signal caller. They have already started and played four different quarterbacks through five games: Gunner McElroy started the first two games of the season, Caleb Deal started games three and four, and Jax Bernard earned the start against Southern Arkansas last week.
Statistically, Deal appears to be the best in the passing game, throwing for 397 yards and a touchdown so far this year. Deal is considered a dual-threat quarterback, as he ranks second on the team in total rushing yards behind starting running back Ezequiel Luna.
Linebacker Ayden Lewis leads the Rangers with 45 tackles, 21 more than the next closest player. Lewis ranks second in the league with 32 solo tackles.
The Rangers use a do-it-all kicker in Kale Purvis. Purvis is 3-4 on field goal attempts this year and boasts a long kick of 38 yards; he also is averaging over 47 yards per kickoff this season, and seven of his 21 punts have been downed inside the opponent 20-yard line. Purvis boasts a long punt of 55 yards.
THE COACHING MATCHUP
Henderson State head coach
Greg Holsworth enters his second season as head football coach, and looks to improve upon last season's 8-3 campaign. The eight wins were the most by a first-year head coach in program history, and also provided the best winning percentage by a first-year coach in school history.
Northwestern Oklahoma coach Ronnie Jones is in his third season with his alma mater. The NWOSU alum was a three-sport athlete for the Rangers, earning All-OIC honors in football, basketball, and track. His coaching career has spanned every level of football, from high school to the NFL.
THE LAST MEETING
Henderson State closed out the road portion of its 2024 schedule with a 44-10 win at Northwestern Oklahoma State
.
Jeremiah Davis opened up the game's scoring with his ninth rushing touchdown, while
Jalen Abraham added a score of his own on the ground.
Braxton Roberts posted the first touchdown of his career on a one-yard run to cap off Henderson's final drive of the game.
After outscoring the Rangers 16-3 in the first half, the Reddies rattled off 21 unanswered points across the third and fourth quarter.
Andrew Edwards threw three touchdown passes: one to Timeone Jackson and two to
Micah Greene.
On defense,
Jakobe Shell led the way with 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Dalan Hicks posted a solo sack, while
Leo Morris contributed half of a sack.
Axel Robertson recorded the first field goal make of his career on an attempt from more than 40 yards out in the second quarter.
LIVE STATS AND ADDITIONAL LIVE COVERAGE
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hsusports.com/coverage to view live stats and video coverage.
