ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Reddie Football hits the road for the first time this season, as they head to Shawnee, Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma Baptist Bison. Henderson State is 9-0 all time against the Bison.
Â
STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
The Reddies scored 28 unanswered points last Thursday in the 48-13 win over Southern Nazarene. The four fourth quarter scores included a punt return touchdown, a fumble return touchdown, a rushing touchdown, and a passing touchdown.
The 80 yard punt return touchdown by
Taylin Paskel was the first punt returned for a score since 2019. Braden Boykin returned a Southwestern Oklahoma punt 78 yards.
Â
REDDIES REPORT: OFFENSE
Henderson State's offense was effective driving the ball up and down the field against Southern Nazarene, yet struggled to put the ball in the end zone until the waning seconds of the second quarter.
Andrew Edwards connected with
Micah Greene in the front corner of the end zone to give the Reddies a two possession lead going into the half.
Edwards completed passes to nine different Reddie receivers in Thursday's win, with each of his three touchdown passes going to different players. The dual threat senior also had 16 yards rushing on nine carries.
Cayden Davis was the leading receiver for Henderson last week, hauling in five catches for 77 yards. Last season's All-American hauled in a 38 yard completion to help set up the Reddies' lone touchdown drive of the first half.
Five different Reddies had at least one rushing attempt against the Crimson Storm. UAPB transfer
Chris Gannaway scored the lone rushing touchdown.Â
Trent Haygood introduced himself well to the Henderson fans, gaining 49 yards on the ground in just four carries. The freshman from Camden impressed with his speed and agility, particularly on a 28 yard gain that helped set up a touchdown on the first possession of the second half.
Starting running back
Jeremiah Davis was the bellcow for the Reddie run game, amassing 55 yards on nine carries, including a powerful first run of the game where he broke multiple tackles resulting in a 10 yard rush and a first down.
 Â
REDDIES REPORT: DEFENSE – SPECIAL TEAMS
The Reddie defense wreaked havoc in Thursday's win, tackling Crimson Storm players for a loss seven times, including three sacks of quarterback Bryson Evans.
Lanard Harris made his presence felt in his first game in a Reddie uniform; the senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana led the team with seven tackles in the win Thursday, six of which were solo stops.Â
Leo Morris and
Yossif Gamel each recorded five or more tackles in the week one win; both Morris and Gamel were credited with half a sack, while the two combined for 2.5 tackles for loss.Â
Kicker
Ryan McDonnell made a name for himself the first time he stepped onto the field in a Reddie uniform. The redshirt junior nailed a school record 51-yard field goal to open up the scoring for the Reddies in Thursday's win. He also hit a 44-yard attempt and was a perfect 6-for-6 in extra points.
Special teams also was credited with a touchdown thanks to
Taylin Paskel's 80-yard punt return touchdown. The redshirt freshman returned four punts for a total of 93 yards.Â
THE COACHING MATCHUP
Henderson State head coachÂ
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.Â
Chris Jensen has been the only coach at Oklahoma Baptist since football was restored in 2013. He is 47-76 as the head coach on Bison Hill, and has coached four seasons with at least six wins; his two best teams were eight win programs in 2014 and 2021.
Â
THE LAST MEETING
Henderson State bounced back from the road loss at #1 Harding with a home drubbing of Oklahoma Baptist, 52-7.Â
Jody Easter took the opening kickoff back 93 yards for a touchdown and began a day of big plays resulting in touchdowns. His play earned him GAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.
Andrew Edwards connected with five different receivers for touchdowns; the junior quarterback threw for 242 yards and six touchdowns on the day. He was named GAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Bison.
The Reddie defense spent a lot of time in the OKBU backfield, compiling seven tackles for loss and two sacks. Five different players were credited with at least five sacks, while six players made tackles for loss.
LIVE STATS AND ADDITIONAL LIVE COVERAGE
Visit hsusports.com/coverage to access live stats of Saturday's game.Â
In order to watch the stream of the Henderson State versus Oklahoma Baptist football game, fans will need to visit https://team1sports.com/obubison/ and pay $10 for a single day pass. There are additional packages offered for the fall, winter and spring seasons, as well as All-Access passes to view all Henderson events happening in Shawnee for the 2025-26 season. Fans may visit thisÂ
LINKÂ for more information.
Â
