Great American Conference
NO. 6 OUACHITA BAPTIST AT NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
WHEN 2 p.m. Central
WHERE Ranger Field, Alva, Okla.
RADIO Ouachita Football Network: FM-102.9, KARN (Little Rock), AM-1340/FM-97.9/FM-105.5 (KZNG, Hot Springs)
INTERNET obutigers.com
RECORDS Ouachita Baptist 4-0, 4-0; Northwestern Oklahoma State 0-4, 0-4
COACHES Todd Knight (136-98 in 23rd season at Ouachita Baptist and 164-130-2 in 29 seasons overall); Matt Walter (22-48 in eighth season at Northwestern Oklahoma State and overall)
SERIES Ouachita Baptist leads 10-3
LAST MEETING A 43-point first half gave way to a 64-17 thrashing for Ouachita Baptist on Oct. 2, 2021, at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia.
NOTEWORTHY No. 6 Ouachita Baptist, the only remaining unbeaten team in the GAC, leads the league in scoring (42.8 pts./game) and scoring defense (14.8 pts./game). ... Northwestern Oklahoma State allows a league-high 43.8 points, which is tied for 156th in NCAA Division II. ... T.J. Cole is coming off a game in which he ran for 85 yards against Harding, but his 574 yards on the ground rank fifth in the nation. ... Dual-threat quarterback Tanner Clarkson is 12th nationally in total offense (300.5 yds./game) for Northwestern State Oklahoma. ... Four players have attempted a pass this season for the Tigers, with Riley Harms leading with 40. ... Aaron Alejandro has a team-leading 31 tackles for the Rangers. ... After running for 177 yards last week, Ouachita Baptist dropped to No. 2 behind the Bisons for the country's rushing lead. The Tigers are now second with 305.2 yards while the Bisons are first with 331.8 yards.
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO AT SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
WHEN 2 p.m. Central
WHERE Flex-Chem Field at Milam Stadium, Weatherford, Okla.
RADIO KBHM-FM, 93.7, Monticello
INTERNET uamsports.com
RECORDS Arkansas-Monticello 3-1, 3-1; Southwestern Oklahoma State 2-2, 2-2
COACHES Hud Jackson (42-72 in 11th season at Arkansas-Monticello and overall); Josh Kirkland (2-2 in first season at Southwestern Oklahoma State and 8-8 in second season overall)
SERIES Tied 5-5
LAST MEETING Arkansas-Monticello held off a second-half rally to seize an 18-16 victory on Oct. 2, 2021, at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium in Monticello
NOTEWORTHY Arkansas-Monticello is one of three teams from the conference that rank in the top five nationally in rushing yards per game (287.5). ... After losing 13 games in a row, Southwestern Oklahoma State has now won two of its past three, including last week's 38-31 triumph over Oklahoma Baptist. ... Demilon Brown is second in the league in rushing (129.8 yds./game) and seventh in passing (191.3 yds./game) for the Boll Weevils. ... The 10 touchdown passes that Southwestern Oklahoma State quarterback Tylan Morton has thrown is tied for first in the GAC. ... There are eight players for Arkansas-Monticello that have at least 10 tackles each, led by Kaytron Allen's 30. ... Southwestern Oklahoma State kicker/punter Jaren Van Winkle was named the GAC Special Teams Player of the Week after the junior made three field goals last week. ... The Boll Weevills will face winless Northwestern Oklahoma State next week before playing a key battle at No. 6 Ouachita Baptist on Oct. 15.
SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE AT HENDERSON STATE
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at GeoSurfaces Field, Arkadelphia
RADIO Henderson State Network1Sports (FM-KYXK, FM-KVRC, FM-KDEL)
INTERNET hsusports.com
RECORDS Southeastern Oklahoma State 2-2, 2-2; Henderson State 3-1, 3-1
COACHES Tyler Fenwick (12-14 in 3rd season at Southeastern Oklahoma State and 49-44 in 10 seasons overall); Scott Maxfield (120-60 in 17th season at Henderson State and 143-71 in 19 seasons overall)
SERIES Henderson State leads 24-6
LAST MEETING A late field goal snapped a tie game and propelled Henderson State to a 27-24 win on Oct. 2, 2021, at Paul Laird Field in Durant, Okla.
NOTEWORTHY Wide receiver Xavier Malone has 20 catches for 481 yards and 6 touchdowns for Henderson State. The 6 scoring receptions are tops in the league. ... Southeastern Oklahoma State has the conference's top passer in Daulton Hatley, who's completed 100 of 161 passes for 1,353 yards with 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He had 389 yards and 3 scores a week ago in an upset loss to Southern Nazarene. ... Henderson State has won the past 11 games against the Savage Storm. The last time Southeastern Oklahoma State beat the Reddies was in 2009 – 54-28 – in Durant, Okla. ... Marquis Gray is tied for second in the conference with 28 receptions but has 596 yards receiving, more than anyone in GAC. ... Quarterback Andrew Edwards has thrown for 864 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Reddies, who'll play their next two games on the road after today. ... Southeastern Oklahoma State has the second highest scoring offense in the conference (36.5 pts./game) but allows 41.3 points, which is next to last. ... The 17 sacks the Reddies have accumulated is tied for fourth in the country.
SOUTHERN NAZARENE AT ARKANSAS TECH
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field, Russellville
RADIO KCJC-FM, 102.3, Russellville
INTERNET arkansastechsports.com
RECORDS Southern Nazarene 1-3, 1-3; Arkansas Tech 1-3, 1-3
COACHES Dustin Hada (2-17 in third season at Southern Nazarene and overall); Kyle Shipp (8-18 in third season at Arkansas Tech)
SERIES Arkansas Tech leads 7-1
LAST MEETING Arkansas Tech built a 30-point, third-quarter lead before beating Southern Nazarene 51-41 on Oct. 2, 2021, at SNU Football Stadium in Bethany, Okla.
NOTEWORTHY In last year's meeting, Arkansas Tech scored 37 points in the second quarter, with 23 of those coming in the final 4:25, to open up a huge lead and put the Crimson Storm in a hole. ... Southern Nazarene quarterback, Gage Porter is ninth in the nation in rushing yards (494). ... The Wonder Boys committed five turnovers -- all interceptions -- in their 35-14 loss to Arkansas-Monticello last week. Four of those picks came from quarterback Taye Gatewood. ... Southern Nazarene has the worst red zone defense in the conference while Arkansas Tech is 11th out of 12 teams in red zone offense. ... Arkansas Tech's Deon Simmons has scored a touchdown in three of the team's four games. ... Southern Nazarene's 45-34 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Sept. 24 was the program's first victory away from home since 2018. ... Arkansas Tech's only loss in the series came in 2019 when it was beaten 41-24 at Bethany, Okla. ... The Crimson Storm ran for a school-record 451 yards in its last game.
OKLAHOMA BAPTIST AT HARDING
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy
RADIO KVHU-FM, 95.3, Searcy
INTERNET hardingsports.com
RECORDS Oklahoma Baptist 1-3, 1-3; Harding 3-1, 3-1
COACHES Chris Jensen (39-54 in 10th season at Oklahoma Baptist and overall; Paul Simmons (44-12 in fifth season at Harding and overall)
SERIES Harding leads 6-0
LAST MEETING Harding scored the final 31 points to erase an early deficit to take a 31-7 victory on Oct. 2, 2021, at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Athletic Complex in Shawnee, Okla.
NOTEWORTHY No. 16 Harding is looking to build a new conference winning streak after having its 12-game run snapped against No. 6 Ouachita Baptist. ... Oklahoma Baptist is the third least penalized team in the GAC. ... Harding has run for 1,327 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Bisons also average 5.85 yards per carry. ... Quarterback Dayton Wolfe is 74 of 130 for 827 yards and 5 touchdowns for Oklahoma Baptist. His leading receiver, Keilahn Harris, has 25 catches for 431 yards and 3 scores. ... Five players have at least 141 yards on the ground for Harding. Jhalen Spicer, who had 128 yards in a 21-13 loss last week, leads the team with 310 yards on 24 carries. Will Fitzhugh has 53 attempts for 208 yards while Cole Keylon has 196 yards on 43 carries. ... Oklahoma Baptist allows nearly 253 yards rushing. ... The last time the teams played in Searcy, Harding rolled 56-7 behind 457 yards on the ground.
EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) AT SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
WHEN 2:30 p.m.
WHERE Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field, Magnolia
RADIO KVMH, FM-99.1, Magnolia
INTERNET muleriderathletics.com
RECORDS East Central (Okla.) 2-2, 2-2; Southern Arkansas 2-2, 2-2
COACHES Kris McCullough (2-2 in first season at East Central (Okla.) and overall); Brad Smiley (2-2 in first season at Southern Arkansas and overall)
SERIES Southern Arkansas leads 14-8
LAST MEETING East Central (Okla.) ran for more than 200 yards in posting a 38-17 victory on Oct. 2, 2021, at Koi Ishto Stadium in Ada, Okla.
NOTEWORTHY The 28-24 win over Henderson State on Sept. 24 was the first time Southern Arkansas beat the Reddies at home since 2005 when they staged a 35-23 victory. ... East Central Oklahoma Coach Kris McCullough is a native of Pine Bluff and owns degrees from both Henderson State and Arkansas State University. ... Five of the last six battles between the teams have been won by Southern Arkansas, including a 48-9 decision in their previous matchup in Magnolia during the 2018 season. ... Kenny Hrncir is eighth in the conference in total offense (214.8 yds./game) while Nemier Herod is 10th in all-purpose yardage (91.3 yds./game). ... Southern Arkansas' leading runner, Jariq Scales, is averaging 4.5 yards per carry. ... La'Quan Wells has half (3) East Central's touchdown catches. JayQuan Lincoln, Jawan King and Hrncir each have one. ... Jacob Berry has 33 tackles for Southern Arkansas.
NAIA
Arkansas Baptist at Southwest Assemblies of God
WHEN 2 p.m. Central
WHERE Lumpkins Stadium, Waxahachie, Texas
RECORDS Arkansas Baptist 2-2; Southwest Assemblies of God 1-2
COACHES Richard Wilson (record N/A in 15th season at Arkansas Baptist); Greg Ellis (1-2 in first season at Southwest Assemblies of God)
SERIES Southwest Assemblies of God leads 1-0
LAST MEETING A close game turned into a rout when Southwest Assemblies of God scored 23 points in the third quarter to pull away and win 50-6 on Oct. 2, 2021, in Little Rock.
LAST WEEK Arkansas Baptist was held scoreless over the final three quarters of a 45-8 loss to No. 25 Langston while Arizona Christian overcame an early deficit to beat Southwest Assemblies of God 28-20.
NOTEWORTHY Arkansas Baptist was within 14-8 last week against No. 25 Langston following a second-quarter touchdown catch from Ro Jackson, but the Buffaloes didn't score again. ... Greg Ellis, who spent 12 years playing in the NFL, was the head coach at Texas College before he was hired in the summer to take over for Ryan Smith at Southwest Assemblies of God. ... Atavian Ray ran 15 times for 98 yards to lead the Buffaloes in their previous game. Andarius Wilson led Arkansas Baptist in tackles with 10 while both Keandre Bynum and Jukhari Mosley recorded sacks. ... Briley Green has completed 45 of 113 passes for 624 yards, 6 touchdowns and 8 interceptions for Southwest Assemblies of God, which averages just under 20 points and 274 yards of offense. ... In last year's meeting, the Lions ran for 357 yards and scored 6 rushing touchdowns, 5 of which came in the second half.
Lyon at Langston
WHEN 2 p.m. Central
WHERE W.E. Anderson Stadium, Langston, Okla.
RECORDS Lyon College 1-3, 0-3 Sooner Athletic Conference; Langston 4-0, 3-0 Sooner Athletic Conference
COACHES Chris Douglas (3-15 in third season at Lyon); Quinton Morgan (51-14 in eighth season at Langston)
SERIES Langston leads 7-0
LAST MEETING Langston scored 21 points in the second half to run past Lyon 30-0 on Oct. 2, 2021, in Batesville.
LAST WEEK A fourth-quarter touchdown allowed Oklahoma Panhandle State to escape and beat Lyon 26-19 while Langston rumbled past Arkansas Baptist 45-8.
NOTEWORTHY After receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25, Langston finally broke through and is ranked No. 25 after winning its first four games. ... Lyon watched a 10-point, first-quarter lead evaporate against Oklahoma Panhandle State. The Scots battled back to tie it at 19-19 in the fourth on a touchdown run from Aedan Huntsman before losing. ... Markell Scott rushed 19 times for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns in Langston's win over Arkansas Baptist. ... Isaiah Bradford was 5-of-28 passing for 85 yards and was sacked 3 times in Lyon's loss on Sept. 24. The Scots had 154 yards of offense and punted on 10 of their 14 possessions. ... Both teams have afternoon games the remainder of the year, with the exception of each having 9 p.m. contests at Arizona Christian.