Arkansas Tech at Harding
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy
RADIO KWKK-FM, 100.9, in Russellville, KVHU-FM, 95.3, in Searcy
INTERNET arkansastechsports.com, hardingsports.com
RECORDS Arkansas Tech (3-7, 3-6 Great American Conference); Harding (8-1, 8-1)
RANKINGS Harding is No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 poll, No 16 in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II coaches poll and No. 23 in the D2football.com poll.
COACHES Arkansas Tech: Raymond Monica (8-13 in third season at Tech and 53-47 in ninth season overall); Harding: Ronnie Huckeba (48-34 in eighth season at Harding and overall)
SERIES Arkansas Tech leads 30-21.
LAST MEETING Harding won 28-17 in 2o13.
LAST WEEK Arkansas Tech lost 22-5 to Southeastern Oklahoma State. Harding defeated East Central (Okla.) 41-14.
COMMENTS The Bisons have won the past three meetings overall and have won four of the past five meetings in Searcy. … Harding has overwhelmingly outscored its opponents in every quarter this season, but the greatest difference comes in the second half where the Bisons have outscored opponents 195-25. … Harding has won 25 games in the past two-plus seasons. The Bisons won 18 games over the past two seasons, breaking the previous school record of 17 victories in 1972-1973. … Harding ranks fifth in Division II in time of possession. The Bisons average 34:57 of possession per game and have won the time of possession battle in eight of its nine games.
— Frankie Frisco
Ouachita Baptist at Henderson State
WHEN 3 p.m.
WHERE Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, Arkadelphia
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Little Rock; KYXK-FM, 106.9, in Arkadelphia; KZYP-FM, 1007.7, and KZYP-AM, 1310, in Malvern, KHTE-FM, 96.5, in Little Rock; KHTO-FM, 96.7, in Hot Springs; KFMD-FM, 105.3, and KFMD-AM, 1340, in Springdale/Rogers; KAMD-FM, 97.1, in Camden; KNAS-FM, 105.5, in Nashville; KQOR-FM, 105.3, in Mena
INTERNET obutigers.com; hsusports.com
RECORDS Ouachita (9-0, 9-0 Great American Conference); Henderson (9-1, 8-1)
RANKINGS Ouachita is No. 9 in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II coaches poll, No. 2 in the Division II Super Region 3 poll and 21st in the D2football.com poll; Henderson is No. 14 in the AFCA coaches poll, No. 9 in the Super Region 3 poll and No. 10 in the D2football.com poll.
COACHES Ouachita: Todd Knight (75-82 in sixth season at OBU, 103-114-2 in 22 seasons overall); Henderson: Scott Maxfield (69-37 in 10 seasons at HSU, 98-48 in 13 seasons overall)
SERIES Henderson leads 42-39-6.
LAST MEETING Henderson won 60-52 in three overtimes in 2013.
LAST WEEK Ouachita defeated Arkansas-Monticello 47-10. Henderson defeated Southern Arkansas 55-41.
COMMENTS The 88th Battle of the Ravine. It’s the oldest college football rivalry in the state and in Division II, and the 17th oldest in all of college football. … Henderson has won the past four games in the series, the longest winning streak in the series since the Reddies won seven consecutive (1989-1992, 1996-1998). … Of the 87 games in the series, 39 have been decided by a touchdown or less. Among those games, Ouachita has won 19 and there have been six ties. … Today’s game marks the 10th time one of the teams has entered with an unbeaten record. The only other time Ouachita was undefeated was in 1914 (8-0). That year’s game ended in a 0-0 tie. Henderson has entered the OBU game unbeaten seven times, including the previous two years, and has a 4-2-1 record in those games. The teams have opened the season against each other six times… Ouachita is 9-0 for the first time. The Tigers have clinched a share of the Great American Conference title and can earn the outright title and their first trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs with a victory today. … Ouachita senior quarterback Kiehl Frazier has completed 117 of 197 passes for 1,579 yards, 15 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, the fewest interceptions among starters in the conference. … Tigers senior running back Steven Kehner ranks second in the GAC with 954 rushing yards, 106.0 per game. … OBU’s Zack Mitchell leads the conference with five interceptions. … OBU ranks second in the GAC with a +14 turnover margin. Henderson is a distant third at +5. … Henderson State senior quarterback Kevin Rodgers was named GAC offensive player of the week for the 14th time in his career after passing for 509 yards and five touchdowns last week. It was the fourth time Rodgers has topped 500 yards in a game in his career, and he has now surpassed 3,000 passing yards for the third consecutive season (3,289). … Also against SAU, three Reddies surpassed 100 receiving yards in a game for the second time in school history: Joseph Snapp (8 catches, 139 yards, 1 touchdown), Darius Davis (5-173-2) and James Jackson (3-103-1). … Davis now has 18 touchdown catches this season, breaking his school record of 16 set last season. His 23.1-yards-per-catch average leads Division II. … Rodgers? 13,365 career passing yards are school and conference records, the most ever by a collegiate quarterback in the state, and rank sixth all-time in Division II. He needs 161 today to move past West Texas A&M?s Dustin Vaughan (2010-2013) into fifth place. … HSU sophomore linebacker Josh Davis was named the GAC defensive player of the week. Against SAU, Davis had 14 tackles, including 2 for losses, and 1 sack.
— Steve Rogers
Southern Arkansas at Arkansas-Monticello
WHEN 3 p.m.
WHERE Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Bowl Stadium, Monticello
RADIO KHBM-FM, 93.7 in Monticello; KVMZ-FM, 99.1, in Magnolia
INTERNET uamsports.com, muleriderathletics.com
RECORDS SAU (4-5, 4-5 Great American Conference); UAM (2-7, 2-7)
COACHES SAU: Bill Keopple (25-35 in sixth season at SAU and overall); UAM: Hud Jackson (12-29 in fourth season at UAM and overall)
SERIES SAU leads 42-39-6.
LAST MEETING SAU won 44-20 in 2013.
LAST WEEK SAU lost 55-41 to Henderson State. UAM lost 47-10 to Ouachita Baptist.
COMMENTS This is the third annual Battle of the Timberlands. SAU has won the first two installments of the newly-named rivalry, created prior to the 2012 season. Though the name for the rivalry is new, the series between UAM and SAU in football dates back to the 1913 season and has been played 89 times prior. SAU won the initial Battle of the Timberlands 30-14 in the fourth week of the 2012 season. The last UAM victory in the series came in the 2010 season, a 28-23 victory over the Muleriders in the Boomtown Classic played in El Dorado. …UAM enters ranked seventh in the league in scoring and total offense, while ranking ninth in points allowed and total defense. … The Weevils have had the most success this year in the passing game, ranking fourth in the league in pass offense and first in the league in pass defense. … UAM is led by junior quarterback Hunter Leppert, who has completed 164 passes for 1,829 yards with 12 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. He is fourth in the GAC in total offense at nearly 250 yards per game. … SAU’s offense is led by dual-threat quarterback Si Blackshire, who is tops in the GAC in total offense per game, averaging 331.7 yards per contest. Blackshire has totaled 2,682 passing yards and 303 rushing yards throughout nine games this year. He ranks second in the league in passing at 298.0 yards per game with a total of 26 passing touchdowns. … SAU has completed passes to 15 different receivers this year, led by Zikerious Ware with 44 receptions for 741 yards and 7 touchdowns.
— Frankie Frisco