Ouachita Baptist vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State
WHEN 1 p.m.
WHERE Cliff Harris Stadium, Arkadelphia
RADIO 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
RECORDS OBU (3-0, 3-0 GAC); SW Okla. State (2-2, 2-2)
COACHES OBU: Todd Knight (98-113-2 in 16 seasons at OBU and overall); SW Oklahoma State: Dan Cocannouer (20-38 in sixth season at SW Okla. State and overall)
SERIES OBU leads 7-3
LAST MEETING OBU won 31-14 in 2013.
LAST WEEK OBU beat Southeastern Oklahoma State 35-29; SW Okla. State lost to Arkansas-Monticello 33-14.
COMMENTS OBU ranks second in NCAA Division II in third-down conversions, making 29 of 48 (60.4 percent) in the first three games. ... The Tigers have shown balance offensively through three games. They are averaging 488.0 yards per game -- 255.7 rushing and 232.3 passing. ... Senior running back Steven Kehner has seven touchdown runs and is averaging 130.3 rushing yards per game. ... Senior quarterback Kiehl Frazier has completed 67.1 percent of his passes (53-79) for 676 yards (225.3 per game) with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception. ... Senior Zack Mitchell has five interceptions and his 1.7 per-game average ranks second in Division II. ... In last year's game, OBU held the Bulldogs to 133 total yards, including 39 passing yards on 6-of-23 passing. ... For the second year in a row, the teams will be playing for the Paul Sharp Cup. Sharp is the Bulldogs' winningest coach, earning 92 victories in 1986-2004, including the 1996 NAIA national title. He also earned a bachelor's of science degree from OBU in 1975 and master's of science in 1977.
Henderson State vs. Northwestern Oklahoma 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
INTERNET hsusports.com
RECORDS HSU (4-0, 3-0 GAC); NW Okla. State (1-3, 1-3)
RANKINGS HSU is No. 7 in the AFCA Division II coaches poll and No. 4 in the D2football.com poll.
COACHES HSU: Scott Maxfield (64-36 in 10 year at HSU, 93-47 in 14th year overall); NW Okla. State: Alan Hall (7-19 in third season and overall).
SERIES Tied 1-1
LAST MEETING HSU won 42-0 in 2013.
LAST WEEK HSU beat East Central (Okla.) 44-27; NW Okla. State lost to Southern Arkansas 62-21.
COMMENTS Fifteen HSU players have recorded receptions through four games. Junior Joseph Snapp of Van Buren leads the way with 27 catches for 367 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Darius Davis, the school and conference leader for receiving yards and touchdown receptions, has 20 catches for 419 yards and 8 touchdowns. Junior Mark Czaus has 16 catches for 151 yards and 2 scores. Senior Dustin Holland of Bryant, who is fourth on HSU's career receiving yards list, has 14 catches for 99 yards and 1 score. ... Freshman Houston Ray was named the GAC special teams player of the week after kicking three fields and five extra points last week. ... Senior quarterback Kevin Rodgers has 11,333 career passing yards, which is an Arkansas college record and ranks 16th on the Division II all-time list. He has completed 69.2 percent of his passes this season (108-156). ... HSU's defense has recorded 14 quarterback sacks in four games, including two each by senior end Glennon Bobo of Ashdown and sophomore linebacker Josh Davis of El Dorado. Junior linebacker Lawson Schulz leads HSU with 23 tackles, 13 unassisted. Senior defensive back Wesley Bradley as 22 tackles and Davis has 21.
Harding vs. Southern Arkansas
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy
RADIO KVHU-FM, 95.3, in Searcy, KVMZ-FM, 99.1, in Magnolia
INTERNET hardingsports.com, muleriderathletics.com
RECORDS Harding (3-0, 3-0 GAC), Southern Arkansas (2-2, 2-2)
RANKINGS Harding is No. 15 in the AFCA Division II coaches poll and No. 19 in the
D2football.com poll
COACHES Harding: Ronnie Huckeba (43-33 in eighth season at Harding and overall); Southern Arkansas: Bill Keopple (23-32 in sixth season at SAU and overall)
SERIES SAU leads 25-24-1
LAST MEETING Harding won 28-14 in 2013.
LAST WEEK Harding won 58-0 at Southern Nazarene; Southern Arkansas won 62-21 vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State
COMMENTS Harding has the No.1-ranked total defense in NCAA Division II. The Bisons are allowing opponents 111.3 yards through the air and 16.0 yards on the ground, plus they are allowing 4.3 points per game, second best in Division II. ... Harding is the No. 2 rushing team in Division II, averaging 365.7 yards a game. ... SAU quarterback Si Blackshire was last week's GAC offensive player of the week, throwing for a school-record six touchdowns against Northwestern Oklahoma State. ... Blackshire is 20th in Division II in total offense and has 16 touchdowns (12 passing, four rushing.) ... Harding outscored SAU 14-0 in the second half of last year's victory with Bison running back Romo Westbrook rushing for 172 yards and 1 touchdown on 21 carries. ... Now a senior, Westbrook is averaging 5.0 yards per carry in 2014, but he is second on the team in rushing yards behind senior Alapeti Magalei (224-222).
Arkansas Monticello at Arkansas Tech
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field, Russellville
RADIO KWKK-FM, 100.9 in Russellville, KHBM-FM, 93.7 in Monticello
INTERNET arkansastechsports.com, uamsports.com
RECORDS Arkansas Tech (2-2, 2-1 GAC), UAM (1-3, 1-3)
COACHES Arkansas Tech: Raymond Monica (7-8 in second season at Arkansas Tech, 52-42 in nine seasons overall); UAM: Hud Jackson (12-25 in fourth season at UAM and overall).
SERIES Arkansas Tech leads leads 43-25-3
LAST MEETING UAM won 34-0 in 2013.
LAST WEEK Arkansas Tech lost 61-7 at McNeese State; UAM won 33-14 vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State.
COMMENTS UAM's Mike Early was last week's GAC defensive player of the week when he had two interceptions, one he returned for a touchdown in a 33-14 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State. Early was also the conference's special teams player of the week after returning two kickoffs for touchdowns against East Central (Okla.) in the opening game of the season. ... UAM is looking for its first road victory since joining the GAC in 2011. ... UAM junior quarterback Hunter Leppert leads the GAC in total offense at just over 319 yards per game. ... Arkansas Tech's defense leads NCAA Division II with 11 interceptions and 16 turnovers forced. ... The Wonder Boys won five consecutive games over the Boll Weevils between 2004-2010, but UAM has won two of the last three meetings, including a 34-0 thumping last season. ... Arkansas Tech junior linebacker leads the GAC in tackles with 45 (11.2 a game). ... The Wonder Boys punted a GAC-season high 11 times in last week's loss at McNeese State.
Sports on 10/04/2014