ARKADELPHIA — It figures to be worth the wait.
Henderson State put the final touches on its NCAA Division II playoff resume with a 21-17 Great American Conference victory over cross-street rival Ouachita Baptist in the 89th Battle of the Ravine before an announced crowd of 9,868 on Saturday afternoon at Cliff Harris Stadium.
The Reddies (10-1, 10-1 GAC) closed the regular season with nine consecutive victories and handed the Tigers (7-4, 7-4) their first regular-season loss in Cliff Harris Stadium, christened last fall following a massive renovation.
Henderson now awaits today’s NCAA Division II playoff selection announcement.
The Reddies, who were already outright GAC champions, entered No. 8 in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, but, more important, No. 4 in Super Region 3.
HENDERSON STATE 21, OUACHITA BAPTIST 17
The top seven teams from four regions nationally advance to the playoffs, with the top seed receiving a firstround bye and the next three highest-ranked seeds securing a first-round home game.
Henderson Coach Scott Maxfield said he believes it’s an open-and-shut case for his team.
“I think there’s no doubt about it,” Maxfield said. “We’ll have the home-field advantage. If it’s not, it’s a travesty.”
Henderson never trailed Saturday, but had to lean hard on the third-down magic of 5-foot-10 junior quarterback Dallas Hardison and its defense in the final quarter to preserve a fifth victory over Ouachita in the last six seasons.
The Reddies were 13 of 18 on third-down conversions, including 4 of 7 in the fourth quarter.
Protecting a 21-17 lead, Henderson ran out the game’s final 5:49 after Hardison completed a 3-yard pass to senior wide receiver Mark Czaus for a first down on third-and-3 from the Reddies’ 17 and a 24-yard pass to senior wide receiver Joseph Snapp for another first down on thirdand-12 from the Reddies’ 18.
On the 24-yard completion, Hardison eluded a blitzing defender and lofted the pass to Snapp, who made the reception despite being tightly covered by sophomore cornerback Shaquille Hunter.
Henderson iced the game when junior tailback Jaquan Cole, playing with a lower leg injury, swept left end for 7 yards on third-and-7 from the Henderson 45.
“We’ve got a lot of blue-collar guys, probably guys that a lot of people didn’t recruit because they didn’t look like a prototypical college football player,” Maxfield said. “They’re guys that have stepped up. They’ve been in our program for a while and have done a great job.”
Ouachita was within 21-17 following freshman tailback Kris Oliver’s 2-yard touchdown run with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter.
The Tigers couldn’t capitalize on favorable field position in the fourth quarter (drives started at their 34 and 42 and the Reddies’ 36).
“We had our chances right there,” Ouachita Coach Todd Knight said. “We had our chances about three times. I thought our defense really stepped it up, picked it up, and played really well in the third and fourth quarter. They made the plays down the line, and we didn’t make them at the end.”
Henderson finished with a 360-237 advantage in total yardage.
Cole rushed 25 times for 89 yards. Sophomore tailback Rodney Bryson ran 7 times for 45 yards and a 5-yard touchdown that extended Henderson’s 14-10 halftime lead to 21-10 with 10:33 remaining in the third quarter.
Senior tailback Ryan Mc-Donald scored Henderson’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
Hardison completed 22 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a 5-yard touchdown to Czaus, who made a one-handed stab in the left flat to give Henderson the lead for good 14-7, with three minutes left in the first half.
Ouachita freshman Cole Antley kicked a 25-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the second quarter to make it 14-10 at halftime.
Oliver finished with 89 yards rushing on 21 carries.
Sophomore quarterback Austin Warford completed 8 of 19 passes for 80 yards and ran 16 times for 63 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
“Our defense came through when it had to,” Maxfield said.
Henderson leads the overall series 43-40-6.
The Reddies are 40-4 in GAC games since the league was formed in 2011, also winning outright conference titles in 2012 and 2013.
Ouachita was outright GAC champion in 2011 and 2014.
ARKANSAS TECH 27, HARDING 24
Bryan Allen scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:26 left in the game go give the Wonder Boys the victory at Thone Stadium in Russellville. Arkansas Tech erased a 14-point fourth-quarter for the come-from behind victory in the final regular-season game of the season for both teams. Harding (7-4, 7-4 Great American Conference) led 24-10 with just under 11 minutes left but a snap on a Bisons field goal attempt sailed over the head of the holder and was recovered by Tech’s Nick Akins who returned it 67 yards for a touchdown to trim the deficit to 24-17. Tech’s Eric Perez made a 36-yard field goal with 6:38 left to cut Harding’s lead to 24-20. The Wonder Boys (8-3, 8-3) held Harding on fourth down at the Tech 46 on the ensuing possession. The Wonder Boys drove 54 yards with Allen scoring the game-winning touchdown with from the 3. Harding led 17-7 at halftime.
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 49,
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 29
Hunter Leppert threw for a career-high 420 passing yards for Arkansas-Monticello, but it wasn’t enough in both teams’ season-finale at Wilkins Stadium in Magnolia. After a 14-14 halftime tie, SAU (7-4, 7-4 Great American Conference) outscored UAM (1-10, 1-10) 21-0 in the third quarter, including Jonathan Weisheit’s 46-yard punt return for a touchdown to lead 35-14 going into the fourth.
Barrett Renner threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Weisheit and a 29-yard scoring throw to Tevin McDonald to give the Muleriders a 49-21 lead after Leppert started the fourth-quarter scoring with a 1-yard dive to get the Boll Weevils to within 35-21.
UAM’s Cole Sears scored on a 1-yard run with 57 seconds left in the game for the final margin.
Sports on 11/15/2015