Third in a series previewing Arkansas’ teams in the Great American Conference.
The first five Great American Conference championships didn't leave Arkadelphia, and in the first week of the 2017 season, Henderson State University will face the team that ended that streak.
Henderson State won three out of the first five conference titles -- Ouachita Baptist University won the others -- but Harding University crashed the Arkadelphia party with its No. 1 rushing offense in NCAA Division II (362.8 yards per game) and went 11-0 in 2016, including a 35-3 victory over Henderson State.
At a glance
HENDERSON STATE
MASCOT Reddies
COACH Scott Maxfield (88-43 in 13th season at Henderson State and overall)
LAST SEASON 8-3 Great American Conference
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH QBs Evan Lassiter and Andrew Black
DEFENSIVE PLAYER TO WATCH LB Cameron Sonnier
NOTEWORTHY The Reddies were picked in the coaches poll to finish third in the Great American Conference. … Harding’s 2016 GAC championship was the first won by a school outside of Arkadelphia. … The walk from Henderson State’s Carpenter-Haygood Stadium to Ouachita Baptist’s Benson-Williams Field takes 17 minutes, according to Google Maps. … Ranked No. 13 in NCAA Division II in completion percentage with a 64.5 percentage and No. 28 in passing efficiency with a 148.93 rating. … Rush defense was second in the GAC and No. 43 in the nation with 125.2 yards given up per game. … Senior defensive end Sam Johnson was a first team All-GAC pick after leading the team with 87 tackles and 15 tackles for a loss, the conference’s second-highest total.
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
Aug. 31 at Harding 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 Arkansas Tech 6 p.m.
Sept. 16 NW Okla. State 6 p.m.
Sept. 23 at SW Okla. State 6 p.m.
Sept. 30 Southern Nazarene 2 p.m.
Oct. 7 at Oklahoma Baptist 1 p.m.
Oct. 14 at SE Okla. State 6 p.m.
Oct. 21 East Central 2 p.m.
Oct. 28 Southern Arkansas 2 p.m.
Nov. 4 at Arkansas-Monticello 3 p.m.
Nov. 11 Ouachita Baptist 1 p.m.
This year, Henderson State was picked by league coaches to finish third in the conference behind No. 1 Southern Arkansas University and No. 2 Harding.
"We've been on top for a while," Henderson State Coach Scott Maxfield, who is entering his 13th season, said. "Everyone's gotten better, which we knew would happen as the years went on in the conference. I think we stack up good with everybody. I think if we stay healthy, I think the Reddies will be there at the end."
Henderson State lost its top two running backs from last season, which leaves 6-0, 200-pound sophomore Micah Cooper. He rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown in last year's offense, which was No. 25 in the nation with 459.1 yards per game.
Maxfield has not named a starter at quarterback between senior Evan Lassiter (1,249 yards, 8 touchdowns, 1 interception) and redshirt junior Andrew Black (2,000 yards, 13 touchdowns, 12 interceptions). The two quarterbacks led a passing offense that was No. 18 in the nation with 297.8 yards per game last season.
"They haven't really separated a whole lot," Maxfield said. "They both deserve to play, and they'll both play."
With the Reddies' top two receivers gone, junior wide receiver Ben Johnson (380 yards, 2 touchdowns) said his position group has to "go out there and be ready."
"You go in knowing those guys are leaving," said Johnson, who is from Sapulpa, Okla. "So they put those expectations on us coming in. So you accept it, roll with it and make plays. That's all you can do."
The Henderson State defense returns All-GAC first-team junior linebacker Cameron Sonnier, who led the team with 87 tackles and 15 tackles for loss, and All-GAC second-team junior safety Sheldon Watson, who led the team with four interceptions that included a 74-yard touchdown return in a 45-17 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Watson said the Reddies have a "crazy" defensive line that includes Sam Johnson, another first team All-GAC pick who was second in the conference with six sacks.
Henderson State also picked up senior linebacker Paul Whitmill, who transferred from TCU after he played on special teams for three seasons.
"I think we got a lot of the same blueprint as we had in 2015 when we won the conference championship," Maxfield said. "We weren't as talented in skill positions maybe as the teams in 2012 and 2013, but I think we may have been tougher mentally than some of those teams. We knew how to win games close in the fourth quarter, and I think that's what it's going to take again this year."
Henderson State's 30-27 loss to Arkadelphia neighbor Ouachita Baptist likely kept the team out of the Division II playoffs.
"[Playoffs] were a possibility with two losses for us," Johnson said. "And it's exciting having a team that close always reminding you. You can always look up and be like, 'OK, I see the lights on. Someone's over there working.' "
Henderson State and OBU will play each other in the final game of the regular season, and the Reddies will open GAC play against Harding for the first time since 2011, when Henderson State won 35-21.
"It's a huge game," Maxfield said. "I think any time you play early in the season, it's the team that makes the fewest mistakes. That was one of the things we weren't pleased with last year against them. We turned the ball over six times against them, and you're not going to win."
Watson said the key to stopping Harding's triple-option Flexbone offense is discipline -- something he said his team lacked last season.
"That's what killed us last year," Watson said. "We were both 5-0 at the time, and then we were too hyped up, and they killed us in the long run. This year, we learned from our mistakes, and I feel like we'll come out all right."
Sports on 08/27/2017