KICKING OFF
With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, the Arkansas Tech football team is looking to close out their 2022 campaign strong. The schedule ahead, however, will prove to be challenging as three of their last four games will be on the road starting with this Saturday's game at Henderson State.
The Wonder Boys have already played three games on the road and are 1-2. Their win, however, came in their most-recent road trip and was one of the best overall performances by the team.
Tech will be entering the game at Henderson looking for revenge while also looking to play the role of spoiler.
The revenge part comes as the Wonder Boys nearly pulled off an upset of Henderson last year, losing to the nationally-ranked Reddies 41-38 in overtime. The spoiler part comes as this game is Henderson's homecoming game.
TECH TIDBITS
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Wonder Boys are averaging 30.3 points per game and 385.4 yards of total offense per game. Their ppg average ranks sixth in the GAC, while their total offense is currently 10th.
Junior transfer Taye Gatewood has been the starting quarterback in four of the seven games and has thrown for 536 yards on 45-of-87 passing with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Redshirt senior Jack Grissom has made the last three starts however and has appeared in five games total. He has thrown for 584 yards on 54-of-81 passing.
On the ground, the leading rusher so far has been Devontae Dean. Dean has 592 yards rushing on 76 carries and is averaging 7.8 yards per carry. As a team, the Wonder Boys have 19 rushing touchdowns. Deon Simmons leads the team in that category with five.
In terms of receiving, Tech is led by Joyrion Chase with 26 receptions for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Five other receivers have caught touchdown passes this season with Mason Ross, Matthew Rivera, Travis Tobey, Jordan Edington and Keon Simmons accounting for the other scores.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Wonder Boys have allowed an average of 459.7 yards of total offense per game by their opponents and 35.6 points per game. The total defense ranks 10th in the GAC, while the scoring defense is eighth.
In terms of takeaways, the Wonder Boys have forced nine turnovers with four interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
Individually, Matthew Minnix, Tyrus Fort and Christian Cole have over 35 tackles each. Fort has 50 stops to lead the team, while Minnix and Cole have 44 and 38, respectively. Victor Hill is the team-leader in tackles for lost yardage (8.0) and sacks (5.5). Jordan Furtch is responsible for two of the team's four INTs.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior kicker Jesus Zizumbo has 35 made field goals in his career and is four away from tying the record held by Piotr Styczen (1993-96). Earlier this year, Zizumbo tied a single-game record for longest field goal as he buried a 52-yard try against Southeastern Oklahoma.
ABOUT HENDERSON STATE
LAST GAME
The Henderson State Reddies come into Saturday's game on a major high as they went on the road and upset nationally-ranked Harding by a score of 15-14. The Reddies limited the potent Harding rushing attack to just 236 yards, their second-lowest total of the season. Henderson also out-scored the Bison 9-0 in the fourth quarter to secure the upset the victory.
THE COACH
The Reddies are coached by Scott Maxfield, who is in his 17th year as the head coach at Henderson State. In his time at the helm of HSU, Maxfield has amassed a 122-61 record and captured four conference championships (three GAC, one GSC) and has been named GAC Coach of the Year twice. Earlier this year, Maxfield became the winningest coach at Henderson State, surpassing Sporty Carpenter's 119 wins from 1971-89.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Reddies feature a spread offensive attack. Through their first eight games of year, HSU ranks 10th in scoring offense in the GAC at 28.3 ppg and has the seventh-ranked total offense with an average of 408.3 ypg. Through the air, the Reddies are averaging 230.4 ypg to rank fifth in the GAC. On the ground, HSU is averaging 177.9 ypg to rank seventh in the GAC.
The leading rusher thus far has been Korien Burrell with 588 yards gained. He also leads the team in rushing TDs with five.
In the passing game, the Reddies have played a pair of QBs in Andrew Edwards and Landon Ledbetter. Edwards has seen the most action at the position and has thrown for 1,166 yards with 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. Ledbetter has thrown for 447 yards with three TDs and two interceptions.
The leading receiver for HSU is Xavier Malone with 782 yards and nine touchdowns on 36 receptions.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Reddies base out of the 3-4 scheme and currently rank fourth in scoring defense, allowing 23.3 ppg. Their total defense ranks sixth in the GAC allowing 394.9 ypg of total offense by their opponents. Through the air, HSU ranks 12th in the GAC with 268.6 ypg. On the ground, the Reddies allow an average of 126.3 ypg and rank second in the GAC.
Individually, Henderson State has one player with 40 or more stops in Jakob Neel with 43. As a team, the Reddies have forced nine turnovers with five INTs and four fumble recoveries.
THE SERIES
This will be the 94th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Henderson State in a series that dates back to 1920. Remarkably, the all-time series has Henderson with a slight 45- 44-4. Playing almost annually as conference opponents in the AIC and GSC, Tech and HSU also became charter members of the GAC in 2011. In that time span, HSU leads the series 8-1. Dating back to when both schools made the jump to NCAA DII in 1995, HSU holds a 14- 11 lead.
