KICKING OFF - TECH TIDBITS
One of the youngest teams in the Great American Conference last season, the Arkansas Tech football team is a year older and poised to continue to improve under fourth-year head coach Kyle Shipp.
In his second season of action at his alma mater, Shipp guided the Wonder Boys to an improved 4-7 overall record. Two of the losses last season very well could have gone the other way as the Wonder Boys lost by three points on the road at East Central and by three points at home in overtime against a ranked Henderson State team.
This season, Shipp and company will be relying on the return of 16 starters across both sides of the ball as well as key cogs on special teams.
On offense, the Wonder Boys bring back an experienced offensive line with seven linemen having started at least one game. Highlighted among that group are Jacob Cato, Cameron Hataway and Garrett Jaster. All three started each game and played multiple positions on the line.
The Wonder Boys also bring back a pair of weapons in the passing game in Joyrion Chase and Mason Ross. The two combined for 1,125 yards on 85 receptions and totaled six touchdowns.
The unproven areas on offense for the Wonder Boys will be in the backfield at running back and quarterback. Tech's top-two rushers graduated leaving Keon Simmons' 191 net rushing yards as the most returning. Short-yardage situations remain lethal, however, with the return of tight end Jordan Edington and his five rushing scores.
Under center, the Wonder Boys have just one player returning that threw a pass last season (punter Aaron Winn one pass attempt). Despite that, competition for the starting nod during camp has been high-level. Vying for the job are a pair of transfers in Taye Gatewood and Hunter Loyd. Also in the mix is returning letterman, Jack Grissom. Grissom has been with the program since 2019, but hasn't played in a regular season game.
Defensively, the Wonder Boys return a good mix of starters at all three levels.
On the line, the Wonder Boys return Carson Holloway, De'Veyon Smith and Trey White. At linebacker, Tech returns Christian Cole and Matthew Minnix. In the secondary, Matt Arnold, Tyrus Fort and Trayon Jones all return.
Fort, Cole and Minnix were three of the top-four tacklers from a year ago. Holloway, Smith and White each had at least 2.0 sacks.
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA
LAST SEASON
Southeastern Oklahoma had the biggest turnaround of any Division II football team as they went from 1-10 in 2019 to 9-3 in 2021. During the regular season and knocked off a pair of ranked teams and perennial GAC powers in Harding and Ouachita Baptist. That impressive regular season garnered the Savage Storm a berth into the Farmers Bank and Trust Live United Bowl, a game that they went on to win, 37-34.
THE COACH
The Savage Storm are coached by Tyler Fenwick, who enters into his fourth season as head coach at Southeastern. In just his second season of action, Fenwick engineered a tremendous turnaround from his 1-10 rookie season with a 9-3 showing in 2021. That eight-game swing in the win column has brought his record at Southeastern to 10-13. Prior to arriving in Durant, Fenwick spent six seasons as head coach at Missouri S&T. While there, Fenwick registered a record of 37-29 which was capped off with a 10-win season his final year in 2018. Overall, he has a 47-42 record and is entering his 10th season as a head football coach.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Savage Storm feature a multiple offensive attack. Last year, the Savage Storm had the fourth-ranked total offense in the league (409.9 ypg), ranking third in passing yards (255.1 ypg) and seventh in rushing (154.8 ypg). In terms of scoring offense, the Savage Storm ranked fifth in the GAC with an average of 34.2 points per game.
In 2021, Daulton Hatley attempted all but four of Southeastern's passes. He would have a breakout year and ranked third in the GAC in passing yards per game (265.5). Hatley would total over 3,000 yards through the air and tossed 27 touchdowns against just five interceptions while completing over 64% of his throws.
The top pass-catcher was Braxton Kincade, who hauled in 60 receptions for 763 yards and nine touchdowns. Three other receivers had at last 30 receptions and multiple touchdowns to compliment Kincade.
On the ground, CJ Shavers was the primary running back as he led the team in carries (147) and net yards gained (862). The top scoring running back, however, was Deundre Wheeler as he found the endzone 14 times.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Savage Storm base out of the 3-4 scheme. Last year, they ranked third in the GAC in total defense, allowing 369.8 yards per game. On the ground, the Savage Storm ranked fourth in the league giving up an average of 162.2 yards per game. Through the air, Southeastern had the seventh-ranked pass defense allowing 207.5 yards per game.
Overall, the Savage Storm's 2021 defensive unit came away 17 takeaways with nine fumble recoveries and eight interceptions.
Individually, the Savage Storm had six players with at least 40 stops and were led by Scooter Baker with 78. The Savage Storm also had the GAC Defensive Player of the Year in Maalik Hall. Hall would total 54 tackles and registered 12.0 tackles for loss with 6.0 coming as sacks.
THE SERIES
This will be the 22nd meeting all-time between Tech and Southeastern in a series that dates back to 1957. Overall, the series is led by Tech 14-6-1. In games played in Durant, the series is much closer, but Tech still holds an advantage 5-3.
