KICKING OFF
The Arkansas Tech football team has a big opportunity ahead of them this Saturday as they host consensus Top-10 nationally-ranked Ouachita Baptist.
The Tigers are once more off to an early 2-0 start, while the Wonder Boys are 1-1 after an impressive and dominant 35-13 win over East Central at home last week. The win for the Wonder Boys was their first in the month of September under head coach Kyle Shipp.
The Wonder Boys will not only be looking to build upon that momentum, but in the process, they will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak against Ouachita. The last time the Wonder Boys beat Ouachita was 2016.
Playing at home figures to give Tech a boost against Ouachita as five of their eight wins under Shipp have come at Thone Stadium.
TECH TIDBITS
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Wonder Boys are averaging 34.5 points per game and 350.5 yards of total offense per game. Their ppg average ranks fourth in the GAC, while their total offense is currently seventh.
Junior transfer Taye Gatewood has been the starting quarterback each of the first two games and has thrown for 375 yards on 28-of-48 passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
On the ground, the leading rusher so far has been Devontae Dean. Dean has 100 yards rushing on 17 carries and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry. As a team, the Wonder Boys have five rushing touchdowns with Gatewood and Deon Simmons having two apiece and Jordan Edington the other.
In terms of receiving, Tech is led by Joyrion Chase with six receptions for 85 yards. Four different receivers have caught touchdown passes this season. Mason Ross, Matthew Rivera, Travis Tobey and Edington accounting for the scores.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Wonder Boys have allowed and average of 399.0 yards of total offense per game by their opponents and 27.0 points per game. The total defense ranks eighth in the GAC, while the scoring defense is seventh.
In terms of takeaways, the Wonder Boys have forced five turnovers with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Individually, Matthew Minnix leads the team in tackles with 16. Victor Hill is the team-leader in tackles for lost yardage (3.0) and sacks (3.0). Jordan Furtch is responsible for two of the team's INTs.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior kicker Jesus Zizumbo has 30 made field goals in his career and is nine 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 OUACHITA
LAST GAME
Playing with understandably heavy hearts following the sudden passing of one of their teammates, the Ouachita Tigers came out and left no doubts in their 45-0 win over Southern Nazarene in their home-opener. All 45 points were scored in three quarters by the Tigers. They also out-gained Southern Nazarene by 300 yards (556-to-226). A majority of the yards came on the ground for Ouachita as they ran for 335 yards on 44 carries.
THE COACH
The Tigers are coached by the longest-tenured head coach in the GAC in Todd Knight as Knight enters into his 24th season as head coach at Ouachita and his 30th overall. At Ouachita, Knight has amassed a 134- 98 record and since the formation of the GAC in 2011, Knight's Tigers have been a dominant force in the league sporting an impressive 83-20 record in league play. Having led the Tigers to four NCAA DII Playoff appearances, Knight is also a five-time GAC Coach of the Year as well as a three-time AFCA Region Three Coach of the Year.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Tigers feature a multiple offensive attack. Through their first two games of year, Ouachita has the highest scoring average in the GAC at 43.5.5 ppg and sports the best total offense with an average of 487.0 ypg. A vast majority of their offensive production has come on the ground as the Tigers currently have a rushing attack that averages 354.0 ypg and leads the GAC in rushing TDs with eight.
The leading rusher thus far has been TJ Cole with 352 yards gained. He has also scored four touchdowns. Sporting a two-headed attack, Kendel Givens is second on the team in rushing with 236 net yards and three touchdowns.
Under center, the Tigers have sophomore Riley Harms. Through two games, Harms has attempted only 25 passes and has thrown for 190 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
The leading pass catcher is Justin Dean. Dean has 95 yards receiving on three receptions and has scored a touchdown.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Tigers base out of the 4-3 scheme and currently rank third in scoring defense allowing just 16.0 ppg. Their total defense is the seventh-ranked unit in the GAC as they are currently only allowing 372.0 ypg of total offense by their opponents.
Collectively, the Tigers have forced four turnovers with a pair of interceptions and two fumble recovery.
Individually, the Tigers have a trio of tacklers with double-digit stops and are led by Terrell Gibson with 16. Josiah Johnson is the team leader in tackles for loss with 3.0 and sacks with 2.0. He is also the second-leading tackler with 12.
THE SERIES
This will be the 86th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Ouachita in a series that dates back to 1924. This will also be the 40th game played between the two in Russellville. Overall, Tech holds a 44-38-7 advantage in the all-time series and has a 21- 14-4 lead in games played in Russellville. Since transitioning to NCAA Division II, the Wonder Boys and Tigers have met 20 times previously and in that time, Tech leads 11-9-0.
