KICKING OFF
For the second-straight week, the Arkansas Tech football team is at home and this week, they will be taking on newly nationally-ranked Henderson State. Off to a 2-0 start, Henderson State cracked the AFCA Top-25 rankings earlier this week and are ranked No. 23. It will be the second time in as many opportunities that the Wonder Boys will play Henderson at home with the Reddies being nationally-ranked.
The last time that happened was in 2021 as Tech hosted Henderson State for Homecoming. That game ended up being a thriller that went to overtime. In the extra period, however, the Reddies answered Tech's opening field goal with a touchdown to end the game.
This time around, the Wonder Boys are hosting the Reddies for another special occasion as this weekend is Hall of Fame weekend. At halftime of the game, ATU Athletics will publicly introduce the newest members of the ATU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Those latest inductees are: Dana (Alridch) Nichols (student-athlete, softball), Leon Anderson (service award), Eric Burnett (student-athlete, men's basketball), Heather Campbell (student-athlete, women's basketball), Kevin Crafton (student-athlete, baseball), Jalissa (Gum) Fisher (student-athlete, softball), Tom Kamerling (service award), Ragon Kinney (student-athlete, boxing), Karl Kuhn (student-athlete, football), Bridget (Pyles) Freeman (student-athlete, volleyball), Marvin "Shorty" Salmon (student-athlete/coach, football), Larry Smith (staff) and the 1971 Wonder Boys football team.
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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively after two games, the Wonder Boys are averaging 26.0 points per game and 291.5 yards of total offense. Their ppg average ranks seventh in the GAC, while their total offense ranks eighth.
Early on this season, the Wonder Boys used a pair of quarterbacks with Hunter Loyd getting the start against Oklahoma Baptist and Taye Gatewood starting against Southern Nazarene. Gatewood is the leading passer with 369 yards on 27-of-40 passing with two touchdowns and one interception.
On the ground, the Wonder Boys have had 10 different ball carriers through two games. Deuce Wise has had the most carries by a running back with 17 and the most yards with 72. From the QB position, Gatewood leads the team in rushing touchdowns with two. Jordan Edinton and Corbin Humphrey account for the other two rushing scores.
In terms of receiving, Tech has had pass completions to 10 different targets. Matthew Rivera leads the team in receptions and yards with eight catches for 102 yards. He, along with Joyrion Chase, account for the two receiving touchdowns with one each.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively through two games, the Wonder Boys are allowing an average of 426.5 yards of total offense per game by their opponents and 30.5 points per game. The total defense ranks ninth in the GAC, while their scoring defense is sixth.
Individually, Tech has four players that have registered 10 or more tackles. The leading tackler thus far is Jyrin Steward and his 22 stops. Vershaud Richardson lead the team in tackles for loss with 2.5 and sacks with 1.0. Steward and Richardson also have the two forced fumbles.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The new-look kicking game for the Wonder Boys has Austin Hosier handling the placekicking duties. He is 7-of-7 in extra point attempts and 1-of-1 in field goal attempts.
In the punting game, Tech has used a pair of punters but are expected to rely on veteran returner Aaron Winn when healthy. He is currently averaging 48.3 yards per punt and has a long of 63 yards.
In the return game, the Wonder Boys lead the GAC in kickoff returns and are averaging 43.8 yards per return. They already have three returns of at least 50 yards this season, all done by different players with Mason Ross, Hunter Wilkinson and Ryan Wilkerson having the big returns.
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ABOUT HENDERSON STATE
LAST GAME
The Henderson State Reddies come into Saturday's game on a major high as they engineered a second half comeback on the road at Southeastern Oklahoma to beat the Savage Storm, 38-28. With 8:02 left in the third quarter, Henderson trailed 28-14, but the Reddies would go on to out-score Southeastern 24-0 over the remainder of the game to pull off the comeback victory and move to 2-0.
THE COACH
The Reddies are coached by Scott Maxfield, who is in his 18th year as the head coach at Henderson State. In his time at the helm of HSU, Maxfield has amassed a 127-62 record and captured four conference championships (three GAC, one GSC) and has been named GAC Coach of the Year twice. In 2022, 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 two games of year, HSU ranks fourth in scoring offense in the GAC at 39.5 ppg and has the fourth-ranked total offense with an average of 432.0 ypg. Through the air, the Reddies are averaging 289.0 ypg to rank second in the GAC. On the ground, HSU is averaging 143.0 ypg to rank sixth in the GAC.
The leading rusher thus far has been Korien Burrell with 115 yards gained on 33 carries. He has one of the team's three rushing touchdowns on the season.
In the passing game, the Reddies have only called upon Andrew Edwards. In two games, Edwards is completing 72% of his passes (37-of-52) and has thrown for 578 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions.
The leading receiver for HSU is Jalen Abraham with 238 yards and three touchdowns on nine receptions.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Reddies base out of the 4-2-5 scheme and currently rank fourth in scoring defense, allowing 20.5 ppg. Their total defense ranks sixth in the GAC allowing 338.0 ypg of total offense by their opponents. Through the air, HSU ranks ninth in the GAC with 258.0 ypg. On the ground, the Reddies allow an average of 80.0 ypg and rank fourth in the GAC.
Individually, Henderson State has one player with double-digit stops in Tyler Strain with 13. As a team, the Reddies have forced four turnovers with one INT and three fumble recoveries.
THE SERIES
This will be the 95th 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 46-44-4. 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 9-1. Dating back to when both schools made the jump to NCAA DII in 1995, HSU holds a 15-11 lead.
