GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 4-3 (4-3 GAC)	HENDERSON STATE REDDIES 5-2 (5-2 GAC)
Saturday, October 25 | 4 p.m. Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium | Russellville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU NOTES (PDF)

KICKING OFF
Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium will be a welcomed sight for the Arkansas Tech football team on Saturday, October 25 after spending the past two weeks on the road. With three prior games at home this season, Tech is 2-1 at Simmons Bank Field and is set to welcome in Henderson State. Kick-off is slated for 4 p.m. as it will be Homecoming at ATU and the Homecoming Court and crowning of King and Queen will take place starting at 3:30 p.m.
 
THE SERIES      
This will be the 97th 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 48-44-4 lead. 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 11-1. Dating back to when both schools made the jump to NCAA DII in 1995, HSU holds a 17-11 lead.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
LAST GAME
The Wonder Boys are looking to snap a two-game skid in which they have lost to East Central and (rv/25) Southern Arkansas, both on the road. In their most-recent game against SAU, the Wonder Boys were unable to cash in on a couple of scoring opportunities that would have altered the complexion of the game and ultimately were unable to overcome an early deficit.
 
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Through seven games, the Wonder Boys are averaging 24.3 points per game and 327.3 yards of total offense. Their ppg average ranks seventh in the GAC, while their total offense is 10th. Through the air, Tech is averaging 174.6 yards per game to rank eighth in the GAC. On the ground, the Wonder Boys are rushing for 152.7 yards per game to rank seventh.
 
Jack Dawson, Carter Hensley and Dominic Feliciano have all taken snaps at QB for the Wonder Boys. When available, Dawson has been the starter and primary signal-caller. He is 68-for-129 with 963 yards and 11 touchdowns but missed the SAU game with an injury. Hensley got the start in place of Dawson against SAU. He is now 17-for-37 for 259 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Feliciano has primarily run the ball when in at QB and has carried it 18 times and has four touchdowns.
 
On the ground, the Wonder Boys have had 13 different ball carriers. Freshman Bryson Roland currently leads the team in yards with 538. He has three of the team's nine rushing touchdowns. Quarterbacks Dawson and Feliciano account for the remaining six rushing scores for Tech with Feliciano having four and Dawson, two.
 
In terms of receiving, Tech has had 15 players with at least one reception. Jared Long leads the team in receptions so far with 16 and is the leader in receiving yards with 289. Long also has the most touchdown receptions with three. Austin Marshall and Cam McFarlin are next on the team with two, while JD DeCausmaker, Carldell Sirmons, Tracy Daniels, Gavin Waits and Bryson Roland all have one receiving touchdown.
 
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively the Wonder Boys are allowing 409.9 yards of total offense per game and 21.9 points against per game. Their total defense ranks 10th in the GAC, while their scoring defense is fifth.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have 18 players with double-digit tackles and four with at least 30 stops. Linebacker Sam Jackson leads the team in overall tackles with 51.0. Israel Whitmore leads the team in sacks with 2.5 and in tackles for loss at 7.0.
 
As a team, the Wonder Boys have come away with 10 takeaways with seven being interceptions and three being fumble recoveries. Julien Lopez, Diego Sanchez and Tyrique Jones are tied for the team-lead in interceptions with two each. Jones also has one of the three fumble recoveries and is joined by Israel Whitmore and Gregor Jones for the other two.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
In the kicking game, Logan Tymeson has handled all the field goal and point-after-touchdown opportunities thus far. He is 21-of-21 in PATs and 3-of-5 in field goals.
 
Technically, punting has been done by two players, but one of those has been quarterback Dawson, with five pooch punts. Regular punter Angus Greaves has had 30 punts and is averaging 38.7 yards per punt.
 
In the return game, the Wonder Boys have had a rotation of Carldell Sirmons, De'Rion Crooms and Tracy Daniels handle most of the opportunities on kickoffs and punts. Sirmons has had eight kickoff returns and is averaging 21.5 yards per return while Daniels has had six and is averaging 16.2 yards per return. Crooms has had four kickoff returns and is averaging 23.0 yards per return. Sirmons has had five punt returns and is averaging 13.6 yards per return.
 
COACH THOMPSON
Roy Thompson enters his first season as head football coach at Arkansas Tech after spending the previous nine at GAC-rival Ouachita Baptist as the Reddies' defensive coordinator. On the coaching staff a total of 12 years at Ouachita, Thompson spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the co-Defensive Coordinator before taking over the reins fully starting with the 2018 season. 
 
Over that seven-year stretch (2020 was not played due to COVID-19), Ouachita has had three seasons in which its points allowed per game were under 20.0, ranking it in the top-10 nationally in DII. The other three seasons, the highest points allowed in a season was 20.7 points per game. Over that same stretch, Thompson's defensive unit allowed under 320.0 yards per game four times, ranking in the top-35 nationally.
 
Thompson's time at Ouachita also yielded a ton of championship hardware as well as NCAA postseason experience. Out of the eight seasons played with Thompson on staff, Ouachita won the GAC championship five times and reached the NCAA playoffs each of those seasons as well, with the most recent being in 2024. Of those five conference titles, three saw the Reddies go unbeaten in the regular season.
 

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KNOW YO FOE
LAST GAME     
Henderson State is coming off a 35-10 loss at home against No. 2-ranked Harding. The Reddies would get on the board first with a field goal and held Harding to just seven points through the first half. After enduring lengthy weather delays, Harding would take over the game in the second half and scored 21 points in the third quarter to take a commanding lead. The Reddies would score a fourth-quarter touchdown.
 
THE COACH     
The Reddies are coached by Greg Holsworth, who is in his second year as the head coach at Henderson State after taking over the reins from legendary head coach Scott Maxfield in 2024. Holsworth is no stranger to the Reddie Football program, as he joined the staff in 2017. Prior to ascending to head coach, Holsworth was the Reddies' defensive coordinator.
 
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE          
Offensively, the Reddies have the second-ranked scoring offense in the GAC at 35.6 ppg and the top-ranked total offense with an average of 456.6 ypg. Through the air, the Reddies are averaging 274.6 ypg to rank first in the GAC. On the ground, HSU is averaging 182.0 ypg to rank sixth in the GAC.
 
The leading rusher thus far is quarterback Andrew Edwards with 318 yards gained on 73 carries with four touchdowns. Just behind Edwards is running back Jeremiah Davis. Davis has 302 yards on 56 carries and also has four touchdowns.
 
At quarterback, Henderson's starter has been Andrew Edwards. He is 138-for-216 with 1,709 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also has five interceptions. Backup QB Austin Ledbetter has appeared in two games and is 9-for-12 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
Henderson has four receivers up over 200 yards on the season and are led by Maddox Davis with 404 yards on 33 receptions. Davis is currently tied for third on the team in receiving touchdowns with two. Micah Green leads the team in TD receptions with four while Aundreus Griffin is second with three.
 
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE          
Defensively, the Reddies rank fourth in scoring defense at 19.4 ppg. Their total defense ranks third in the GAC allowing 306.0 ypg of total offense by their opponents. Through the air, Henderson ranks fourth in the GAC at 152.0 average ypg allowed. On the ground, the Reddies allow an average of 154.0 ypg and rank fourth in the GAC.
 
Individually, Henderson has had 18 players record double-digit tackles and five with at least 20 stops. They are led Gerard Culotta with 57.0. A total of 20 players have accounted for at least 0.5 tackles for lost yardage with Culotta leading the team at 6.5. Culotta also leads the team in sacks with 2.5.
 
The Reddies' defense has forced 13 turnovers through seven games with 10 of the takeaways being interceptions and three being fumble recoveries. Three different Reddies are tied for the team-lead in interceptions with two while three also account for the team's fumble recoveries. Leo Morris is the only defensive player to be on both lists.