GAME INFORMATION
ARKANSAS TECH WONDER BOYS 2-0 (2-0 GAC)	(RV) OUACHITA BAPTIST TIGERS 1-1 (1-1 GAC)
Saturday, September 20 | 7 p.m. Cliff Harris Stadium | Arkadelphia, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LISTEN LIVE | ATU NOTES (PDF) | OUA NOTES

KICKING OFF
Two games into the Roy Thompson era of Arkansas Tech football and the Wonder Boys are off to a dominant 2-0 start in which they have out-scored their opponents, 76-10. This week, however, the Wonder Boys face their toughest test of the young season as they will be on the road at (rv) Ouachita Baptist.
 
The game will be a homecoming of sorts for Thompson as he spent over a decade on the coaching staff at Ouachita and helped lead the Tigers to five Great American Conference Championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances in his time at Ouachita. The previous eight seasons played with Thompson at Ouachita saw him oversee the defense as the team's defensive coordinator. With Thompson at the helm of the defense, the Ouachita defense was perennially one of the top units on all of DII.
 
The Wonder Boys will also be looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2017. That year, Tech won its first four games and went on to post an 8-4 overall record.
 

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TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
LAST GAME
The Wonder Boys made their home debut in 2025 and turned in a dominant 44-0 shutout win against Northwestern Oklahoma. In that game, the Wonder Boys' defense had two interceptions and blocked a pair of punts. Both of the interceptions were returned for touchdowns.  Offensively, the Wonder Boys totaled just under 400 yards and featured three passing scores and one rushing score.
 
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Through two games, the Wonder Boys are averaging 38.0 points per game and 378.0 yards of total offense. Their ppg average ranks in a tie for second in the GAC, while their total offense is seventh. Through the air, Tech is averaging 199 yards per game to rank fifth in the GAC. On the ground, the Wonder Boys are rushing for 179 yards per game to rank seventh.
 
Jack Dawson, Carter Hensley and Dominic Feliciano have all taken snaps at QB for the Wonder Boys, but Dawson has been the starter and primary signal-caller. He is 26-for-49 with 354 yards and five touchdowns. Hensley is 4-for-6 for 44 yards in limited appearances. Feliciano has only run the ball when in at QB and has carried it wight times and has one touchdown.
 
On the ground, the Wonder Boys have had eight different ball carriers. Freshman Bryson Roland currently leads the team in yards with 178. He has one of the team's three rushing touchdowns. Myles West is currently tied with Roland for the most carries with 19. Quarterbacks Dawson and Feliciano account for the other two rushing scores for Tech.
 
In terms of receiving, Tech has had 13 players with at least one reception. De'Rion Crooms leads the team in receptions so far with five. Carldell Sirmons is the leader in receiving yards with 90 and has one of the team's five receiving touchdowns. Tracy Daniels, Austin Marshall, Bryson Roland and Cam McFarlin have the other receiving touchdowns.
 
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively the Wonder Boys are allowing 248.5 yards of total offense per game and 5.0 points against per game. Their total defense ranks second in the GAC, while their scoring defense is also second.
 
Individually, the Wonder Boys have 12 players with at least five tackles and two in double-digits. Linebacker Sam Jackson leads the team in overall tackles with 19.0. He also leads the team in sacks with 1.5 and is tied for second in tackles for loss at 1.5.
 
As a team, the Wonder Boys have come away with six takeaways with four being interceptions and two being fumble recoveries. Linebacker Julien Lopez leads the team in interceptions with two. Diego Sanchez and Tyrique Jones account for the remaining two picks. Jones also has one of the two fumble recoveries and is joined by Israel Whitmore for the other.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
In the kicking game, Logan Tymeson has handled all the field goal and point-after-touchdown opportunities thus far. He is 8-of-8 in PATs and 2-of-4 in field goals.
 
Technically, punting has been done by two players, but one of those has been quarterback Dawson, who a trio of pooch punts. Regular punter Angus Greaves has had seven punts and is averaging 36.0 yards per punt.
 
In the return game, the Wonder Boys have had Carldell Sirmons and De'Rion Crooms handle most of the opportunities on kickoffs and punts. Crooms has had two kickoff returns and is averaging 24.0 yards per return while Sirmons has had four punt returns and is averaging 16.3 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 Tigers' 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 Tigers go unbeaten in the regular season.
 

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KNOW YO FOE
LAST GAME     
Ouachita Baptist enters the game against Tech 1-1 after picking up their first win of the season last Saturday at home against Southeastern Oklahoma, 41-21. The win made head coach Todd Knight the all-time wins leader in the state of Arkansas as it was his 163^rd win at Ouachita.
 
THE COACH     
The Tigers are coached by Todd Knight, who is in his 27th year as the head coach at his alma mater, Ouachita Baptist. He is also in his 33^rd season overall as a head coach, spending the first six years of his career at Delta State. Overall, Knight has a career record of 191-136-2 and is 163-104 at Ouachita.
           
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE          
Offensively, the Tigers have the sixth-ranked scoring offense in the GAC at 31.5 ppg and the fifth-ranked total offense with an average of 383.0 ypg. Through the air, the Tigers are averaging 166.0 ypg to rank eighth in the GAC. On the ground, Ouachita is averaging 217.0 ypg to rank fourth in the GAC.
 
The leading rusher thus far is Lyric Tredwell with 125 yards gained on 15 carries. Chris Henley Jr. leads the team in total carries with 24. Quarterback Nate TenBarge has the most rushing touchdowns so far with two and is second in carries (20) and yards gained (112).
 
In the passing game, the Tigers have almost exclusively gone with TenBarge. He has all but one of the team's passing attempts and is 21-of-48 in passing with 332 yards and four touchdowns. He also has not thrown an interception in two games.
 
The leading receiver for Ouachita is Carter McElheny with 129 yards on five receptions. McElheny also has the most receiving touchdowns on the team with two. Seven other Tigers have at least one reception.
 
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE          
Defensively, the Tigers rank sixth in scoring defense at 31.5 ppg. Their total defense ranks ninth in the GAC allowing 414.0 ypg of total offense by their opponents. Through the air, Ouachita ranks 10th in the GAC at 217.5 average ypg allowed. On the ground, the Tigers allow an average of 196.5 ypg and rank seventh in the GAC.
 
Individually, Ouachita has had 13 players record five or more tackles and three with double-digit stops. They are led Braylon Johnson with 17.0. A total of 13 players have accounted for at least 0.5 tackles for lost yardage and are led in that category by Joey Ortego and Pierce Smalley at 2.0. Four different players are tied for the team-lead in sacks with 0.5.
 
The Tigers' defense has forced eight turnovers through two games with three being interceptions and five being fumble recoveries. Three Tigers account for the interceptions while Justin Crutchmer leads in fumble recoveries with two.
 
THE SERIES      
This will be the 88th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Ouachita in a series that dates back to 1924. This will also be the 41st game played between the two in Russellville. Overall, Tech holds a 44-36-7 advantage in the all-time series and has a 21-15-4 lead in games played in Russellville. Since transitioning to NCAA Division II, the Wonder Boys and Tigers have met 22 times previously and in that time, the series is tied 11-11.