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#7/4 Henderson State (5-0, 4-0 GAC) at SWOSU (2-3, 2-3 GAC) Homecoming Saturday, October 11, 5:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) SWOSU Game Notes (pdf) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live

Setting the Scene
- Homecoming 2015 is this weekend as the Bulldogs welcome the two-time defending Great American Conference champions from Henderson State to Fast Lane Field
- SWOSU is the only conference team to beat Henderson State in GAC play since the inception of the conference in 2011, defeating the Reddies 17-13 in Arkadelphia on September 17, 2011
- In their last visit to Weatherford, HSU knocked off the Dawgs 50-22 in 2012
- The Reddies have not lost a regular season contest since 2011
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Henderson State have faced off five times in a series dating back to 1980
- The teams played a home-and-home series in 1980 and 1981 with each team winning on their home field
- The series did not resume until the formation of the Great American Conference in 2011
- SWOSU won the first game between the teams as GAC foes, but HSU has defeated the Bulldogs the past two seasons
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 20-39 (Sixth Season)
- Returned home to lead his alma mater in 2009 following a long, successful high school coaching career
- Led SWOSU to their first winning season since 2007 with a 6-5 record last season
- Earned his 20th win as the Bulldogs head man against Southern Arkansas (Sept. 20), ranking him 8th in all-time wins at SWOSU
- Has a record of 1-2 against Henderson State
 
Henderson State: Scott Maxfield, 65-36 (10th Season)
- Has returned HSU to championship form, winning three conference titles in the past four seasons
- Three-time conference coach of the year, including 2012 and 2013 GAC honors
- Third-winningest coach in HSU history with 64 wins in 9+ seasons
- His team has advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs the past two years
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 12, 2013)
- The No. 8-ranked Reddies downed SWOSU 45-17 in Arkadelphia last season
- SWOSU led the game twice in the first half before HSU scored 38 unanswered points
- Brad Smithey caught five passes for 35 yards and both of SWOSU's touchdowns
- Ryley Claborn went 8-for-9 for 61 yards and a score in his most extensive action of the season
- Kale Sawatzky led the defense with eight tackles while five other players recorded seven
- Devin Benton finished with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack
 
Last Time Out (Oct. 4, 2014)
- Ouachita Baptist defeated SWOSU 54-21 last weekend in Arkadelphia to reclaim the Paul Sharp Cup for the second straight year
- SWOSU took a 7-3 lead on the Tigers midway through the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Karl Hodge
- From that point, Ouachita Baptist scored 51 consecutive points - including three defensive touchdowns - to take a 54-7 lead with 12:17 to play in the game
- The Bulldogs added fourth-quarter scores on Klark Ashmore touchdown passes to Teverick Boyd (39 yards) and Brian Robinson (28 yards)
- Ashmore, making his first career start, finished 23-of-38 for 258 yards and two touchdowns while throwing one interception
- Boyd was the Bulldogs top receiver with eight catches for 96 yards and a score
- Kapena Olsen led the defense with 12 tackles (10 solo, 2 assist) while Steven Townsley added eight
- Devin Benton added one sack and two tackles for loss, moving into a tie for third on SWOSU's career TFL list
 
Checking the Standings
- Consecutive losses by the Bulldogs have dropped them into a tie for sixth place in the GAC standings heading into Homecoming
- SWOSU is tied with Southern Arkansas at 6-3, one game behind East Central for fifth place
- For the second straight week, the Bulldogs opponent is an undefeated team at the top of the standings
- Henderson State is tied with Harding and Ouachita Baptist at 4-0 in GAC action, while the Reddies are the only 5-0 team in the conference
 
Bulldog Offensive Notes
- SWOSU's offense came to life at Ouachita Baptist, tying their season-high with 406 yards of total offense, including a season-best 258 yards passing
- Klark Ashmore became the third different starting quarterback for SWOSU in the past three weeks, and the first true freshman to start under center for the Bulldogs since current SWOSU Pass Game Coordinator Steve Day in 2005
- Ashmore finished with a solid stat line of 23-for-38 passing for 258 yards and two touchdowns, but his two turnovers (one fumble, one interception) both led directly to OBU scores
- Turnovers have plagued the SWOSU offense this year with the Bulldogs losing 20 turnovers in their first five games. That is the most turnovers among GAC schools and it ranks second in all of NCAA Division II, behind Chowan University in North Carolina (22)
- Karl Hodge rushed for 69 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries against Ouachita Baptist, his fourth straight game with more than 60 rushing yards
- Hodge ranks fourth in the GAC in rushing with an average of 84.4 yards per game and he has scored a team-best five touchdowns this season
- Cameron Nix had another strong effort running the ball against OBU, carrying nine times for 47 yards, including a 32-yard rush in the first quarter that is the Bulldogs longest run play of the season
- Nix ranks second on the team with 148 rush yards on 23 carries (6.4 yards per carry)
- Matt Farris has carried the ball 43 times for 118 yards (2.7 yards per carry) and two touchdowns
- After failing on two fourth-down conversions last Saturday, SWOSU is now 5-of-20 (25.0%) on fourth-down attempts this season. They trail only Panhandle State (21) in attempted fourth-down conversions throughout NCAA Division II
- Brad Smithey caught seven passes for 43 yards against Ouachita Baptist, giving him a team-leading 24 receptions for 202 yards and one score on the year
- Smithey has caught at least one pass in 14 consecutive games played and 29 of 31 career games played at SWOSU with 129 career receptions to his credit. He ranks fifth in career receptions, needing nine to overtake Chase Pratt (137, 2001-05) for fourth place
- Teverick Boyd had his best receiving game of the season against OBU, hauling in eight receptions for 96 yards and his second touchdown of the season. Boyd is the Bulldogs second-leading receiver with 20 catches for 167 yards on the year
 
Bulldog Defensive Notes
- The SWOSU defense held Ouachita Baptist to just 267 yards of total offense on Saturday, the lowest yardage output by an opponent this season
- Tanner Thompson recovered a second quarter fumble against OBU for the seventh takeaway (three fumbles, four interceptions) by the Dawgs defense this year
- Kapena Olsen was credited with a season-best 12 tackles (10 solo, 2 assist) against the Tigers and he now leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference in tackles with 42 (8.4 per game)
- Steven Townsley (seventh), Kale Sawatzky (ninth) and Tanner Thompson (tied for tenth) also rank among the GAC's best in total tackles
- Defensive lineman Devin Benton was credited with five tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack against Ouachita Baptist and he leads the GAC and NCAA Division II with 14.0 tackles for loss
- With 3.5 sacks, Benton is leads the team and is tied for third in the conference
- Benton increased his career numbers to 16.0 sacks and 41.0 tackles for loss, ranking second and third, respectively, in the career lists during the NCAA Division II era at SWOSU. He needs one more sack to tie Terry Joiner (17, 2004-05) for the lead in that category and four more TFL to move past Ruzell McCoy (44.5, 2005-08) and into second on that list
- Kale Sawatzky is on the verge of moving into the top five for career tackles at SWOSU in the NCAA Division II era. Sawatzky enters this week's game with 217 stops as a Bulldog, needing nine to move past Charles Thomas (225, 2003-04) for fifth place
- Tyler George has returned to the SWOSU lineup the past two games after missing the first three weeks due to injury. George recorded his first tackle against Ouachita Baptist after finishing 2013 as the Bulldogs sixth-leading tackler with 64 stops
- Jake Doyle, Collier Ward and Sawatzky all have 3.0 sacks for the year, helping the Bulldogs tie Henderson State for the GAC lead in the category with 14.0
- Doyle also ranks fifth in the conference with 7.5 tackles for loss, an average of 1.5 per game
- Kevin Joseph is the co-leader in the Great American Conference with eight passes defended this season, an average of 1.6 per game
 
Bulldog Special Team Notes
- True freshmen Dalton Jackson and Justin Tharp have been splitting kicking duties the past two weeks after Tharp made his debut on Saturday at UAM
- Tharp has handled most of the kickoffs the past two games, averaging 58.0 yards per kick on three attempts last weekend at OBU
- Tharp also successfully executed an onside kick during the fourth quarter of the OBU game, making the Bulldogs 2-for-2 on onside attempts this season
- Jackson continues to handle punting duties, averaging 35.0 yards per kick against Ouachita Baptist with a long of 44 yards
- For the year, Jackson is averaging 35.5 yards per punt on 23 attempts, with a career-best 56 yarder against Southern Arkansas
- SWOSU has only attempted one field goal this season, a 29-yarder by Jackson against SAU that missed its mark
- Teverick Boyd ranks second in the GAC with an average of 21.5 yards per kickoff return
 
Scouting Henderson State
- Ranked No. 7 in the AFCA Top 25 and No. 4 in the D2Football.com poll this week
- Averaging 550.6 yards of total offense and 53.2 points per game, ranking among NCAA Division II's best in both categories
- Led by two-time defending GAC Offensive Player of the Year Kevin Rodgers, NCAA Division II's active leading passer with more than 11,500 career yards
- Wide receivers Joseph Snapp and Darius Davis rank first and second in the GAC in receptions per game, receiving yards per game and touchdowns
- Their defense ranks second in the GAC in total defense, allowing just 286.4 yards per game to their opponents
- Defense is led by linebacker Lawson Shults, who has 26 tackles, 3.5 TFL and one fumble recovery
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU welcomes Southeastern Oklahoma State to Weatherford for the first time since 2009 next Saturday when the Savage Storm visit for a 2 pm kickoff at Fast Lane Field