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SWOSU (2-1, 2-1 GAC) at (RV) Henderson State (2-1, 2-1 GAC) Saturday, September 26, 2:00 PM Arkadelphia, Ark. (Carpenter-Haygood Stadium) Live Stats  |  Listen Live  |  Watch Live Game Notes: SWOSU  |  HSU

Setting the Scene
- After back-to-back home wins, the SWOSU Football team returns to the road with a visit to Arkadelphia, Ark., to face Henderson State waiting on Saturday
- SWOSU is coming off a win over No. 9 Ouachita Baptist on Saturday while the Reddies enter the game at 2-1 after defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State last weekend
- Henderson State has won the last three meeting between the two teams, including a 28-14 victory last season on Homecoming in Weatherford
- The Bulldogs are searching for their first three-game winning streak since 2011 and that streak also included a victory over the Reddies in Arkadelphia
 
How To Follow
- Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=hend
- Watch Live: http://www.hsusports.com/sports/2014/11/11/FB_1111144242.aspx
- Live Audio: http://streamdb2web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KWEY
- Twitter Updates: @SWOSUAthletics
 
The Series
- The series between Henderson State and SWOSU dates back to 1980 with six all-time meetings, including games in four straight seasons as members of the Great American Conference
- The two schools split a home-and-home series in the 1980 and 1981 seasons with each team winning on their home field
- Henderson State owns a 3-1 advantage over the Bulldogs as members of the GAC with victories in three straight games
- SWOSU is 1-2 all-time in Arkadelphia, including a 17-13 victory over the Reddies in 2011, but they lost their last trip to HSU 45-17 in 2013
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 23-44 (Seventh Season)
- Has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2009
- Earned his 22st win as the Bulldogs head man against Arkansas-Monticello (Sept. 12, 2015), moving into seventh on the all-time wins list at SWOSU
- Has a record of 1-3 against Henderson State
 
Henderson State: Scott Maxfield, 71-39 (11th season)
- Earned his 100th career victory on Saturday at Northwestern Oklahoma State and he is now in his 11th season as the Reddies head coach
- Two-time Great American Conference Coach of the Year and the 2013 AFCA Super Region 3 Coach of the Year
- Winningest coach in GAC history and he has two conference championships and playoff appearances to his credit
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 11, 2014)
- No. 7 Henderson State defeated SWOSU 28-14 on Homecoming in Weatherford
- SWOSU forced four Reddie turnovers, including three interceptions, and scored both of their touchdowns after takeaways
- Kevin Joseph recorded two interceptions and a school-record 109 return yards, setting a new single-game school record and earning the GAC Defensive Player of the Week award
- Klark Ashmore was 14-of-34 passing for 125 yards and an interception in his fi rst home start
- Karl Hodge and Matt Farris scored SWOSU's touchdowns on the ground
- Devin Benton continued his dominance with four tackles, 1.0 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss
- Kapena Olsen led the Bulldogs in tackles for the second straight week with 10
 
Last Time Out (Sept. 19, 2015)
- For the second straight game, SWOSU scored better than 50 points as the Bulldogs knocked off No. 9 Ouachita Baptist 58-38 last Saturday at ASAP Energy Field
- The victory was the first by the Bulldogs over Ouachita since the inception of the Great American Conference and it snapped a 12-game regular season winning streak by the Tigers
- Marc Evans directed the efficient SWOSU offense as they rolled up 549 yards of total offense, including 31-of-46 passing for 365 yards and four touchdowns by Evans
- Karltrell Henderson carried the ball 22 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns while also scoring on a 38-yard screen pass in the second quarter
- Conner Bays led the SWOSU defense with a career-high 14 tackles (seven solo, seven assist) while Trevon Hartfield added nine stops, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble
- Kapena Olsen and Gentry Rogers both picked off passes with OBU in the red zone while Tyler George and Jake Doyle both recovered fumbles in the game
- With the victory, SWOSU reclaims the Paul Sharp Cup, the traveling trophy associated with the rivalry since 2013
 
Player of the Week
- After leading his team to 58 points and a statement win over No. 9 Ouachita Baptist, SWOSU quarterback Marc Evans has been named the GAC Offensive Player of the Week.
- Evans led the Bulldogs to a 58-38 victory over OBU, the defending GAC Champions, by completing 31-of-46 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns
- His yardage total is the fourth-most in a single game at SWOSU and he ties the single-game school record with four touchdown passes
- Through three games as a Bulldog, Evans has completed 61.8% of his passes, throwing for 875 yards and 10 TDs without throwing an interceptions
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU's victory over Ouachita Baptist knocked another GAC team from the unbeaten ranks, leaving just Arkansas Tech and Harding at 3-0 through three weeks
- The Bulldogs are one of five teams that enter this weekend 2-1, including Saturday's opponent, Henderson State
 
Bulldog Offensive Notes
- The rebirth of the SWOSU offense has been evident the past two weeks as the Bulldogs have scored more than 50 points in back-to-back games for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1969
- After averaging just 17.9 points per game in 2014, the Bulldogs have completely turned things around and they are tied for second in the GAC with a scoring average of 44.0 points per game to date
- SWOSU is also averaging 455.7 yards of total offense per game to rank fifth in the GAC, with 164.0 yards on the ground and 291.7 yards of passing per game
- While the Bulldogs have only converted on 23-of-46 (50%) third-down attempts, they lead all of NCAA Division II with a perfect 8-for-8 conversion rate on fourth down attempts
- Karltrell Henderson is the third-leading rusher in the league with an average of 95.7 yards per game and four touchdowns through three games
- Marc Evans is fourth in the league in passing efficiency and yardage, throwing for 291.7 yards per game with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions
- SWOSU's balanced passing attack has seen 12 different receivers catch a pass so far this season with Derrick Styles the leader with 12 receptions and JR Omigie and Collin Bricker close behind with 10 apiece
- D.J Jones leads the Great American Conference and ranks 11th in NCAA Division II with an average of 190.3 all-purpose yards per game. Jones has 234 receiving yards, 220 kickoff return yards, 66 punt return yards and 51 rush yards to his credit this season
- SWOSU's starting line of Garrett Luke (LT), Nathan Butler (LG), Zach Britton (C), Kevin Blessing (RG) and Kaleb Prough (RT) has remained intact through three games this season
 
Bulldog Defensive Notes
- SWOSU has allowed 439.4 yards per game through three weeks to rank eighth in the GAC and teams are averaging 28.7 points per game against the Bulldogs, the fifth-best mark in the conference
- The strength of the defense has been causing turnovers as SWOSU has gained nine turnovers while losing just one for a league-leading turnover margin of +8
- The Dawgs are ranked second in the league with five interceptions, each of which has been made by a different player (Conner Bays, Dominic Blue, Gentry Rogers, Cameron Nix, Kapena Olsen)
- After recording a career-high 14 tackles against Ouachita, Bays is SWOSU's team leader in tackles with 35, a mark that ranks him second in the Great American Conference
- SWOSU ranks fourth in the GAC in red zone defense after Olsen and Rogers each had interceptions at or near the goal line to end Ouachita drives last week
- The Bulldogs have also held their opponents to a fourth-down success rate of just 2-for-6 (33.3%), the second-best mark in the league
- Olsen is the Dawgs second-leading tackler with 23 tackles (nine solo, 14 assist), which is an average of 7.7 per game and a top-15 mark in the GAC
- Collier Ward picked up his second sack of the season against Ouachita and he ranks fourth in the GAC in that category
- Trevon Hartfield is tied for the league lead with two forced fumbles while Tyler George is tied for the GAC lead in fumble recoveries with two
 
Bulldog Special Team Notes
- Michael Perez has taken over placekicking duties for the Bulldogs and he's 8-for-9 on extra point attempts and 1-for-1 on field goals
- Perez is also the Bulldogs punter and he's averaging 33.3 yards per punt on 15 attempts with a long kick of 51 yards
- Tyler Peterson remains the Bulldogs kickoff specialist, where he is averaging 55.3 yards per kick on 22 attempts with five touchbacks
- SWOSU leads the GAC in punt return average with an average of 16.4 yards on five attempts and they're second in kickoff return average, averaging 24.3 yards per return on 12 attempts
- D.J Jones is the Bulldogs leader in both categories with averages of 16.5 yards per punt and 36.7 yards per kickoff return
 
Scouting Henderson State
- Enter the weekend 2-1 and they are receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 with victories over Southeastern and Northwestern Oklahoma State to their credit along with a 35-28 setback against East Central
- Winning in close, low-scoring games as they average 25.3 points per game while holding opponents to just 22.7 points per contest
- Very stout rushing defense, allowing opponents just 84.7 yards on the ground per contest
 
Looking Ahead
- The Dawgs play their second straight road game next weekend, going to Durant to play Southeastern Oklahoma State before returning home for Homecoming against East Central