SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist returns home Saturday to start a two-game home stand, facing Henderson State at 1 p.m. inside Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Memorial Athletic Complex.
Live video can be streamed via
OBUBison.com/Watch with Bison Radio Network coverage on the iHeart Network and locally on KGFF (AM 1450 and FM 100.9). The game also can be heard in Oklahoma City on El Patron FM 98.5 and in Tulsa on Chrome FM 93.5. Coverage begins with a 12:30 p.m. pregame show on the Bison Radio Network.
Fans traveling to Shawnee for the game should be aware that the MacArthur Street tunnel, east of Airport Drive, will be closed prior to the game due to the air show at the Shawnee Municipal Airport. Alternate routes to the OBU campus are available via the Kickapoo and Harrison exits on I-40 and the W Kickapoo Spur exit on Highway 177.
The Reddies come into the contest at 2-3 on the season with the peculiar distinction of being 2-0 on the road and 0-3 at home. The Bison are looking for their first win of the season.
OBU has the second-best passing game in the Great American Conference with
Preston Haire and
Dezmond Stegall splitting time at quarterback and averaging a combined 253.6 yards per game.
Cagney Roberson leads the Bison with 18 receptions and three touchdown catches.
Alex Lewis has 17 receptions for a team-best 303 yards and a team-best 60.6 yards per game.
Stephan Turner also has 17 receptions and
Josh Pettijohn has 15.
Isaiah Mallory leads the squad with 19.9 yards per catch on his seven receptions. OBU has completed passes to 15 different receivers.
The Bison also are hopeful of
Isaiah Mallory's return to the lineup. Mallory missed the Southern Arkansas game with injury and is second in the GAC, averaging 95 yards per game.
OBU is averaging 4.2 yards per carry and has kept three teams in five games from registering a quarterback sack. All five sacks the offensive line has allowed have come in road games - four of those five at Arkansas Tech.
Across the line from that Bison offense is a turnover-producing Reddies defense. Malik Brown leads the Reddies with 38 tackles and also has three interceptions. Sheldon Watson has been a turnover machine, picking off four passes and forcing one fumble.
Offensively, Henderson State throws for 243 yards per game with two quarterbacks - Evan Lassiter (653 yards) and Andrew Black (516 yards). The offense also benefits from 132 yards per game on the ground with Black leading that attack with 234 yards. Ben Johnson leads the team with 20 receptions and 232 yards with Darion Gray averaging 17.45 yards on his 11 receptions.
The OBU defensive line gets a big boost with
Dennis Nguyen expected to return to the lineup. In three games this season, Nguyen has 10 tackles, a forced fumble and half a quarterback sack.
Houston Tyler also is back for the second week in a row after missing one game completely and much of another.
Daniel Moniz leads the defensive front with 15 tackles.
Anthony Figueroa and
Dante Foster, both listed as safeties, have been very active for the Bison and both have 28 tackles this season. Figueroa has been a menace with an interception and two passes broken up while Foster has a team-high four tackles for loss, a sack and a pass break-up.
Frankie Edwards set a school record with 171 yards in kick returns last week against Southern Arkansas. He had a long return of 41 yards.
Josh Pettijohn also took a kick back 51 yards in that game. Edwards leads the team with eight returns and 200 yards, averaging 25 yards per return. Pettijohn averages 42 yards on his two returns.
