SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist football team looks to rebound from last week as they make the short drive down to Ada to take on East Central on Saturday at 6 p.m. OBU heads to Ada for their sixth meeting all-time with ECU, and third at Koi Ishto Stadium.
Live video of Saturday's contest is available on xfactorradio.net and OBU fans can listen to the broadcast on the Bison Radio Network with the trio of Todd Miller, John Brooks, and Scott Wanish.
Game Notes
OPENING KICKOFF
- The Bison are coming off a tough road loss at the hands of Arkansas Tech. Despite jumping out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Bison couldn't tame a rowdy ATU bunch as the Wonderboys marched back into the ball game to win 38-35.
LIKE 7/11, HE'S ALWAYS OPEN
- Sophomore receiver Keilahn Harris has been nothing short of spectacular this season as he's taken the nation and conference by storm. This is how good Harris has been through six weeks. He has racked up 690 receiving yards, caught eight touchdowns, and recorded 53 receptions. These numbers already surpass his freshman year tallies as his 125 yards against ATU brought him over 1,000 yards for his career. The sophomore is on track to exceed 1,000 yards this season, as he is just 310 yards away from joining the likes of his current teammate, Josh Cornell. Cornell rewrote the record books in 2019 as he became the first player in Bison history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a single season. Harris is also inching closer to the single-season reception record of 74, also set by Cornell, with his 53 catches.
- Nationally, his reception total ranks second while his eight touchdown grabs tie for third. All those receiving yards rank fifth in the country as it and touchdowns are the only categories Harris doesn't lead the conference in. To top it all off, Harris ranks third in the league for kickoff return yards as he averages 25.9 yards per return. In total, he has 233 yards, good for fifth in GAC, and is one of two players with a returned touchdown this season. Harris' return was the first kickoff touchdown since the program's rebirth in 2013.
HAIRE-ING IT OUT
- Through week six of this season, quarterback Preston Haire remains the GAC leader in passing yards and completions. Haire has thrown for 1,769 yards and completed 165 passes, ranking 12th and second nationally. The Texan has also recorded 18 touchdowns, good for second in the league and a tie for sixth in the country. Haire has been one of the most efficient in the GAC, completing 64 percent of his passes this season, ranking second in the conference despite leading the league in attempts. It has been quite a season for the signal-caller as he's surpassed the 10,000-yard career mark for both total offense (11,360) and passing yards (10,224) this season. Haire already holds all the school records in the passing game and has the chance to record over 100 career passing touchdowns this year, as he has on 91 so far. There have only been two others to compile over 100 passing touchdowns in league history, and Haire has the chance to write his name with the best of them.
MORE THAN ENOUGH TO GO AROUND
- Preston Haire can consider himself lucky as he has multiple reliable targets to throw to. Notables such as Josh Cornell, Julian Clarke, and Michael Marshall have made tremendous impacts in the Bison receiving corps this season. Cornell, a redshirt junior, doesn't trail Keilahn Harris by much as he ranks second on the team with 465 yards and five scores. He has recorded two touchdowns in a single game twice this season, as his career touchdown total sits a 17. His score against Arkansas Tech tied the all-time school record of 17 touchdowns, set by Josh Pettijohn (2015-18), as he should pass that mark at some point this year. Cornell also has 136 career receptions, which ranks third in the OBU history books. The OBU career record is 157 receptions, set by Cagney Roberson (2015-18), which he should also pass soon.
- Sophomore Julian Clarke recorded the first touchdown of his young Bison career last week against Tech. Clarke has 18 grabs and 222 total yards on the year, ranking him third on the squad. Freshman Michael Marshall also notched his first career touchdown reception as he's added 100 yards to his 2021 season total.
DYNAMIC DUO
- The linebacking tandem on Josh Arnold and Nick Boone sit atop the conference with 57 and 53 total tackles, respectively. The two have a combined 21.5 TFLs this season for over 100 yards. Arnold has 13.5 of those TFLs, which already surpasses his career total prior to this season and ranks fourth in the nation. The number is good for number one in the GAC, as Boone's 8.0 TFLs are tied for second. Arnold has compiled 159 unassisted tackles throughout his storied Bison career, tying him for first all-time with Bryndon Pitzer (2013-16). Earlier in the year, he surpassed Pitzer for the all-time tackle record.
SACK PARTY
- The OBU defense has spent a lot of time in the backfield this season as they've recorded 43.0 TFLs and 15.0 sacks, good for third in the conference. Much of the activity in the backfield can be credited to the work done upfront by Robert Lolofie and freshman Malik Allen. Lolofie and Allen boast matching totals of 4.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks this season.
GREEDY SECONDARY
- The Bison secondary has come down with five interceptions in 2021, ranking them in a tie for fourth in the league. Corners Tyler King and Jordan Jay lead the squad with two interceptions apiece while King adds three pass breakups on the season. Junior Will Kohman collected the first interception of his career last week as the safety has 30 tackles so far, suitable for a third-place ranking on the team.
LAST TIME OUT
- Oklahoma Baptist let a resilient Arkansas Tech football team get the best of them as the Bison fell 38-35 late against the Wonderboys in Russellville. Special teams played a significant factor in the game as an Arkansas Tech kickoff return late in the fourth quarter put ATU in a position to take the lead and, eventually, the game. The Bison were outgained by the Wonderboys 469-382, as Tech put up 382 passing yards and 87 yards on the ground. OBU charted 305 through the air and 77 rushing yards with only one turnover. Quarterback Preston Haire threw for those 305 yards, completing 24 passes for three scores and an interception. Rueben Thompson reached paydirt twice as he added 37 yards on the ground, while Tyler Stuver was held at a bay for 52 yards on 14 attempts. Keilahn Harris and Josh Cornell filled the stat sheet as both cleared 100 yards receiving, including two scores from Cornell.
- In the first quarter, Oklahoma Baptist jumped out to a 14-0 lead after forcing the ATU offense into a couple of three-and-outs. Shortly after, Arkansas Tech found their rhythm to score 17 points before halftime but trailed OBU 21-17. After the break, the two squads exchanged a few scores, but Tech got the last laugh as they denied OBU clearance into the endzone as time dwindled in the fourth. Nick Boone led the OBU defense with 11 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. Josh Arnold followed up with nine tackles, a sack, and 1.0 TFL to round out the Bison defensive front. On the backend, safety Will Kohman collected an interception and seven tackles.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
- East Central comes into the weekend with a 4-2 record, their best start since the 2015 season. The Tigers currently sit tied for third in the conference after notching a notable win against Southern Arkansas a few weeks back. The Tigers' rushing offense ranks fifth in the league as they've compiled 980 yards and three scores. Defensively, ECU boasts the third-ranked defense in the GAC, allowing 352.5 yards of offense per game. Their passing defense stands out even more as the Tigers have picked off seven balls and only allow 170.3 yards through the air per game.
- ECU is coming off a 59-24 loss to No. 9 Henderson State, where the Reddies compiled over 500 yards of offense. East Central fell in an early 21-0 hole and couldn't claw their way out as HSU found the endzone in every quarter of the game. Redshirt sophomore Kenny Hrncir leads the ECU offense with 1,170 passing yards and nine scores. Senior tailback Ontario Douglas heads up the Tiger backfield with 391 yards on the ground thus far, but has been sidelined the last couple of games due to injury. Nemier Herod and Miles Davis have filled the void in the running game as they've racked up 176 and 147 yards, respectively. Senior linebacker RJ Williams ranks number one of the squad with 45 tackles on the year, good for sixth in the GAC. Williams has added 4.0 TFLs, a sack, and an interception to his stat sheet. Safety Cameron Jones comes in at second with 39 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble this season.
- In 2019, Oklahoma Baptist beat East Central in a 51-40 shootout in Shawnee. The OBU offense recorded the second-most yards gained in school history with 601, as 289 came on the ground. Preston Haire threw for 312 yards and two scores, which went to Josh Cornell, who added 89 yards. Braden Phipps had a stellar game as well, catching two passes for 78 yards. Defensively, Josh Arnold added nine tackles while Trajan Lands and Taurean Smith collected seven tackles. Other notables were Tyler King and Felipe Alvear, who both recorded four tackles.
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