OBU Hosts No. 16 Henderson State on Senior Day

SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist football team returns to Shawnee for Senior Day, searching for their first win in school history against No. 16 Henderson State on Saturday. The Bison will host the Reddies for their sixth meeting all-time and fourth at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex, this time with significant postseason implications. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Live video of Saturday's contest is available on OBUBison.com 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

• The Bison are coming off a historic 44-40 victory over Southern Arkansas, the first win over the Muleriders in program history. After being down 14-0 in the first quarter, the Bison piled on 44 points to beat SAU on their home turf.

THIS ONE MEANS MORE

• Oklahoma Baptist is currently ranked fifth in the Great American Conference, behind four league teams that hold spots in the NCAA Regional Rankings. The Bison have suffered losses to two of those teams and won against another. The last team to face is Henderson State, who currently is ranked No. 16 in the nation and sits second in the conference. If OBU comes out on top, it'll increase the chances of the Bison's hopes of a postseason berth as they'll have one game remaining at Southern Nazarene. A bowl game bid would be the first in Oklahoma Baptist program history.

A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

• After sacking the Muleriders twice last week, the OBU defense has 23 sacks this season. That total is number one in the GAC. Those sacks have resulted in 172 yards lost, which is also first in the league and 26th in the nation. To put into perspective how good these numbers are, through the 2018 and 2019 seasons, the Bison defense totaled 24.0 sacks. That is quite an improvement as the next single-season highest was in 2015, when OBU tallied 22.0 team sacks. That is not all, as the Oklahoma Baptist defense has 61.0 TFLs, good for a tie in first place in the GAC. The revamp has been substantial in this category too, as OBU already surpassed the two previous season's total of 48.0 (2019) and 46.0 (2018). The dark side adds seven forced fumbles, seven interceptions, 27 pass breakups to their sum this year. Currently, the Bison are the third-ranked rush defense in the conference.

PARTY AT THE FOOTBALL

• The defensive pursuit to the football has been relentless this season, as five OBU players rank within the top-25 for total sacks in the conference. Linebacker Josh Arnold is second in the GAC with 6.0, while Nick Boone comes in at eight with 4.5 sacks. Meanwhile, Robert Lolofie and freshman Malik Allen are tied for 12th with a matching 3.5 sacks. Freshman Nick Carpin rounds up the Bison group in 22nd place, with 2.0 sacks this season. Aside from the sacks, Arnold leads the GAC with 16.5 TFLs. The next closest person has 12.5 TFLs. Nationally, that number ranks sixth, as he is averaging 1.8 per game. This year, the senior has 55 solo tackles, good for sixth in the country, a part of his 80 total takedowns. Arnold is five solo tackles away from breaking the all-time single-season OBU record of 59, set by Jailen Garrett in 2015. Linebacker Boone is not far behind with 73 tackles and 11.5 TFLs. His tackle total lands him third in the conference, while his stops behind the line of scrimmage are sixth.

• Half of OBU's six interceptions have been snagged by junior cornerback, Jay Jordan, which ranks third in the league. Jordan needs one interception to match the OBU single-season record of four, set by D'Ante Meeking in 2015. On the other side of the field, Tyler King has collected two picks and broken up six passes this year, a team high. Will Kohman has the last interception, as he adds one pass denial this season. The six interceptions are tied for seventh in the Great American Conference.

THE GOLDEN TRIO

• Quarterback Preston Haire leads the golden trio of himself, Josh Cornell, and Keilahn Harris. The three have been unstoppable this year, garnering much-deserved attention on national and league-wide statistical charts. Haire is coming off a week where he ran for a season-high 114 yards and one score. The signal-caller pitched two touchdowns en route to 387 yards of total offense. This season, Haire has 2,626 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and 245 completions. The Texan's total completions are second in the nation, while his touchdown passes rank fifth. All those passing yards come in at 10th in the country and second in the league. Coming into this season, Haire had seven 300-yard passing games, placing him sixth all-time in GAC history. He has five this season, bringing his total to 12, and is now fourth on the conference all-time charts.
• On the receiving end, it has been the Harris and Cornell show. The two rank among the best nationally and in the league. Harris broke the all-time single-season reception record last week with seven catches against SAU. Teammate Cornell held the record at 74, set back in 2019. This feat moves the sophomore into fifth place in GAC history for most receptions in a single season. Harris has amassed 906 yards and 13 touchdowns this year, as his receiving touchdown total ranks third across all levels of college football. Don't worry. Cornell is not far behind as the junior totals 753 yards, 63 catches, and 11 scores. His touchdown total comes in at fifth on any level of college football. The Allen, Texas is the all-time OBU receiving touchdown leader with 23 in his career.

POUNDING THE ROCK

• Runningback Tyler Stuever went for a season-high three touchdowns against the Muleriders last week. Stuever rumbled his way to 111 yards, bringing his season total to 924. He has the chance to become the second Bison to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since Isaiah Mallory recorded 1,083 yards in 2016. The junior is third in the conference with 924 yards this year, averaging 102.7 yards per game. His eight touchdowns are good for sixth in the GAC. Stuever now has 31 rushing touchdowns in his career, which is an all-time OBU record and counting.

• Oklahoma Baptist won their third straight game last Saturday as they shocked the Southern Arkansas Muleriders 44-40 in Magnolia. This was the first win against SAU in Bison history, having fallen to the Muleriders in five matchups. Southern Arkansas even boasted a 24-1 home record against Oklahoma schools coming into last week, making the win that much sweeter. SAU hopped out to an earlier lead in the first quarter, scoring 14 straight points to start off the contest. OBU gradually regained focus to score 21 points before the break, but trailed the Muleriders by three. After SAU scored 10 in the third, the Bison exploded for 20 points in the fourth quarter to push them over the edge and mark their first ever win against Southern Arkansas.
• Preston Haire was excellent in all facets of the game, throwing for 273 yards and rushing for a team-high 114 yards. Haire collected three touchdowns, including one on the ground. Josh Cornell was the most receptive of Haire as he tallied 10 catches for 148 yards and a score. Braden Phipps and Keilahn Harris were also reliable targets in the game. Harris caught seven balls and one score while Phipps recorded 40 yards on four catches. Runningback Tyler Stuever accounted for 111 of the 227 total OBU rushing yards against SAU. Stuever reached the endzone three times, bringing his season total to eight. Josh Arnold led the Bison defense with nine tackles while Nick Boone followed up with eight. Boone added 2.0 TFLs and 1.0 sacks to his sheet. Felipe Alvear and Tyler King posted a matching five tackles while Noah Velicer sacked SAU once. Junior Jay Jordan sniffed out his third interception of the season, which turned the tide of the entire game.

• No. 16 Henderson State enters the weekend with an 8-1 record, suitable for a second placing in the GAC. HSU is in search of its first NCAA playoff appearance since 2015. The Reddies can clinch a share in the conference title and likely secure a bid into the playoffs if they win their next two games. This HSU squad has been no secret to anyone nationally or around the conference. The Reddies boast the third-ranked offense in the Division-II, averaging 496.9 yards per game, and have tallied 48 total touchdowns. HSU leads the league with 4,472 total offensive yards, including 2783 yards through the air. The Reddies are coming off a 34-3 win over Southern Nazarene in Arkadelphia last Saturday. Henderson State piled up 454 yards of offense, including 284 passing yards. The passing game was most efficient as HSU made good on 26 of their 35 attempts (74.2%). The Reddie defense held SNU to just 74 yards on the ground and forced one turnover.
• Senior quarterback Adam Morse has appeared out of thin air, as he totaled 202 passing yards in seven games coming into the season. This year, Morse has thrown for a league-leading 2,763 yards and 23 touchdowns. He is ranked sixth in the nation for passing yards and is only second to Preston Haire for his total number of passing touchdowns. His favorite target has been L'Liott Curry, the only receiver over 1,000 yards so far in the GAC this season, averaging 118.8 yards per game. Curry's 1,069 yards rank third in D-II, while his 12 scores come in at three in the country. Linebacker Jacob Greenfield leads the Reddie defense with 55 tackles while defensive back Patrick Jones has 49. Deldric O'Bryant has picked off four passes, which ranks second in the GAC. The defense ranks fourth in the conference, allowing 373.8 total yards per game.
• In 2019, Henderson State escaped the Bison 35-28 after a score late in the game in Shawnee. Preston Haire totaled four touchdowns, including one rushing, and 343 yards of offense. Josh Cornell lit up the Reddies as he caught eight passes for 128 yards and a score. Defensively, Josh Arnold led the squad with 12 tackles, a sack, and a 1.0 TFL.