OBU Set for Saturday Night Contest at SWOSU

SHAWNEE – After two consecutive home games, the Oklahoma Baptist Bison hit the road this week for a GAC matchup with the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs. OBU invades Bulldog territory in Weatherford for their 25th meeting all-time and sixth since joining D-II. The game will be featured on obubison.com and called on the radio with the trio of Todd Miller, John Brooks, and Scott Wanish.

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Game Notes

ALONE AT THE TOP

• Redshirt senior linebacker Josh Arnold cemented his name in Oklahoma Baptist football history as he became the all-time leading tackler last week. The captain needed just three tackles to eclipse the previous record of 305, held by Bryden Pitzer (2013-16), and did so by collecting seven tackles against the Rangers. Arnold also became the all-time leader in career solo tackles, totaling 161 throughout his career and passing D'Ante Meeking's record of 153. 

THE KEILAHN SHOW

• The Collinsville native is only 11 unassisted tackles away from breaking the all-time record, held by Pitzer at 159. Arnold added 2.0 sacks in honorable fashion to wrap up his historic night. Sophmore receiver Keilahn Harris has yet to cool down this season as he collected at least 100 yards receiving for the third straight game. Harris caught nine passes for 100 yards and a score. The wideout went on to collect his first kickoff return touchdown of his young Bison career, as he took one 87 yards to the house, totaling 140 return yards on the day. This set a school record for most kickoff return yards in a single game, breaking Eugene Estes' record of 131 yards that was set back in 2013. Harris' electrifying performance garnered GAC special teams player of the week honors, the first of his career. Harris has taken the GAC and nation by storm this season, compiling 375 receiving yards, 35 receptions, and seven total scores through week three. The Texan leads the nation in receptions per game and ranks fourth in receiving touchdowns.  

IN HAIRE WE TRUST

• Quarterback Preston Haire is off to the best start of his career, totaling 1,033 passing yards, 13 touchdown passes, and completing over 71% of his passes through the first three games. Haire has 97 completions with only two interceptions, as he averages over 340 passing yards per game. Currently, Haire leads the nation in total pass completions, averaging 32.33 per game and passing touchdowns. The signal-caller ranks two in the country in passing yards, passing yards per game, total offense, and points responsible for. Haire's numbers have garnered him much attention as he's been named offensive player of the week twice through three games. If the quarterback keeps this is up, a campaign for the Harlon Hill, the award giving to the best player in Division II football, is in the future.

KEEP FEEDING STUEVER

• Runningback Tyler Stuever erupted for a career-high 180 yards on the ground and a score against Northwestern. Stuever averaged nearly eight yards per carry, another career-best, as the Rangers had no answer for the OBU rushing attack. Stuever has rushed for 351 yards this season, ranking him second in the league and 12th in the nation. He has added a couple of scores to his totals as well. 

RECEIVING CORPS

• Redshirt-junior Josh Cornell led the Bison with two touchdown receptions on six receptions and 80 yards last week. Cornell has caught 24 passes for 298 yards and three scores on the year so far. After last week's receiving yardage total, Cornell becomes just the third OBU player in history to eclipse the 1,500 receiving yards mark with 1505 total career yards. The receiver passes up Stephan Turner (2014-17) for third place in school history for career receiving yards. Redshirt-freshman Michael Marshall has proved to be another reliable target for Haire as he has caught five passes for 61 yards and a score this season. Marshall brought in the first touchdown of his career last week, as he finished with three catches for 48 yards. Julian Clarke and Braden Phipps each caught two passes for 41 and 23 yards, respectively. Phipps and tight end Sam Berry added one touchdown reception apiece, the first of their careers. 

LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD

• The Bison defense totaled eight tackles for loss and sacked the Rangers four times last week. Led by Josh Arnold, OBU's defense rose to the challenge every time the team needed it. Linebacker Noah Velicer turned in his best performance of the season, totaling two tackles for loss and six tackles. Nick Boone broke up one pass alongside him, collected six tackles, and a tackle for loss. Defensive lineman Robert Lolofie recorded a sack for the second week in a row while Freshman Malik Allen chipped in another. Loloife and Allen have four and three tackles for loss on the year, respectively. The duo also boasts two sacks apiece.

SECONDARY SCRAPPERS

• Sophomore Tyler King led the secondary with one interception, the first of his career, and five tackles. Behind him, BJ Westmoreland, Matthew Norman, and KJ Price Jr. each recorded five tackles. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Oklahoma Baptist caught themselves in a shootout with Northwestern Oklahoma State last Saturday as the two exchanged touchdowns until OBU pulled away to win 56-42 in front of over 2,500 fans in Shawnee, OBU outgained the Rangers 525-321 as the offense scored seven times. It didn't take long for the offense to find its rhythm as Tyler Stuever broke the seal of the game with a 32-yard scamper down the sideline. After a NWOSU score, Oklahoma Baptist responded with two more touchdowns, including an 87-yard kickoff return, the first of the season. The Bison found the endzone again as Josh Cornell caught a touchdown pass with time dwindling into the half. Preston Haire led a 65-yard drive out of the break that ended with another Cornell touchdown reception to put the Bison up 42-21. The Rangers would claw their way back into the matchup with 21 second-half points, but the Bison kept the lead comfortable enough to come away with the victory. The Oklahoma Baptist offense set a new all-time school record with six passing touchdowns, breaking the previous record of five. On the ground, the offensive line paved the way for the best rushing performance this season, finishing the game with 221 yards. The big men up front also didn't allow a sack. 
• Defensively, the Bison racked up eight tackles for loss and sacked Northwestern four times. The dark side forced two turnovers, bringing their season total to seven through three games.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• Southwestern Oklahoma State welcomes Oklahoma Baptist into Weatherford with an 0-3 record, dropping their first three matchups to Henderson State, Southern Arkansas, and Southeastern. The Bulldogs are coming off a tough road loss at the hands of the undefeated Savage Storm, as they fell 37-38 in Durant last week. SWOSU faired well against SEOSU as the Savage Storm only outgained the Bulldogs by 62 yards. After an electric first half involving 48 points scored, the defenses locked in only allowed a touchdown apiece in the second. It was a Southeastern touchdown with 1:35 left that handed Southwestern their third loss of the season. Sophomore quarterback Tanner Griffin has thrown for 1,007 yards and two eight touchdowns so far this season. Griffin has completed over 59 percent of his passes and averages just over 335 passing yards per game. Griffin ranks fourth in the nation in total passing yards and is tied for 18th in passing touchdowns.Justin Bailey has been Griffins's favorite target with 16 receptions for 269 yards and one touchdown. The wealth has been evenly spread over three other receivers, Deshon Moreaux, Torin Justice, and Adrian Williams who have each collected over 150 receiving yards.
• Defensively, junior linebacker Orlando Brown leads the Bulldogs with 23 total tackles, including 12 solos. Linebackers Logan Engle and Isaiah Moore have been in on 17 and 13 tackles, respectively. Junior defensive lineman Nate Burnard has a team-best 3.0 tackles for loss, while Courtney Ledyard comes up right behind with 2.5 this season.
• Last season, the Bison snagged the early lead and never looked back as they held off the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs for a 35-21 win in their home finale at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex. The win was the 10th straight over teams from the state of Oklahoma. Tyler Stuever led the way with 119 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The Oklahoma Baptist offense racked up 494 yards of total offense, including 316 through the air. Defensively, Josh Arnold finished with nine tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.