RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The fifth week of 2013 Great American Conference football season opens on Thursday night when Southern Arkansas hosts Harding on the CBS Sports Network Division II Game of the Week. Five more games take place on Saturday including 3-0 Ouachita Baptist facing 3-1 Southwestern Oklahoma State and No. 8/9 Henderson State making its first-ever trip to Alva, Okla. where the Reddies will play Northwestern Oklahoma State.
GAC REWIND WITH MICHAEL WESTBROOK
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GAC WEEK FIVE STORYLINES // GAC NOTEBOOK // GAC SCOREBOARD
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Game |
Venue/Location |
Time/Date |
Series/Last Meeting |
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Harding (2-1, 2-1 GAC) |
Wilkins Stadium (6,000) |
7:00 PM |
Southern Arkansas leads 25-23-1 |
|
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS (3-1, 3-1 GAC) |
Magnolia, Ark. |
Oct. 3 |
HU, 23-20 (October 6, 2012) |
Two GAC schools that advanced to the postseason a year ago play in front of a national television audience on the CBS Sports Network when Southern Arkansas hosts Harding. A year ago, the Bisons and Muleriders met in El Dorado, Ark. in the Boomtown Classic. The Bisons rallied from an early 13-0 deficit with a 23-20 win. Kicker John Gay named a 44-yard field goal on the final play of the game. Harding special teams played a major role in the win as the Bisons returned a blocked PAT for two points as well as a blocked punt for a score - both blocked by current New York Giant Ty Powell. After suffering week one losses, both squads enter Thursday on win streaks. Harding has won its last two games by a combined 132-21 margin. The Bisons renowned flexbone offense has rushed for 959 yards in those two wins. Southern Arkansas’s offense, which has averaged 41.8 points per game, counters with its potent backfield of quarterback Tyler Sykora and running Mark Johnson. Sykora ranks second in the league in passing yards per game, 312.2 and Johnson ranks third in rushing yard per game, 103.8. ||
HU Game Notes || SAU Game Notes || Ronnie Huckeba Interview || Bill Keopple Interview || Live Stats ||
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Game |
Venue/Location |
Time/Date |
Series/Last Meeting |
|
#8/9 Henderson State (4-0, 3-0 GAC) |
Ranger Field (6,000) |
1:00 PM |
Northwestern Oklahoma State leads 1-0 |
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NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE (0-4, 0-4 GAC) |
Alva, Okla. |
Oct. 5 |
NWOSU, 56-7 (August 31, 2002) |
HSU bring the nation’s top offense to Alva for the just the second meeting between the Reddies and the Rangers. The prior meeting came in 2002 in Arkadelphia and the Rangers left with a 56-7 win. HSU quarterback Kevin Rodgers surpassed the 7,000-yard mark for passing yards last week, giving the GAC three active QBs with at least that many yards (SAU’s Tyler Sykora and SWOSU’s Dustin Stenta) - the only conference in Division II will that distinction. ||
HSU Game Notes ||
NWOSU Game Notes || Live Stats
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Game |
Venue/Location |
Time/Date |
Series/Last Meeting |
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Ouachita Baptist (3-0, 3-0 GAC) |
Fast Lane Stadium (9,000) |
2:00 PM |
Ouachita Baptist leads 6-3 |
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SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE (3-1, 3-1 GAC) |
Weatherford, Okla. |
Oct 5 |
OBU, 33-12 (October 6, 2012) |
The 3-0 Tigers head to Weatherford to face the 3-1 Bulldogs in the first ever Paul Sharp Cup contest. Sharp, an OBU alum, won a school-record 93 games as head coach at SWOSU, including the 1996 NAIA National Championship. The Tigers forced a GAC record seven turnovers in their home-opening win Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma State. Defensive Player of the Week Antwion Patterson recorded 4.5 tackles-for-loss in the win. ||
SWOSU Game Notes || Live Stats
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Game |
Venue/Location |
Time/Date |
Series/Last Meeting |
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Texas A&M-Commerce (2-2) |
Paul Laird Field (9,000) |
2:00 PM |
Southeastern Oklahoma State leads 9-8-1 |
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SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE (1-3, 1-3 GAC) |
Durant, Okla. |
Oct. 5 |
SOSU, 31-6 (September 1, 2012) |
Southeastern Oklahoma State ventures outside of GAC play to take a former Lone Star Conference rival. The series dates back to a scoreless tie in 1919. Southeastern holds a 9-8-1 lead in the series thanks to a 31-6 victory in last year’s season opener. The Savage Storm limited to the Lions to just 185 yards of offense. SE’s Anthony Foster and Kaymon Farmer share the GAC lead and rank 8th in the nation in receptions per game, 8.8. ||
TAM-C Game Notes || SOSU Game Notes
|| Live Stats
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Game |
Venue/Location |
Time/Date |
Series/Last Meeting |
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Arkansas Tech (2-2, 2-2 GAC) |
Cotton Boll Stadium (4,500) |
3:00 PM |
Arkansas Tech leads 43-24-3 |
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ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO (2-2, 2-2 GAC) |
Monticello, Ark. |
Oct. 5 |
ATU 24-21 (October 20, 2012) |
Two teams off tough road losses meet in Monticello as UAM and Tech square off the 71st time. Last year, the Wonder Boys won for the sixth time in the last seven meetings by forcing a fumble at the goal line with 15 seconds left in the game after having scored the go-ahead touchdown with 2:15 left. Tech’s Ketrich Harmon averages 9.8 yards per rush while UAM’s tandem of Skylar Scott and Jamal Nixon rank in the GAC’s top 10 in receiving yards per game. ||
ATU Game Notes ||
UAM Game Notes || Live Stats
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Game |
Venue/Location |
Time/Date |
Series/Last Meeting |
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Southern Nazarene (0-4, 0-4 GAC) |
Norris Field (5,000) |
4:00 PM |
East Central leads 2-0 |
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EAST CENTRAL (1-3, 1-3 GAC) |
Ada, Okla. |
Oct. 5 |
ECU 37-15 (September 8, 2012) |
For the second-straight year, the Crimson Storm and Tigers will meet in Ada. A year ago, the Tigers registered eight sacks and established a GAC record for fewest rushing yards allowed in a game (-70). ECU quarterback Spencer Bond has 760 of the Tigers’ 841 yards of offense in the last two weeks. SNU’S Michael Hicks increased his career tackle total to 258. He needs 16 to match Chris Bogle’s career record of 274. ||
SNU Game Notes ||
ECU Game Notes ||
Live Stats