No. 25 Henderson State (2-0) at Arkansas-Monticello (1-1)
Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium | Monticello, Arkansas | 6 p.m. CT
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ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State puts its new No. 25 national ranking on the line on Saturday when it travels to Monticello, Arkansas to face UAM at 6 p.m. inside Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.

TOP STORYLINES: SETTING THE SCENE
– The Reddies are riding high after a 55-7 win over NWOSU last Saturday at home. HSU racked up 623 yards of total offense in the victory and held the Rangers to just 227 total yards. It was the highest offensive output for Henderson since the 2016 season and the most points scored in a single game by the Reddies since 2018.

– Saturday is the 83rd matchup all-time between the two old AIC rivals. HSU leads the series 49-31-2 and is 18-5 against UAM since 1996. The Reddies have won nine of the last 10 meetings with the Weevils and have not lost in Monticello since 2000. The last three meetings have all been decided by just one score.

REDDIES REPORT: OFFENSE
– The Reddies had a huge night at home against NWOSU and ran 77 plays for 623 yards in a 55-7 victory. HSU amassed 35 first downs and surpassed the 300-yard mark in both rushing and passing. Henderson scored on six of its seven total drives in the second half and out-scored the Rangers 38-0 in the final 30 minutes of play.

– Through two weeks, Henderson is at or near the top of the GAC in almost every statistical category. The Reddies are No. 15 nationally in total offense (505 yards per game), second in all of NCAA DII with 64 first downs in two games, and No. 1 in the country in red zone offense with 13 scores on 13 possessions inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

– HSU is third in the conference in rushing offense (261 yards per game) and is averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Both Duce Sproles and Kris Morris rank inside the Top-10 in the GAC in rushing yards with 186 and 139 yards on the ground, respectively. 

– Henderson has thrown for 488 yards and ranks seventh in the league in passing offense. L’liott Curry and Xavier Malone are each in the Top-10 in the conference in receiving yards with 188 and 180, respectively. They have combined to catch 24 of HSU’s 36 completed passes this season. Adam Morse is completing 62.1% of his passes and and has thrown for five touchdowns, which is tied for third-most in the GAC.

– The Reddies have been excellent on third down through two contests and have converted on 56% percent (14-for-25) of their third down attempts. HSU has also controlled the clock and is second in the GAC in time of possession (34:42 per game).

REDDIES REPORT: DEFENSE
– The Reddie defense has been stout in its first two games of the 2021 season and has surrendered just 20 total points in eight quarters of play. Henderson is No. 1 in the GAC and No. 10 in all of NCAA DII in scoring defense (10 points per game). HSU is third in the conference in total defense (287.5 yards per game).

– Henderson has been very stingy against the run and is one of just four teams in the league holding opponents to under 100 yards per game on the ground (86.5 per game). HSU limited NWOSU to just 94 yards on 34 attempts in Saturday’s win.

– Forcing turnovers was a key for the Reddies back in 2019 and that point of emphasis has carried over into 2021. HSU leads the GAC with seven turnovers gained and has the best turnovers margin (+5) of any team in the GAC.

– After two games, Henderson leads all of NCAA DII with six interceptions. Only three other programs nationally have five picks and HSU is the only school in the country with six. All six interceptions have been made by different players. Reddies have picked off three passes in back-to-back games for the first time since Sept. 19 and Sept. 26 of 2015. 

– Much like the offense, the HSU defense has been lights out in the red zone. The Reddies are No. 1 in the GAC in red zone defense and have only allowed one red zone score by an opponent in four total possessions (25% scoring for opponents).

– Opponents have struggled against the Henderson defense on third down and are just 7-for-23 (30%) on third down conversions in the first two weeks of the year. Northwestern Oklahoma finished 3-for-15 on third down in Saturday’s contest against HSU.

REDDIES REPORT: SPECIAL TEAMS
– Temo Martinez was the beneficiary of an explosive night for the Henderson offense on Saturday and finished 5-for-5 on extra point attempts. Martinez did some scoring in his own right as well, as he drilled field goals of 25 and 43 yards. The junior is 4-for-5 on field goal attempts this year and 9-for-9 on extra points. He now has 150 points in his career at Henderson State.

– David Heaton, a transfer from Louisiana-Monroe and the brother of Reddies’ punter Tristan Heaton, saw the first action of his career and kicked the last two extra points for HSU.

– Tristan Heaton punted just three times in the 55-7 win but averaged 42.3 yards per kick and had a long punt of 48 yards. 

SCOUTING ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
– Arkansas-Monticello comes into Saturday night’s contest 1-1 on the year after falling 45-20 to Oklahoma Baptist on the road in Shawnee, Oklahoma last week. The Weevils won their opener at home over Southern Nazarene 30-23.

– UAM has aired the ball out on offense through the first two games. The Weevils are third in the GAC in passing attempts (75) and yards (683) and are averaging 341.5 passing yards per game. On the other side of the coin, Monticello has struggled to run the ball and ranks 10th in the league in rushing offense (67.5 yards per game). UAM is averaging just 2.2 yards per carry through two contests.

– Weevils’ quarterback Demilon Brown, who was the GAC Freshman of the Year back in 2019, has been impressive so far this season. Brown leads the conference in total offense (384.5 yards per game) and is UAM’s leading rusher with 86 yards on the ground. Brown has already run for three touchdowns and thrown for four in 2021.

– Monticello has three tremendous pass-catchers who have already eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving for the year. CJ Parham, LaCedric Smith and DeAndre Washington have combined to catch 32 passes for 545 yards and four scores in just two games.

– Defensively, Arkansas-Monticello has been strong against the run and susceptible to the pass. UAM is seventh in the GAC in total defense (394 yards per game allowed) and fifth in rushing defense (109 yards per game allowed). However, the Weevils have been hurt by opponents through the air and rank 11th in the conference in passing defense (285 yards per game allowed).

– UAM has been a different team at home versus on the road in recent years. The Weevils were 4-1 at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium in 2019, with their lone loss coming to HSU, and are 1-0 in Monticello, Arkansas this fall.

THE COACHING MATCHUP
– Henderson State is led by head coach Scott Maxfield, who is 110-58 in his 16 seasons at the school. Maxfield is nine wins away from tying HSU legend Sporty Carpenter for the most wins in program history (119). In his career with the Reddies, Maxfield is 12-2 against Arkansas-Monticello with an average margin of victory of over 30 points.

– Arkansas-Monticello’s head coach is Hud Jackson, who is in his 10th year at the school and has a record of 35-66 in his career with the Weevils. 20 of his 35 wins at UAM have come since the start of the 2016 season. Jackson led Monticello to a 6-6 season in 2018 and defeated Henderson State for the first, and only, time in his career. The 24-17 win in Arkadelphia was the Weevils’ first victory over the Reddies since 2008.

THE LAST MEETING
– A gutsy effort from its defense and a spectacular afternoon from L’liott Curry won the day for No. 23 Henderson State, as the Reddies fought past Arkansas-Monticello 27-20 back on Nov. 2, 2019. The win improved HSU to 8-1 on the year.

– Curry proved to be the difference for Henderson in the win, as he snagged 10 passes for a career-high 184 yards and two touchdowns. The Reddies’ defense was equally impressive and stood tall all game despite playing 77 snaps and being on the field for over 37 minutes.

– The Reddies had the ball for just 22 minutes in the victory and ran 56 plays to 77 for UAM. Richard Stammetti finished 16-of-30 through the air for 278 yards and three scores, while Logan Moragne carried the ball 12 times for 81 yards and scored a touchdown for the eighth-consecutive week.

UAM CLEAR BAG POLICY AT CONVOY LESLIE STADIUM
– For all Henderson State fans traveling to the game on Saturday, please be aware that the University of Arkansas-Monticello adheres to a clear bag policy inside of its football stadium. The details of the clear bag policy at UAM can be found HERE.

WHERE TO LISTEN
– The game will be broadcast and available by the Henderson State Sports Network on KDEL 100.9 FM and KVRC 1240 AM in Arkadelphia, KWPS 99.7 FM in Hot Springs, KYXK 106.7 FM in Gurdon, and KZYP 104.1 FM/1310 AM in Malvern. Coverage begins one hour prior to kickoff. The radio broadcast can also be heard on the web by going to the audio link for the game at hsusports.com.–