EL DORADO, AR – The game featured the two top offenses in the Great American Conference and it lived up to the hype as Henderson State beat Southern Arkansas 55-41 to win the Murphy USA Football Classic in Eldorado, Ark.
The two teams combined for 1194 yards of offense with Henderson State having 681 yards.
Kevin Rodgers completed 25-of-46 passes for 509 yards and 5 touchdown tosses.
Rodgers went over the 500-yard mark for the fourth time in his career and has now thrown for at least 3,000 yards each of the last three years.
The product of Rockwall, Texas also carried the ball four times for 32 yards giving him 541 yards of total offense for the game. In addition, Rodgers has thrown for at least 3,000 yards in each of the last three seasons.
For only the second time in HSU history, three receivers went over 100 yards with Darius Davis leading the way with 5 catches for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Davis broke the HSU single-season record for touchdown receptions with his 18th of the year, surpassing the record of 16 set by Davis last year.
Joseph Snapp had a career-high 8 receptions for 139 yards and a score while James Jackson had 3 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively Josh Davis returned to his hometown and had a career-high 14 tackles to lead the Reddies. The El Dorado product had two tackles for lost yardage, a sack and three quarterback hurries.
The Reddies, 9-1 overall and 8-1 in the GAC, got on the board first at the 9:19 mark as Jackson recorded his first career touchdown on a 62-yard pass from Rodgers to give Henderson a 7-0 advantage.
Southern Arkansas then tied things at 7-7 as the Muleriders took advantage of HSU fake punt that failed. From the Reddie 28, Si Blackshire connected with a wide-open Jonathan Weisheit with 6:34 left in the quarter.
The Reddies then pushed their lead to 21-7 on a 61-yard touchdown reception by Davis followed by a 1-yard run by Rodney Bryson.
Following a 46-yard touchdown reception by SAU’s Zikerious Ware to cut the deficit to 21-14, the Reddies managed a 30-yard field goal by Houston Ray and a 9-yard touchdown catch by Snapp to make the score 31-14.
Henderson had the opportunity to add to its leads late in the half, but the Reddies failed to score from the 1-yard line as time expired.
SAU surged for 16 points in the third quarter benefitting from two Henderson State turnovers and three pass interference calls.
Rodgers was able to hook up with Davis for a 52 yard score before the end of the third quarter to make the score 38-30.
SAU then tied the game at the 14:01 mark in the fourth quarter as Blackshire scored on a two-yard run and then converted the two-point conversion to tie the score at 38-38.
The Reddies briefly regained the lead as Ray connected on a 27-yard field goal with 12:34 to play to make the score 41-38.
SAU answered as Bradford Grems booted a 29-yard field goal with 9:08 left to knot the score at 41-41.
Henderson quickly struck as Snapp caught passes of 39 and 10 yards, while Dustin Holland added a 10-yard catch to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Ryan McDonald at the 8:05 mark to make the score 48-41.
The Reddies got the break they need as Lawson Schulz forced a Blackshire fumble with Cameron Devereaux recovering the loose pigskin.
Henderson State proceeded to move the ball down field and with 4:39 remaining in the game, Rodgers found Corey Chappell in the flat for a 7-yard touchdown.
The Muleriders failed to move the ball on their next possession and the Reddies got the ball back and ran out the clock.
Along with his 173 yards receiving, Davis had 99 return yards giving him 272 all-purpose yards for the game.
Henderson had 172 yards rushing, with Rodney Bryson leading the way with 76 yards.
Henderson State will finish the regular-season when the Reddies play host to Ouachita Baptist in the 88th meeting of the Battle of the Ravine. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. next Saturday at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.
(Courtesy: Henderson State Sports Information)
The two teams combined for 1194 yards of offense with Henderson State having 681 yards.
Kevin Rodgers completed 25-of-46 passes for 509 yards and 5 touchdown tosses.
Rodgers went over the 500-yard mark for the fourth time in his career and has now thrown for at least 3,000 yards each of the last three years.
The product of Rockwall, Texas also carried the ball four times for 32 yards giving him 541 yards of total offense for the game. In addition, Rodgers has thrown for at least 3,000 yards in each of the last three seasons.
For only the second time in HSU history, three receivers went over 100 yards with Darius Davis leading the way with 5 catches for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Davis broke the HSU single-season record for touchdown receptions with his 18th of the year, surpassing the record of 16 set by Davis last year.
Joseph Snapp had a career-high 8 receptions for 139 yards and a score while James Jackson had 3 catches for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively Josh Davis returned to his hometown and had a career-high 14 tackles to lead the Reddies. The El Dorado product had two tackles for lost yardage, a sack and three quarterback hurries.
The Reddies, 9-1 overall and 8-1 in the GAC, got on the board first at the 9:19 mark as Jackson recorded his first career touchdown on a 62-yard pass from Rodgers to give Henderson a 7-0 advantage.
Southern Arkansas then tied things at 7-7 as the Muleriders took advantage of HSU fake punt that failed. From the Reddie 28, Si Blackshire connected with a wide-open Jonathan Weisheit with 6:34 left in the quarter.
The Reddies then pushed their lead to 21-7 on a 61-yard touchdown reception by Davis followed by a 1-yard run by Rodney Bryson.
Following a 46-yard touchdown reception by SAU’s Zikerious Ware to cut the deficit to 21-14, the Reddies managed a 30-yard field goal by Houston Ray and a 9-yard touchdown catch by Snapp to make the score 31-14.
Henderson had the opportunity to add to its leads late in the half, but the Reddies failed to score from the 1-yard line as time expired.
SAU surged for 16 points in the third quarter benefitting from two Henderson State turnovers and three pass interference calls.
Rodgers was able to hook up with Davis for a 52 yard score before the end of the third quarter to make the score 38-30.
SAU then tied the game at the 14:01 mark in the fourth quarter as Blackshire scored on a two-yard run and then converted the two-point conversion to tie the score at 38-38.
The Reddies briefly regained the lead as Ray connected on a 27-yard field goal with 12:34 to play to make the score 41-38.
SAU answered as Bradford Grems booted a 29-yard field goal with 9:08 left to knot the score at 41-41.
Henderson quickly struck as Snapp caught passes of 39 and 10 yards, while Dustin Holland added a 10-yard catch to set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Ryan McDonald at the 8:05 mark to make the score 48-41.
The Reddies got the break they need as Lawson Schulz forced a Blackshire fumble with Cameron Devereaux recovering the loose pigskin.
Henderson State proceeded to move the ball down field and with 4:39 remaining in the game, Rodgers found Corey Chappell in the flat for a 7-yard touchdown.
The Muleriders failed to move the ball on their next possession and the Reddies got the ball back and ran out the clock.
Along with his 173 yards receiving, Davis had 99 return yards giving him 272 all-purpose yards for the game.
Henderson had 172 yards rushing, with Rodney Bryson leading the way with 76 yards.
Henderson State will finish the regular-season when the Reddies play host to Ouachita Baptist in the 88th meeting of the Battle of the Ravine. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. next Saturday at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.
(Courtesy: Henderson State Sports Information)