TEXARKANA — Henderson State was held to just 263 yards of total offense and Missouri Western used a dominant second half to defeat the Reddies 35-14 on Saturday in the 2019 Live United Bowl.

The loss ends the season for the Reddies, who finish 9-3 overall — a four-win improvement from the previous year and the program’s fifth season with nine or more victories since 2012.

After a sloppy start by both teams, Missouri Western took a 7-0 lead at the tail end of the opening quarter thanks to a 59-yard punt return from Trey Vaval which set the Griffons up at the HSU 6-yard line.

The Reddies got on the board in the second quarter when Adam Morse found L’liott Curryfrom nine yards out to tie the game at 7-7, but the Griffons answered just before the half and used an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive to take a 14-7 advantage into the break. MWSU came up empty inside the Reddies’ 25-yard line twice in the first 30 minutes.

Missouri Western set the tone early in the third quarter, when it marched 63 yards in nine plays on the opening drive of the half to increase its lead to 21-7 at the 10:14 mark. It was the first time all season Henderson had trailed by two scores.

Four plays and a punt from HSU, followed by another 41-yard punt return from Vaval, got the Griffons going again on their next possession. The short field resulted in a five-play, 45 yard touchdown drive which extended the deficit for Henderson to 28-7.

The Reddies got one touchdown back on their ensuing six-play, 67-yard drive, which was capped by a 7-yard scoring run from Darius Austin to make it 28-14, but MWSU’s offense continued to roll and punched in another touchdown with 11:27 remaining to end any hopes of a stunning comeback. Missouri Western scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the second half, which ate up more than 15 combined minutes off the clock.

Morse, in his first extended action of the year, led HSU with 122 passing yards and a touchdown. Curry ended his terrific season with four catches for 65 yards and a score, while Doug Johnson had a team-high 91 receiving yards on three catches.

The Griffon defense made life difficult for Henderson all day on Saturday. The Reddies competed just 10-of-37 passes and were held to 73 rushing yards on 24 carries. MWSU also controlled the time of possession battle, holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes in its win.

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RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech University has accepted an invitation to play in a postseason football bowl game for the second time in the last three years.

The Wonder Boys (8-3) will face the Pittsburg State University Gorillas (7-4) in the 2017 Agent Barry Live United Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Arkansas High School in Texarkana. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

General admission tickets ($10 adults/$4 students) are available for purchase at the Agent Barry Live United Bowl website. Gates will open at 10 a.m. on game day.

Arkansas Tech finished tied for second in the Great American Conference standings during the recently completed 2017 regular season. The Wonder Boys have secured three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2004-06.

Pittsburg State won its final five games of the regular season, including a 20-10 victory over two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Northwest Missouri State on Oct. 28 that ended the second-longest winning streak in Division II history at 38 games.

The Gorillas finished tied for fourth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standings.

The 2017 Agent Barry Live United Bowl will mark the first football meeting between Arkansas Tech and Pittsburg State since Sept. 13, 1986. The all-time series between the two programs is tied 4-4-2. The Gorillas won the four most recent meetings. The Wonder Boys’ last win over Pittsburg State was a 25-13 victory in Russellville on Oct. 2, 1939.

The Dec. 2 contest will mark the first postseason game between the two programs.

The bowl selection represents the 11th time in the 103-season history of Arkansas Tech football that the Wonder Boys have earned a place in the postseason.

Arkansas Tech appeared in the Rice Bowl in 1957 and 1958, the Great Southwest Bowl in 1960 and the AIC Bowl in 1968. The Wonder Boys qualified for the NAIA National Playoffs in 1971 and 1994, and they earned a place in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 1999, 2004 and 2009.

Tech’s most recent postseason appearance was a 51-35 win over Eastern New Mexico University in the 2015 C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl. It was the Wonder Boys’ first postseason win away from home since Dec. 6, 1957, when Arkansas Tech defeated what is now known as the University of Arkansas-Monticello 19-7 in the Rice Bowl at Stuttgart.

Tech has an all-time postseason football record of 5-8.

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TEXARKANA, Ark. – Cold, rainy, and windy conditions played a significant factor in the 2016 Agent Barry Live United Bowl between the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Javelinas and the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders as both teams were held well below their season averages in terms of scoring and total offense.

As a result, the outcome of the game figured to come down to field position and turnovers. For much of the game, the field position battle was even, but four turnovers by the Muleriders led to 17 points for the Javelinas, propelling A&M-Kingsville to a 24-17 win on Saturday afternoon at Razorback Stadium.

RECORDS
Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas (9-3)
(RV) Southern Arkansas Muleriders (9-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Weather conditions throughout the game made it difficult for both teams to get in to any offensive rhythm with that statement ringing true the most in the first quarter. Through the opening 15 minutes of play, neither team scored, and there was just 125 yards of total offense combined.
  • The Muleriders had a significant amount of those yards with 114 compared to Kingsville’s 11, but SAU was unable to find the endzone
• The game’s first points came on SAU’s second drive of the second quarter as junior kicker Bradford Grems connected on a 40-yard field goal with 8:48 left on the clock
• A&M-Kingsville continued to struggle offensively in the second quarter with just 21 yards of total offense generated, but the Javelinas went into the locker room with a four-point advantage, 7-3, as Devonte Williams had a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown right before the end of the first half.
• The Javelinas got the ball first to begin the second half, but the SAU defense, who did not allow a single third-down conversion in the game, quickly forced a punt. Two plays into SAU’s ensuing possession, the Muleriders were struck with their third turnover of the game. The Javelinas then made their most productive drive to that point in the game and found the endzone at the end of the drive to take a 14-3 lead.
• Minutes later, SAU pulled back to within four of the Javelinas, 14-10, as Barrett Renner and Tnner Hudson connected on a 25-yard pass play. The TD catch for Hudson, who recently was named an All-Super Region 3 First-Team Tight End, was his ninth of the season.
• On Kingsville’s first possession of the fourth quarter, the Javelinas took a 21-10 lead as they hit their biggest offensive play of the game, a 41-yard touchdown pass from Myles Carr to Anthony Autry.
• Momentum stayed with the Javelinas on the ensuing kickoff as the Muleriders committed their fourth turnover on the return. Forced to defend a short field, the SAU defense held the Javelinas to a field goal, keeping the game within reach, 24-10
• Following that, the Muleriders cut their deficit in half with just under three minutes left in the game as a productive 12-play, 84-yard drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Michael Nunnery.
• With all three of their timeouts at their disposal, the Muleriders kicked the ball deep and hoped to get the ball back to the offense for a potential game-tying score. The Javelinas, however were able to move the ball just enough and were able to run out the remainder of the game clock to secure the win.

OF NOTE

• The Muleriders end the season 9-3 overall. Their nine (9) wins are the most in a season since 2003 when the Muleriders finished 9-3 that year.
• Having already established 10 new records (single-game, single-season, or career) coming into the game, the Muleriders re-wrote six new marks at the conclusion of Saturday’s game. The new records included
  • Completion Percentage (Season)  – Barrett Renner (64.9 | 279-of-430)
  • Pass Attempts (Season) – Barrett Renner (430)
  • Pass Completions (Season – Team) – 296
  • Passing Yards (Season – Team) – 3,534 yards
  • Total Offense (Season – Team) – 5,637 yards
  • Points Scored (Season – Team) – 430
• Bradford Grems’ 40-yard field goal in the second quarter was his fifth made attempt from 40 yards or longer. Prior to this season, Grems career-long was 32 yards, set in 2014.

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