Southern Nazarene Game Notes
Arkansas Tech Game Notes
GAC Notebook

BETHANY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene University looks get back on track Saturday and get its first win of the season when Arkansas Tech pays a visit to Bethany for the first time in school history as this is the first meeting between these two programs.

The Crimson Storm are coming off a 49-24 defeat to Ouachita Baptist while Arkansas Tech is coming off a 28-17 loss to Southwestern Oklahoma State. The Wonder Boys won their season-opener 38-10 over Northwestern Oklahoma State. 

LAST WEEK
Southern Nazarene rallied from being down 28-7 in the first half with a late touchdown run by Chris Hunter and a field goal by Shaun Barnard to cut the lead to 28-17 at the break. Ouachita Baptist though pushed it out to 42-17 early in the fourth quarter before Dylan Terry hit Ryan Mischler with 8:57 to play get it to 42-24. The Tigers though put the finishing touches on the game with five minutes left when OBU's Brandon Marks broke off a 38-yard run to cap a 9-play, 77-yard drive and put OBU up 49-24.

SNU totaled 265 yards of offense with 76 coming on the ground and 189 coming through the air. Chris Hunter ran for 91 yards total on 19 carries and had two rushing touchdowns. Dylan Terry threw for 189 yards and one touchdown. He was 21-for-35 in passing attempts. Ryan Mischler pulled in a career-high eight catches for 70 yards, including a touchdown. 

On the defensive side, Michael Hicks led the way for Southern Nazarene with nine total tackles. Josh Price, Blake Cavill and Dylan Parker all had seven tackles. Christo Lisika and Jake Garrett each had a half sack while Sherrod Daniels notched his first career interception at SNU.

RECORD CHASING
Michael Hicks moved into fourth placed all-time in school history in total tackles as the junior passed Luke Olson (2008-11) and needs 25 more tackles to move into a tie for third with Dillon Brumbaugh (2009-12). Chris Bogle (200-03) holds the school's all-time record at 274. Hicks is just 33 tackles away from tying that record. His 126 unassisted tackles is sixth all-time in school history and needs four more to tie D'Antae Mitchell (200-04) for fifth. He also has 115 assisted tackles and needs three more to tie Brumbaugh for fifth. 

Hicks also needs just four more tackles for a loss to tie Dewald's record of 45.5 tackles for a loss. He is currently third all-time with 41.5 tackles for a loss. TJ Pearsall (2005-08) is second at 43 tackles for a loss. In the same breath, Hicks needs 65 more yards from tackles for a loss to tie Dewald's record of 230. Hicks currently has 165 yards from tackles for a loss and is tied for fifth with Clayton Franks (2002-05).

He also has 11.5 career sacks, ranking him ninth in school history. He needs 7.5 more sacks to catch Pearsall's record of 19. Trey Falkner and Jonathan Jenkins-Dill are tied for eighth with 12 sacks.

Dylan Terry is just 59 yards away from notching 2,500 yards passing in his career. The senior has 2,441 career yards and sits fourth all-time in school history in passing yards. He is also fourth all-time in passing touchdowns with 19 and needs four more to tie Dan Denardo (2003-04) for third.

Jarod Martin, who holds school all-time records for reception yards, receptions and touchdown receptions, needs just two more touchdowns to tie Derick Perkins for fourth all-time in school history. He currently has 31 in his career.

AMONG THE GAC
Southern Nazarene leads the Great American Conference in red zone offense, completing all six of its red zone chances. The Crimson Storm have four touchdowns and two field goals in those six opportunities. 

Chris Hunter is sixth in the conference in rushing as the sophomore is averaging 83.0 yards per game. Ryan Mischler is fifth in receptions per game at 7.0 as he has 14 in two games for a total of 106 yards receiving. Ian Sanders is eighth in the GAC in scoring as he is 4-for-4 in PATs and is 1-for-1 in field goal attempts for a total of seven points.

Michael Hicks is fourth in the conference in total tackles with 17 while Josh Price is seventh with 16. Blake Cavill is also in the top 10 with 14. Christo Lisika is sixth in tackles for a loss with 2.5 tackles for a loss of eight yards. Dylan Terry is ranked eighth in the GAC in passing yards per game at 206.0. He is also eighth in total offense at 191.0 yards per game.

The Crimson Storm are ranked sixth in the GAC in interceptions with two. SNU is also sixth in kickoff coverage as opponents are averaging 36.9 yards per game in returns.

ABOUT THE WONDER BOYS
Arkansas Tech is ranked eighth in the Great American Conference in scoring offense as the Wonder Boys are averaging 27.5 points per game. ATU is averging 417 yards per game as 117.5 of those yards are coming on the ground and 299.5 coming through the air. 

Luke Halpin leads the way for the Wonder Boys as he has thrown for 572 yards on the season, averaging 286.0 passing yards per game. He ranks fourth in passing yards per game in the Great American Conference and is eighth in pass efficiency. His favorite target in the first two games has been John Simpson, who ranks sixth in the GAC in receptions per game at 6.5 and is fifth in receiving yards per game at 88.0. Halpin has thrown for two touchdowns, both going to Simpson. Halpin is also fourth in the conference in total offense with 593 yards.

Arkansas Tech is 9-for-11 in red zone opportunities with seven of those chances resulting in touchdowns. The Wonder Boys are also 2-for-4 also in field goal attempts in the red zone.ATU is second in the conference in time of possession, averaging 33:36 minutes per game. The Wonder Boys are also second in third-down conversions going 19-for-33 (57.6 percent) and are 0-for-1 in fourth down conversions.  

Wesley McKinney leads the Wonder Boys' defense in the early season as the junior linebacker has 17 tackles on the year, two of which for a loss of four yards. McKinney is ranked fourth in the Great American Conference in tackles.Jordan Wallace is tied for third in sacks with one and Deandre'  Bonner is tied for first in the GAC in passes defended with four. Arkansas Tech is third in the conference in scoring defense as ATU is giving up just 19.0 points per game. The Wonder Boys are giving up 333.5 yards per game and are ranked fourth in the GAC.

ATU is giving up 153.0 yards per game on the ground and 180.5 yards passing per game. Opponents have converted just 29.6 percent of their third-down conversions, going 8-for-27. Arkansas Tech leads the GAC in red zone defense. Teams are just 1-for-2 in the redzone against the Wonder Boys and that one successful attempt was a field goal. ATU is -1 in turnover margin. The Wonder Boys have one fumble recovery on the year, but have thrown two interceptions this season.