CORSICANA, Texas — Southern Nazarene Football continues to rewrite the history books as they prepare to appear in their first bowl game in the Division II era. 

After their first winning season as a Division II program, the Storm were awarded their first bowl eligibility status, closing out the regular season 6-5 under Head Coach Dustin Hada in his fourth season leading SNU. On Saturday, December 2nd, Southern Nazarene will travel south to Corsicana, Texas to take on the Hornets of Emporia State, a highly decorated football program out of the MIAA conference. 

Emporia State has had quite the season themselves, finishing their 2023 season 8-3 overall and 7-3 in MIAA play, which was good for a third place finish in the conference. The Hornets lead the nation in completion percentage, are second in passing offense, and fourth in total offense. They finished the regular season just outside of the top-25, as they are receiving votes in the latest AFCA National Poll. 

Although SNU will face a tall task Saturday afternoon, Coach Hada's squad has raised eyebrows all season long, having the No. 2 rushing attack in the nation at 290.2 yards per game. SNU quarterback Gage Porter is owed a lot to that number, leading the nation with 25 rushing touchdowns and averaging 158.1 rushing yards per game (ranked third in the nation). The veteran QB also averages 154.3 passing yards per game and has recorded ten touchdown passes on the year. 

It will be a battle of the Harlon Hill finalists come Saturday as both Porter and Emporia State quarterback Braden Gleason have made it to the final stage of the Harlon Hill Award selection, two among nine total finalists. 

Kick off is set for noon at the Community Bank & Trust Stadium at Tiger Field in Corsicana, Texas. All bowl game info including ticketing, watch links, and live stats links can be found at heritagebowl.org or, snuathletics.com.