Since the league's inception in 2011, the Great American Conference football championship has resided in Arkadelphia, a trend expected to continue this fall.
Defending champion Ouachita Baptist is the preseason favorite of league coaches, the Russellville-based conference office announced Tuesday. Although the Tigers must replace 13 all-GAC selections, Ouachita received six of the 12 first-place votes and totaled 113 points.
Coaches foresee a tight race, picking Harding (111) second and two-time league champion Henderson State (101) third. Harding received three first-place votes, Henderson two and East Central (Okla.) one. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Ouachita Baptist made the program's first appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs after its first undefeated regular season last year, the Tigers' first league title since 2011. Along the way, the Tigers beat Harding 31-28 in overtime in Searcy and pounded crosstown rival Henderson 41-20 at the Reddies' Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. Minnesota-Duluth handed OBU a 48-45 overtime playoff defeat, the Tigers' first at refurbished Cliff Harris Stadium.
OBU, which finished No. 9 in the American Football Coaches' Association poll, must replace quarterback Kiehl Frazier and Glen Rose running back Steven Kehner among others. Sophomores Austin Warford of Malvern and Lucas Reed of El Dorado are expected to battle at quarterback.
"These guys want to keep the championship where it is," OBU coach Todd Knight says in Hooten's Arkansas Football, which picks the Tigers second behind Henderson. "This group of seniors knows they've got a bull's eye on their back, but they like being a team that has respect."
OBU has a key early game in its Sept. 3 opener at East Central, which league coaches project in a fourth-place tie with Southeastern Oklahoma. The Tigers are home against Harding Oct. 3 and Henderson Nov. 14.
Harding followed its home loss to Ouachita with a 28-24 road win over Henderson, reaching the NCAA Division II playoffs for the second time in three years. The Bisons finished 9-2 after a 59-42 road loss to Pittsburg State (Kan.).
"We want to improve on last year," Harding coach Ronnie Huckeba said in Hooten's. "We've been talking about how this is not a rebuilding year."
The Bisons open the season Sept. 5 on the road against new GAC member Oklahoma Baptist.
Henderson must replace record-setting quarterback Kevin Rodgers, who passed for 13,678 career yards, fifth best in Division II, and leading receiver Darius Davis. Bentonville junior Dallas Hardison is the Reddies' projected starting quarterback for the Sept. 3 opener at Southeastern Oklahoma.
Southern Arkansas (70) is picked sixth, followed by Arkansas Tech (57), Southwestern Oklahoma (49), Arkansas-Monticello (41), Northwestern Oklahoma (38), Southern Nazarene (18) and Oklahoma Baptist (16).
Other Sept. 3 openers are Northwestern Oklahoma at Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech at Southern Nazarene. Southern Arkansas is home against Southwestern Oklahoma Sept. 5.
Sports on 07/29/2015