GAC race tightens as home stretch nears

With four teams tied for first place and three weeks left in the season, scoreboard watching becomes prevalent in Great American Conference football.

Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas go on the road while Ouachita Baptist and Southeastern Oklahoma are at home for afternoon games on the final Saturday of October. All four are 6-2 overall and in the GAC.

Both Arkadelphia teams play at home and seek revenge for 2016 defeats, Ouachita to Arkansas-Monticello and Henderson State against Southern Arkansas. Harding (5-3) goes to Durant, Okla., where Southeastern Oklahoma is reeling from back-to-back losses. Arkansas Tech plays East Central (2-6) in Ada, Okla., while Southern Nazarene (Bethany, Okla.) is host to Northwestern Oklahoma in the only GAC game without championship implications.

Ouachita is ranked No. 8 and Arkansas Tech No. 9 in NCAA Division II Super Region 3. The four conference co-leaders have a one-game edge over UA-Monticello and defending champion Harding.

Ouachita has won three in a row and can give coach Todd Knight a winning record (126-125-2) for the first time since the Tigers were 3-2 in his first season. UA-Monticello (5-3) seeks consecutive wins against OBU for the first time since winning three straight from 2008-2010. Kickoff is 1 p.m. at Cliff Harris Stadium.

As part of the NCAA DII Football Showcase, Henderson's 2 p.m. game against Southern Arkansas streams on ESPN3 and is available on the ESPN app. SAU, the preseason conference favorite, beat the Reddies 50-24 last year at the Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado. Michael Nunnery ran for three touchdowns in that victory and also scored three touchdowns in last week's Mulerider victory over No. 25 Southeastern Oklahoma. Henderson is 0-4 at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium this season though it holds the NCAA Division II record for consecutive road wins.

Harding has won five in a row since an 0-3 start, recording consecutive shutouts for the first time since 1965. The Bisons are 6-0 against Southeastern since the two became conference rivals. The Savage Storm lead DII in turnover margin at plus-21 with 21 takeaways against six giveaways.

Arkansas Tech takes on an East Central squad coming off a road win over Henderson State. Tech's Braden Stringer has totaled at least 150 all-purpose yards in four of his last five games.

Sports on 10/28/2017

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