The East Central University football team is preparing for a battle with undefeated No. 7 Henderson State , Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at Norris Field.  The game is the annual Pink Out game to support breast cancer awareness and will also feature a celebration for the 1984 ECU football team, who went 10-2, won an Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference championship and played in the first NAIA playoff game in school history.

Game Notes

The Broadcast: ECU's radio home for Tiger football is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Mike Manos returns to broadcast the games for his 18th consecutive season. Manos has worked 181 Tiger games since taking over the play-by-play duties in 1997.

The Coverage: Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video and the KXFC radio broadcast on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the football schedule page.  You can also download the KXFC radio app for your smartphone by searching '105.5 the X Factor.'

Coaches Show: Every Monday night fans are encouraged to come to the University Center on ECU's campus for the weekly Coaches Show on 105.5 the X-Factor.  Each week coaches from all 13 sports will be on hand to talk about the latest news from their teams.  Fans will be able to tweet in questions to @ECUTigersCoach or email them to ecu_coaches_show@ecok.edu.
 
Koi Ishto Stadium: At the 2014 ECU Tiger Kickoff Dinner and Auction, ECU President John Hargrave announced that the stadium at Norris Field would be renamed Koi Ishto Stadium in honor of the relationship between ECU and the Chickasaw Nation.  Koi Ishto means big cat in the Chickasaw language.  A formal dedication will be held, Saturday, Nov. 15 on Chickasaw Appreciation Day when the Tigers battle with Southeastern Oklahoma State.

Scouting Henderson State: The Reddies have continued right where they left off in 2013, earning three-straight wins to open the 2014 season.   Their record includes a win over NCAA DI Nicholls State and has them ranked No. 7 in the nation.

HSU is averaging 53 points per game and allowing just 11.3, with its high power, quick to score offense.  The Reddies are averaging 556.3 yards of offense per game and have allowed half that total by the opposition.  The defense is also strong, with seven forced fumbles (six recoveries) and 14 sacks for 81 yards.

Kevin Rodgers is the clear offensive leader for HSU at quarterback.  He is 79-112-1 passing, with 959 yards and 10 TDs in three games. One of his favorite receivers is Darius Davis, with 16 catches, 336 yards and six touchdowns.  On the ground, the Reddies have three players with over 100 yards rushing this season.  Jaquan Cole has 168 yards and a team-high four TDs.

Defensively, HSU is led by Wesley Brady and Josh Davis.  Brady has 19 (12-7) tackles, 2.5 TFL and three pass breakups.  Davis adds 15 (10-5) tackles, 3.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks.

The Series: While Saturday's game is the 26th in the all-time series, it is just the fourth played between the teams since they have been members of the NCAA.  HSU leads the series 10-14-1 and has won all three meetings as league opponents.  However, the Tigers have a 5-2-1 advantage when playing at home.  The teams battled to the tie in the series in the last meeting in Ada (9/14/91 - T, 17-17), with the last win for ECU in 1986 (10/4/86 - W, 10-0).

Dangerous David: Sophomore David Moore has stepped up and proven that he is someone that you need to keep covered defensively.  Moore connected with junior Spencer Bond for three receiving touchdowns against Ouachita Baptist, tripling his TD performance from his freshman season.

Holland's Defensive Highlights: Senior Daniel Holland is having a good year on defense for the Tigers.  The Miami, Fla., native is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation in forced fumbles per game (0.67), No. 9 in sacks per game (1.33) and No. 27 in fumble recoveries (1).  Holland has recorded 9.5 (7-5) tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss for 30 yards and 4.0 sacks for 30 yards this season.

Bond Gaining Recognition: After a standout performance against Southern Arkansas, junior Spencer Bond was named the GAC Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 15 and The Oklahoman State College Football Player of the Week.

Bond accounted for all six of the Tigers' touchdowns as he helped rally ECU back from a 0-20 deficit to defeat Southern Arkansas. The Madill, Okla., native threw for 339 yards with two scores and rushed for 134 yards and four touchdowns, including an 80-yard score. The 134 rush yards represented the fifth-highest total for a GAC quarterback. He placed two punts inside the 20-yard line.

Earning Attention: For the first time since 2004  the Tigers earned a vote in the AFCA Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll for Sept. 15.  ECU earned one vote in the poll for Week 2.  ECU was one of four teams from the GAC in the poll in some fashion, with Henderson State being ranked No. 7, Harding ranked No. 20 and Ouachita Baptist also receiving votes (2).

Holland GAC Defender of the Week: Senior Daniel Holland came out of the gates ready to battle in his final season in an orange and black uniform and has claimed Great American Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts.

In the opening game of the season against Arkansas-Monticello, Holland helped the Tigers (1-0) earn a 38-34 come-from-behind victory.  The Miami, Fla., native tallied four (3-2) total tackles, a quarterback hurry, forced one fumble and added 3.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.0 sacks for 23 yards.   His TFL, sacks and sack yardage were all career highs and helped the defense hold UAM to just 22 yards rushing for the game.  The low yardage ranked ECU No. 4 in the nation for rushing defense after the opening weekend of NCAA DII action.  Holland was also ranked No. 6 in the nation in TFL (3.5) and No. 4 in Sacks (3.0)

All-American Play: In the final minute of the game at Arkansas-Monticello, senior Qumain Black came up with an All-American play to secure the Tigers' 38-34 win.  Black reached up for a pass at the same time as Boll Weevil Ivory Washington in the end zone, with Black coming away with the ball for the touchback.

Go JoJo Go: Senior JoJo Snell came out of the gates running, recording a career-high 157 rushing yards and 224 all-purpose yards against UAM.  It was the first time Snell tallied over 200 yards in a game.  The Moss Point, Miss., native also garnered two touchdowns.

Standing Tall at the Line: The defensive line stood strong for the Tigers in the opening game of the season, allowing just 22 yards on the rush.  

GAC Predictions: After finishing tied for sixth in the 2013 GAC standings, ECU has been picked to finish fourth in the 2014 GAC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

The Tigers, who finished 5-5 overall and in the conference a year ago, claimed 63 points in the poll.  2013 top finisher, Henderson State was named as the preseason favorite with 100 points and 10 first-place votes.  Harding earned the other first-place vote and a total of 89 points.  Ouachita Baptist was third with 84 points and Southern Arkansas was fifth, just three points behind ECU with 60 points.

Southwestern Oklahoma finished sixth (54 points), Arkansas Tech seventh (44 points), Southeastern Oklahoma eighth (41 points), Arkansas-Monticello ninth (37 points), Northwestern Oklahoma 10th (22 points) and Southern Nazarene 11th (11 points).

Preseason Attention: Several members of the Tigers roster have been gaining attention during the preseason from different organizations.  Senior Qumain Black was a USA College Football Preseason All-America First Team Defense selection as well as a NewsOK.com Preseason All-Star selection.  

Senior JuJu Turituri also claimed USA College Football Preseason honors as a second team defensive pick and a NewsOK.com selection.

Junior Travis Hening (offense) and senior Kellan Taeatafa-De La Rosa (defense) were named to the USA College Football All-America Third Teams.  Hening was also selected to the NewsOK.com team, with junior Spencer Bond on offense.

From the Playing Field to Coaching: The majority of the ECU coaching staff consists of familiar names for Tiger football fans.  Eight of the current coaches were members of the ECU football program as collegiate athletes.  Rashad Jackson, Chad Roark, Austin Crisler, Fred Gaines, Dustin Lasell, Tyler McGrew, George Robbins and Reuben Tiller have all worn an orange and black uniform before moving to a leadership role.

Up Next: The Tigers will now get ready for two-straight road games, with a bye week in between.  ECU will first travel to face Southern Nazarene, Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. and then get a rest before facing Northwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 18 at 3 p.m. in Alva, Okla.

Next Time at Norris Field: The next time the Tigers are at Norris Field will be for the 2014 Homecoming game against Southwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 25 at 4 p.m.  The 2014 Homecoming theme is 'A Haunting in Tigerland.'