The East Central University football team returns home Saturday, Sept. 19 to face Southern Nazarene at Norris Field at Koi Ishto Field at 6 p.m. after picking up a key victory over Henderson State last week.  The Tigers, who are receiving votes in the latest AFCA.com Top-25 Poll, will face their first opponent of the season that is not ranked or receiving votes.

Game Notes

Chickasaw Appreciation Day: Saturday is Chickasaw Appreciation Day, with all employees and tribe members receiving free admission.  Before the game starts (5 p.m.) Saturday, Governor Bill Anoatubby and other dignitaries from the Chickasaw Nation, along with ECU President John Hargrave and Director of Athletics Jeff Williams will be on hand for a ground breaking ceremony for the new Chickasaw Plaza.  The Chickasaw Plaza will be built near the Elvan George locker room and be the start of new additions to Koi Ishto Stadium.

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 19th consecutive season. Manos has worked 192 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.'

Scouting Southern Nazarene: The Crimson Storm have had a slow start to the 2015 season, falling in both of their opening games and scoring just 14 points.  SNU is averaging 52 points allowed per game.  The Crimson Storm also have a 398 to 1,007 deficit in total yards, but they have scored on their one attempt inside the red zone.

James Mauro is the offensive leader at quarterback, going 28-of-57 for the year, with three interceptions.  Johnathan Martin and Chris Hudson are his two favorite receivers.  Martin has 66 yards on 10 catches, while Hudson has 62 yards and a TD on three catches.

On the ground, Quincey Whitfield is leading the charge for SNU, with 25 attempts and 80 of the team's 140 rushing yards.

Defensively, Larry Butler, Konner Bent, Isaiah Young and Blake Giles are the leaders.  Butler has garnered 20 (8-12) total tackles, while the other three have all tallied 18.  Giles adds 3.0 (17 yards) tackles-for-loss and a sack for 10 yards.

The Series: The all-time series with the Crimson Storm started in 2008, with four games having been played and all outcomes going in favor of the Tigers.  The teams have played in Ada twice in the series, with ECU earning a 37-15 win in 2012 and a 46-14 victory in 2013.

#GiveMeMoore: The Tigers have scored seven of their eight touchdowns on the pass so far in 2015 and four of those have been between senior Rocky Moore and junior David Moore.  Rocky Moore has had a strong start to the season averaging 360.5 passing yards per game to lead the Great American Conference, while David Moore ranks in the top-10 in five categories, including third in scoring and all-purpose yards.

Bond Special Teams POW: Senior Spencer Bond has made a strong transition from offense to defense and has earned the GAC Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts in the 35-28 win over Henderson State.

Bond punted five times in the Tigers win against the Reddies. He averaged 39.8 yards per punt and had two of his punts end inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt carried 46 yards. The Madill, Okla., also the team's starting safety, ranked second on the team with nine tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted his first pass.

Chasing the Record:  Senior Jameel Whitney finished the 2014 season with the record for the most tackles in a single season (111) and is now working on taking over the career tackle record from Norris Wrenn (2009-12).  Wrenn recorded 278 career tackles and Whitney has garnered 226 so far in his career, just 53 off the record mark.  Whitney is averaging 9.5 tackles per game this season and if he continues at that pace, he could break the record in the second half of the 2015 season.

Air Raid: The opening game of the season was a tight battle all the way to the end, but it was a good night for the quarterback and receivers from ECU.  Senior quarterback Rocky Moore recorded 405 yards passing, going 23-of-40.  Senior Nathan Pickett and junior David Moore were the recipients of a good chuck of those yards, with each garnering over 100 yards.  Pickett caught two passes for 129 yards, with a long catch of 82 yards that set up a touchdown.  David Moore caught four passes for 100 yards and scored two TD's.  The Tigers had a total of 10 receivers catch at least one pass, with four of those earning over 50 yards.

Key Changes: After a season that brought the Tigers back to the postseason for the first time since 1993, the 2015 season is one of changes. ECU has several new coaches, including a new secondary coach (Jihad' Wright) and a new defensive coordinator (Chad Roark).  The 2014 starting quarterback  (Spencer Bond) has moved to the defensive back position.  There is not a standout sack producer on the defensive side of the ball as in the past few years.  And a new team (Oklahoma Baptist) has been added to the Great American Conference.

Preseason Attention: Senior Travis Hening has started right where he left off in 2014, earning 2015 preseason recognition.  The offensive lineman has already been named to the D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team and to the College Football America Yearbook Starting Lineup.  The Yukon, Okla., native is one of two on the D2Football.com preseason team from the GAC and the lone member from the conference on the College Football American Yearbook list.

Up Next: The Tigers will next hit the road to face the newest member of the GAC, Oklahoma Baptist.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26 in Shawnee, Okla.

Next Time at Koi Ishto Stadium: ECU will not be gone from home for long, as they are set to face Northwestern, Saturday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. in Ada.  The game is the annual Pink Out Game and Take A Kid to the Game Day.