The East Central University football team welcomes Southwestern Oklahoma State to Norris Field at Koi Ishto Stadium Saturday, Oct. 6 for a 6 p.m. battle.

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 20th consecutive season. Manos has worked 206 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.'

The Voice of the Tigers: Mike Manos has been the Voice of the Tigers on 105.5 The X-Factor radio broadcast for the past 20 seasons.  Last year Manos marked his 200th Tiger game since taking over the play-by-play duties in 1997, what is thought to be a record for broadcasters of ECU Football.

The Series: The Tigers and the Bulldogs have met on 90 previous occasions, with ECU holding a 48-39-3 lead in the all-time series.  That includes a 26-20 mark in league play, 12-7 when playing as NCAA opponents and a 13-8 lead in Ada.  SWOSU took the last game, with a 31-38 score in Weatherford, Okla.

Scouting Southwestern: The Bulldogs are coming off their first win of the 2016 season, moving to 1-4 on the year.  SWOSU claimed a 37-33 win over Southeastern on a TD scored with 20 seconds left to play.

The Bulldogs are averaging 25.4 points per game and are allowing 36.4.  While SWOSU might have a point differential, the Bulldogs are close to their opponents in total yards (1,956/1,986).  SWOSU has done better on the pass (1,179) than the rush (777), but the defense has allowed almost the same yardage (1,027/959).

Marc Evans runs the offense for SWOSU, with a 90-of-171 mark for 1100 yards and seven touchdowns for the season.  His favorite receiver this season is D.J. Jones, with 26 catches for 353 yards and four TDs.  Derrick Styles adds 19 catches for 202 yards.  Karltrell Henderson leads the rush for the Bulldogs with 77 attempts, 499 yards and six touchdowns.

Defensively Conner Bays leads SWOSU with 65 (38-27) total tackles, 5.5 TFL (10 yards), one interception, one pass defended and one forced fumble.

Going to Overtime: When the Tigers and Oklahoma Baptist went to triple overtime, Sept. 24, it marked the first time since Nov. 5, 2011 that ECU has been to the extra period in a game.  That season the Tigers played three overtime games, going 2-1.

Moore Adding More: Senior wide receiver David Moore returned to the team after setting several records in 2015 and earning several postseason honors.

Moore started to receive honors for the 2016 season, as he was named to Football Gameplan's 2016 Preseason DII All-America Third Team Offense list.  The 2015 All-GAC First Team and all-America selection is one of six players to earn a spot on the three teams.

He has continued right where he left off, recording six touchdowns to move his own career receiving TD record to 32.  Moore has also set the single season receiving TD record (13).

Moore is also ranked in the top 25 in five NCAA Active Career Lists.  He is No. 1 in Receiving TDs (32), No. 3 in Yards Per Catch (18.7), 11 in Receiving Yards (2,375), No. 14 in Total TDs (32) and No. 15 in Receiving Yards Per Game (67.9).

Haynes GAC Player of the Week: Senior Jarod Haynes has been named the Great American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for Sept. 19 after helping the Tigers claim a 23-6 win at Southern Nazarene.

Haynes converted all three of his field-goal attempts against the Crimson Storm. He improved to 6-for-6 on field goal attempts on the year. No player in Division II had made as many field goals without a miss than Haynes and he was ranked No. 1 in the nation for field goal percentage (1.000) and No. 5 in field goals per game (2.0).

The Allen, Texas, native also punted three times with a 34.0 average. Two of his punts finished inside the 20-yard line, including one at the eight-yard line.

Ranking Among the Nation's Best: The Tigers are ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA in five categories.  ECU is No. 1 in Blocks Kicks Allowed (0), No. 6 in Blocked Punts (2), No. 11 in Blocked Kicks (3), No. 13 in Passing Yards Allowed (155.8) and No. 15 in Passing Offense (320.8).

Three members of the team are also individually ranked in the top 25. David Moore is No. 6 in Receiving TDs (7).  Jarod Haynes adds a No. 22 ranking in Field Goals Per Game (1.20) and Jackson Lamb is No. 24 in Completion Percentage (.652).

Defensive Depth: One of the areas that the Tigers will have great depth and experience is on the defensive side of the ball.  Last year was a growing season for the defense, who saw big changes including a new defensive coordinator just weeks before the start of the year.

The Tigers will be bolstered by the return of Vernon Johnson and Lexus Jackson.  Johnson will come back to the field after a very promising start in 2015 before an injury sidelined him.  Jackson took up the slack and earned All-Great American Conference honors as a defensive back.

The defensive line as a whole is expected to produce, as in 2015 the Tigers had so many options it allowed them to role the players through every three or four plays, yet each player still got valuable experience in each game.  That depth will continue this season, giving ECU several options to keep their legs fresh throughout the game.

Up Next: The Tigers will make their second trip to Arkansas, as they are set to face Arkansas Tech, Saturday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. in Russellville, Ark.

Next at Koi Ishto Stadium: ECU's next home game is set for Thursday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. vs. Harding.  The game falls on Thursday because of the school's Fall Break and will be the annual Pink Out game sponsored by Mercy Hospital.