ADA, Okla. – East Central University sent a jolt through the Great American Conference, letting teams know the Tigers still have a part to play when it comes to a post-season berth. ECU made easy work of a traditionally strong Henderson State with a 31-10 victory.
ECU (4-2) climbed into third place in the conference standings, trailing Harding (5-1) and unbeaten Ouachita Baptist (6-0). The Tigers have won four straight since starting the season 0-2. ECU's victory was their first over HSU since the 2017 season and only the second time in 10 meetings as NCAA Division II foes.
The victory was particularly satisfying for ECU Head Coach Kris McCullough, who spent a year as an assistant coach at Henderson.
"I thought we came out and did exactly what it takes to beat a perennial powerhouse," McCullough said. "We played complimentary football, won the turnover margin, and won the big moments of the game."
ECU carried a 6-0 lead late in the second after field goals of 47 and 26 yards by Alexis Lopez.
Henderson took a brief 7-6 lead with a touchdown with 41 seconds to play in the second quarter before ECU engineered a quick-strike drive that wrestled the lead back with a 14-7 margin at half.
Kenny Hrncir carved up the Reddies' defense on the drive, completing passes of 44 and 11 yards before finding Josh Little for a 20-yard score with just 17 seconds to play. Hrncir again played well, completing 20-of-36 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns. He has now thrown for 12 touchdowns against only three interceptions.
Hirncir's other touchdown tosses were a 10-yarder to Jake Berrey, putting ECU comfortably ahead 21-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter. Little picked up his second score with a 26-yard pass to move the margin to 28-10 with 7:38 to play.
Nemier Herod had 89 yards of ECU's 111 rushing yards. He had 19 carries and his longest run of the day was 26 yards.
"We didn't run the ball great, but I'm proud of our offensive line for not allowing a sack ," McCullough said.
On defense, the Tigers shined the brightest. Henderson entered averaging 34.6 points and the ECU limited them to a season-low 10.
"The defense played an unbelievably great game to hold a top-10 offense to just 10 points and be up plus four in the turnover category. That's amazing," McCullough said.
Keonte Lusk and Donovan Callis each had fourth-quarter interceptions, killing HSU scoring opportunities. The Tigers forced fumbles on both of Henderson's opening drives, with recoveries by Ameer Muhammad and Cody Alexander.
ECU's tackle leader was Devon Roush, who had 12 tackles, including one stop for two yards behind the line of scrimmage and a forced fumble.
"That's the first time we've beaten Henderson in Ada and it feels great!" McCullough said. "We are continuing to get better every week. We will celebrate this one today and get back to work tomorrow."
