After finding the road unfriendly last week in a loss at Henderson State, the Southeastern Savage Storm football team returns home Saturday night against in-state rival Oklahoma Baptist.
Both the Savage Storm and Bison will be in search of their first victory of the year in that 6 p.m. kickoff at Paul Laird Field.
Southeastern could not find an answer for an explosive Henderson State passing attack and struggled offensively themselves, getting outgained 571 to 209 in total yardage.
It looked like it might be a good night for a Savage Storm upset at the outset as Kaleb Whitley returned the game’s opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. Dylan Cox’s extra point made it a quick 7-0 Southeastern lead.
Henderson State answered with a 68-yard march that culminated in a short scoring run, but the Reddies missed the extra point to leave the visitors in front by a point.
The Savage Storm answered with their best offensive possession of the entire night, driving 71 yards in eight plays before stalling at the Henderson 3 and settling for a Cox 20-yard field goal.
A 66-yard scoring march by the Reddies to close the period put Henderson State in front for good at 1310 and ultimately proved to be the final points of the opening half.
It didn’t take the hosts long to add to that advantage coming out of intermission, racing 70 yards in three plays thanks to a 60-yard touchdown toss.
Southeastern found a bit of offensive life late in the period, taking over near midfield, and marched 51 yards in five plays with the biggest chunk coming via a 36-yard touchdown pass from Cergio Perez to Matthew Nunez.
That narrowed the gap to 2017 but was as close as the Savage Storm could get thanks to a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes from Andrew Edwards on his way to a massive 443-yard passing effort for the Reddies.
Perez, in relief of the injured Luke Hohenberger at quarterback, completed nine of 27 passes for 145 yards and the one score.
D.J. Brown led the Southeastern ground attack with 11 totes for 45 yards. Ryan Hirt carried six times for 19 yards. Gabe Corona was the squad’s top receiver with two grabs for 51 yards.
On the defensive side, Tyveon Williams had another stellar outing with 14 tackles while Tre Martin chipped in 10. Jalen Hughes and Braeden Winters contributed nine apiece.
