SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 31, NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA STATE 28
The Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs captured the first football win in the history of the Great American Conference with a 31-28 victory over GAC provisional member Northwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday in Alva, Okla. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rangers (0-1) struck first with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Jared Jackson to cap 12-play, 80-yard drive that lastednearly seven minutes. The Bulldogs (1-0) responded with three unanswered touchdowns to take a two-touchdown lead mid-way through the third quarter. Of those three touchdowns, one was a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown by SWOSU’s Clarence Laster. The Rangers answered with a short three-play, 66-yard touchdown drive to pull it back to within one score. The Bulldogs responded with a touchdown and a field goal to take a 31-14 lead with just over nine minutes left in regulation. The Rangers scored the final two touchdowns of the game in the final nine minutes to lessen the gap in the score.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 38, HENDERSON STATE 14
The GAC preseason favorite and 24th-ranked Henderson State Reddies opened the 2011 season with a 38-14 setback to the Central Arkansas Bears of the NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision Thursday night in front of a record crowd of 12,755 at Estes Stadium in Conway. The Bears (1-0) held theReddies (0-1) scoreless through the first three quarters before HSU quarterback Nathan Nall found Jazz Scott for a seven-yard touchdown pass at the 7:21 mark of the final quarter. The Reddies found the end zone again with 1:23 remaining on a nine-yard touchdown run to cap a 10-play, 73-yard drive.

The GAC’s opening week schedule continues this Saturday with conference games in Monticello (Arkansas Tech vs. Arkansas-Monticello, 6 p.m.) and Magnolia (Harding vs. Southern Arkansas, 7 p.m.) and a non-conference game between East Central and Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas.