RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - No. 2 Harding (4-0, 4-0 GAC) escaped Ouachita Baptist's (2-2, 2-2 GAC) upset bid and remained undefeated while (RV) Henderson State (4-0, 4-0 GAC) and (RV) East Central (4-0, 4-0 GAC) continued unblemished with wins over Southern Arkansas (1-3, 1-3 GAC) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (0-4, 0-4 GAC), respectively.
Arkansas-Monticello (1-3, 1-3 GAC) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (1-3, 1-3 GAC) picked up their first wins of the season. The Boll Weevils trailed 17-0 to Arkansas Tech (2-2, 2-2 GAC) before scoring 30 of the next 33 points and ultimately winning, 30-27. The Bulldogs never trailed on the road at Oklahoma Baptist (2-2, 2-2 GAC), leaving Shawnee with the 28-7 victory. Southeastern Oklahoma State (3-1, 3-1 GAC) posted its first shutout since 2024 with a 35-0 victory over Southern Nazarene (0-4, 0-4 GAC) for the final week four winner.
No. 2 Harding 28, Ouachita Baptist 27
The Game of the Year in the GAC through four weeks. With the game tied 21-21 late in the fourth quarter, Harding defensive lineman Kaleb Walker punched the ball loose from Ouachita quarterback Tre Nichols on the Tiger 11 yd. line, resulting in running back Andrew Miller’s third touchdown of the game three plays later. With 37 seconds remaining and now trailing seven, Nichols kept OBU alive with a Houdini scramble drill on fourth down before finding wide receiver Carter McElhany for 67 yards and paydirt. Head coach Todd Knight chose to use the major swing of momentum to bolster his team’s two-point attempt for the outright win in regulation. Senior defensive back Deion Campbell deflected the pass attempt in the back of the end zone to spoil the Tiger’s upset bid as Harding escaped Arkadelphia with the 28-27 victory.
Southeastern Oklahoma St. 35, Southern Nazarene 0
Fitting in a 35-point shutout, it was the Savage Storm defense that got the rout started. Southern Nazarene worked the ball down to Southeastern’s 17 yd. line on the first drive of the game before quarterback Jaxon Worley was picked off on 3rd down at SE’s 15 yard line, which De’Teaurean Johnson took back 85 yards for the game’s first score. Southern Nazarene’s next two trips into Savage Storm territory resulted in a missed field goal and a turnover on downs as Southeastern Oklahoma St. pitched its first shutout since 2024, 35-0.
Arkansas-Monticello 30, Arkansas Tech 27
Arkansas-Monticello was the first of two teams to nab its first win of the season over a team with a previous winning record in week four. The Boll Weevils climbed out of a second-quarter, 17-0 hole before taking the lead early in the fourth quarter. Leading 30-27 late, Monticello got two first downs to run out the clock for head coach Gary Goff’s first win.
(RV) Henderson St. 20, Southern Arkansas 7
The Reddies answered a scoreless first quarter with 14 second-quarter points as a 14-0 halftime lead led to the 20-7 victory. Southern Arkansas did not score its first points until the 9:30 mark of the fourth quarter as HSU dominated time of possession, 41:27 to 18:33, for the wire-to-wire road victory. In route to the 13-point win, Henderson out-rushed Southern Arkansas, 260-72.
Southwestern Oklahoma St. 28, Oklahoma Baptist 7
Southwestern Oklahoma was the second team on the weekend to claim its first win of the season against a team with a winning record in Oklahoma Baptist coming into Saturday. The Bulldogs held the Bison to 126 total yards for the program’s fewest yards allowed since 2006. On top of the dominant defensive display, quarterback Braxton Etheridge totaled three scores through the air, two of which went to wide receiver Baylor Nash, on 75.0 percent (15-20) passing in his first collegiate start. After a Bison defensive touchdown with 3:01 in the first quarter, SWOSU allowed just one first down the rest of the first half.
(RV) East Central 42, Northwestern Oklahoma St. 24
What was a five-point game at halftime turned into an 18-point victory for East Central thanks to the arm & legs of ECU quarterback Sergio Kennedy, who accounted for 419 total yards and four touchdowns. The Tiger defense turned over the Rangers on downs on their first two possessions of the second half to help build the double-digit lead as East Central won the final 30 minutes, 21-8.
GREAT AMERICAN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Andrew Miller | Harding | RB | 5th | Searcy, Ark.
Harding fifth-year running back Andrew Miller scored three touchdowns on the ground for the No. 2 Bisons as they claimed the one-point road victory at Ouachita Baptist, 28-27. After running for 134 yards in the upset-spoiler, Miller eclipsed 4,000 career rushing yards and has moved into sole possession of third place for the most rushing yards in program history.
DEFENSIVE
Kaleb Walker | Harding | DL | Jr. | Humble, Texas
Harding junior defensive lineman Kaleb Walker delivered the play of the game for the No. 2 Bisons this past Saturday as they escaped Arkadelphia, Ark, with a one-point, 28-27 victory to remain undefeated. With the game tied 21-21, Walker stripped Ouachita Baptist quarterback Tre Nichols for the first turnover of the game at the 1:22 mark of the fourth quarter, setting up Harding's game-winning touchdown. Walker finished with five total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Charles Stinson | Arkansas-Monticello | K | Jr. | Denton, Texas
Arkansas-Monticello junior kicker Charles Stinson contributed 12 points to the Boll Weevils' 30-27 victory against Arkansas Tech in what was UAM's first win of 2026. After taking its first lead of the game at 23-20, Stinson scored the next seven points for the Weevils, extending the lead to double-digits with just over three and a half minutes remaining in regulation.
WEEKLY AWARDS
GAC Offensive Player of the Week
Sept. 7 Sergio Kennedy, East Central
Sept. 14 Sergio Kennedy, East Central (x2)
Sept. 21 Austin Ledbetter, Henderson State
Sept. 28 Andrew Miller, Harding
GAC Defensive Player of the Week
Sept. 7 Jeremiah Jennings, Oklahoma Baptist
Sept. 14 Kahlil Smith, Ouachita Baptist
Sept. 21 Keshaun Jackson, Southwestern Oklahoma State
Sept. 28 Kaleb Walker, Harding
GAC Special Teams Player of the Week
Sept. 7 Dean Roberts, Harding
Sept. 14 Jeff Regan, Harding
Sept. 21 Nate Stafford, Ouachita Baptist
Sept. 28 Charles Stinson, Arkansas-Monticello