One of college football's most unusual rivalries takes place Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. This year, it is Ouachita Baptists's turn to take the walk over to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at GeoSurfaces Field to face Henderson State in the 97th Battle of the Ravine.
Yes, we said walk. That's no typo. The Tigers will make the trek by foot — across U.S. Highway 67 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas — from their campus to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, home of the Reddies.
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The walk only takes about 5 minutes. Here's what you need to know about Saturday's rivalry.
1. The Battle of the Ravine is a clash of next-door neighbors
These two teams are as close as it gets. Henderson State's Carpenter-Haygood Stadium is a driver and 3-iron away from Ouachita Baptist's Cliff Harris Stadium. Per krikya18.com's Mike Lopresti, the golf coach has done it, playing shots from one end zone to the other.
If you walk from football field to football field, you won't even break a sweat. It's only 3,696 feet or just 0.7 miles depending on your preference of measurement. In fact, if the games are scheduled just right, both .
2. Henderson State at Ouachita Baptist is an old-school rivalry
These two certainly know each other very well. Saturday's meeting will be the 97th Battle of the Ravine. The first game was in 1895, but Henderson State was Arkansas Methodist College back then. The series began as HSU vs. OBU in 1907 and — despite a 12-year hiatus due to prank wars by the schools — the 97 meetings move them into an eighth place tie when it comes to DII football's all-time, most-played rivalries.
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After 96 meetings, Ouachita Baptist has the slightest advantage with a 46-44-6 edge. Last year, Henderson State snapped Ouachita's six-game win streak in the rivalry — which included the historic 2017 when Ouachita victory that snapped the Reddies' longest road winning streak in DII football history at 31 games at Cliff Harris Stadium. That 2023 meeting, which the Reddies won 31-27, got Henderson State into the bracket and kept Ouachita Baptist home. This rivalry isn't just about ego boosts — there is typically a ton on the line.
One additional fun fact between the two. Ouachita Baptist won its 27th-conference game in a row in the 2019 Battle of the Ravine. That tied the record of 27 set by none other than Henderson State from 2011-2014.
3. This game has 2024 DII football championship tournament implications
Henderson State wasn't in the last regional rankings, but at 8-2, the Reddies are still a very good football team and would love nothing more than to play spoiler to their long-time rivals. The Tigers are 9-1 and sit at No. 5 in the latest Super Region Three rankings before the selection show. A Henderson State win could get the Reddies in the conversation, and with an emerging Fort Hays State and Central Missouri, a Ouachita loss could see them drop out of the playoff picture.
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Ouachita Baptist is the 12th best scoring offense in DII football, putting up 36.4 points per game. That doesn't bode particularly well for the Henderson State defense which allows more than 21 points per game. Though the Reddies put up a ton of points themselves — averaging 34.2 per game — the Tigers own the third-best scoring defense in DII, allowing a hair over eight points per game.
The rushing attack is much more balanced for the Tigers this year, but Kendel Givens is still the guy to watch. He has 749 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns this year and is also a threat in the passing game. Henderson State's quarterback Andrew Edwards is having another solid season for that high-scoring Reddies' offense, throwing for 2,280 yards and 26 touchdowns to just five interceptions while completing 66.4 percent of his passes. His 26 touchdowns are tied for seventh in DII and his completion percentage ranks 16th overall.
The 2014 game set the GAC record as 12,228 fans of the Ravine piled into Carpenter-Haygood Stadium. Let's see if this one breaks it.
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