Former Greenwood kicker now fourth all-time for Harding

Photo courtesy of Arkansas Tech University Arkansas Tech's Taye Gatewood runs for yardage against Southern Nazarene during a game on Sept. 9 in Russellville.

Grant Ennis jumped to No. 4 in all-time scoring for the Harding Bison football team.

The former Greenwood kicker was a perfect 7-of-7 on PAT attempts during the team's 49-10 win over Oklahoma Baptist last week in Great American Conference play.

Ennis, who was 6-for-6 with a field goal in the team's 53-20 win over Southern Nazarene the week before, has now scored 244 career points -- leap-frogging past former Bison kickers John Gay (2011-14), Jeremy Thompson (1996-99) and Coy Nance (2000-03).

Ennis, who played on Greenwood's 2017-18 state championship teams, is 23 points shy of catching the school's all-time No. 3 scorer, Tristan Parsley (183 PAT, 28 FG), who played on some high-scoring Bison teams between 2014-17.

The 5-foot-11 Lavaca native is now 175-182 all-time on PAT attempts and 23-of-32 when it comes to field goal attempts.

Ennis could finish as high as No. 2 on the all-time scoring list should he pass Parley (267) and Park Parish (272). However, catching the school's all-time leading scorer, Cole Chancey may be too difficult.

Chancey scored 66 touchdowns (396 points) between 2012-16.

Braden Gleason

Emporia State (Muldrow)

Braden Gleason didn't take long to get into midseason form. Neither did his teammates.

Gleason threw three touchdown passes to help lead Emporia State to a 33-13 shellacking of Northwest Missouri State last week -- the Hornets' second victory in as many games.

The Harlon Hill candidate has thrown for eight touchdowns and 699 yards passing through the first two games. Gleason went 42-of-49 for 442 yards with five touchdowns and added 22 yards on six carries with a rushing touchdown in the team's 56-10 win over Lincoln in the 2023 opener.

The Hornets were set to face Northeastern State on Saturday in Tahlequah.

The Emporia State (Kan.) redshirt senior, who threw for 3,404 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior, now has 76 career touchdown passes and 8,039 career yards through the air.

Madeline Freeman

Central Baptist College (Hackett)

Madeline Freeman's double-double helped lead Central Baptist College to a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-14) win over Baptist Bible (Mo.) last week, the team's fourth victory in 10 games.

CBC finished 4-18 in 2022.

Freeman, who missed a big part of the 2022 season due to injury, had 14 kills and 15 assists in the Mustangs' victory. The Hackett graduate appeared in 17 matches (60 sets) with 193 kills last season.

The Lady Mustangs' sophomore leads the team with 88 kills and is second (114) in assists with 3.0 per set. Freeman is also averaging 2.53 digs per set.

Central Arkansas Baptist will face Jarvis Christian on Monday at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.

Larkin Luke

Henderson State (Greenwood)

Larkin Luke had seven kills and four blocks in Henderson State's hard-fought 3-2 win (18-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-16, 15-10 win over Ouachita Baptist this week.

The Reddies, who won all of 10 games a year ago, went into the weekend boasting a 7-2 record.

Luke, who started for three seasons for coach Jennifer Golden's Greenwood Lady Bulldogs, is currently third in kills (47) with 1.57 per set. She leads the team with 27 blocks. Rosa Montejano set Henderson State's single-season record for blocks (277) back in 1994.

Luke finished fourth overall with 104 kills for the Reddies last season.

Taye Gatewood

Arkansas Tech (Fort Smith Southside)

Former Fort Smith Southside quarterback Taye Gatewood ran for two early touchdowns and threw for another during Arkansas Tech's 38-31 loss to Southern Nazarene in the team's Great American Conference home opener last week.

The Wonder Boys led 14-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter before the Storm scored 23 of the next 26 points to claim a 23-17 lead.

Gatewood finished 13-of-20 for 168 yards and an interception. He also ran the ball nine times for 20 yards and the two aforementioned touchdowns.

Gatewood and ATU were set to host Henderson State on Saturday.

THIRD AND GOAL: Former Fort Smith Northside standout Deuce Wise rushed for a career-high 50 yards on 10 carries during Arkansas Tech's 38-31 loss to Southern Nazarene last week. ... Camryn Presley (Greenwood) leads Hendrix in kills (77) and digs (82) through seven matches. Presley also has 10 blocks. ... Logan Taylor (Alma) retired all three hitters he faced on nine pitches, including a strikeout, during Carl Albert's fall game with Connors State on Thursday. That's six up and six down for the former Airedale lefty this fall. ... Redshirt sophomore Hannah Watkins (Greenwood) had four blocks in UAFS' 3-1 win over St. Mary's (Texas) on Thursday. Watkins appeared in 50 matches in 2022, finishing with 76 kills and 22 blocks. She leads the team with 35 blocks and is third in kills (64).

  photo  Gleason
 
 
  photo  Ennis
 
 
  photo  Luke