SE Hosts Rival Tigers in Season Finale

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern is set to close out the 2025 football season when it welcomes its oldest rival to Paul Laird Field at Spend Life Wisely Stadium for a noon kickoff against East Central on Saturday, Nov. 15 in the 108^th meeting of the Great American Classic.
 
Southeastern fans can listen live via the Southeastern Sports Network on GoSoutheastern.com/SESportsNet or across the largest DII radio network in the area with Jay Lindly and Rob Johnson on the call. Local fans can pick up the game on 96.1 FM, while fans across southeastern Oklahoma and north Texas can pick up the games on 94.7 FM in Valliant, Okla., 97.7 in Ardmore, Okla., 99.5 in Rattan, Okla., 102.1 in Atoka, Okla., and 107.5 in Atoka.
 
The Savage Storm are looking to bounce back from back-to-back one-score losses by a combined three points which dropped their season record to 4-6.
 
The Tigers come in off a 10-point road loss and has dropped two of its last three with wide point swings.
 
Saturday's matchup with East Central will be the 108th meeting between the two rivals, making it the most-played rivalry in the GAC and the longest active collegiate rivalry in the state of Oklahoma.
 
Southeastern picked up a win in the first meeting in 1909 and the teams have proceeded to play a nearly even rivalry over the next 116 years with SE holding a one-game edge in the overall record at 51-50-6.
 
Since 1941 there have only been four seasons the team's did not meet, the first three being the 1942-44 seasons when teams were not fielded during World War II and the last being the 2020 season that was canceled due to Covid-19. The series has tended to be streaky as last season's ECU win kept the Storm from winning consecutive games for the first time since a lone Tiger win in the 2003 season.
 
The game is also scheduled to be the final SE-ECU contest played in the current iteration of Spend Life Wisely Stadium before renovations take place between the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
 
Southeastern has used a trio of quarterbacks this season, led by Levay Duncan who has 700 yards and six touchdowns through the air and 523 yards and four scores on the ground.
 
Colton Howard got his first start of the season last time out and finished that contest with 146 yards passing on 23-of-32 completions.
 
Luke Hohenberger has completed 62 percent of his passes for 473 yards and four scores while adding 76 yards on the ground despite battling injuries over the course of the year.
 
Donovan Shannon and Johnathan Cobb Jr. lead the rushing attack behind Duncan as Shannon has piled up 468 yards and four touchdowns on the ground while adding 17 catches for 120 yards through the air.
 
Cobb has added 348 yards rushing with a pair of touchdowns and chipped in seven catches for 43 yards.
 
Gabe Corona leads the receiving corps with 18 catches, while Victor Taylor Jr. has a team-best 227 yards receiving. Corona, Taylor, and Jax Sternberger are all tied with two touchdowns apiece.
 
The Storm defense features a trio of tacklers with 50-plus stops on the season, led by William Wallis with 65 tackles on the year, followed by Andrew Grissom at 56 and Braeden Winters at 52.
 
De'Angelo Shanks leads the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and six sacks, while Kamron Fields has four interceptions. Trevion Butler has also added four forced fumbles and four pass breakups on the season.
 
ECU comes in led by Sergio Kennedy who has 2,158 yards passing and 15 touchdowns on the season, with his top target being Kaden Jones who has 27 catches for 539 yards and four scores.
 
On the ground, the Tigers are led by Cade Searcy who has picked up 582 yards rushing and four touchdowns, while Quincy Thompson has a team-high eight rushing touchdowns.
 
The defense is led by Caden Pickens who has tallied 73 tackles on the season, while Michael Onwuzurike has a team-high six sacks.