Harding lives up to fresh ranking

MONTICELLO — Other than extra-point attempts, nationally ranked Harding had no problem protecting its unblemished record.

Harding scored on six of seven first-half possessions and held Arkansas-Monticello to minus-25 rushing yards in a 57-7 Great American Conference victory before an estimated crowd of 3,100 on Saturday night at Convoy Cotton Boll Stadium.

The No. 25 Bisons (4-0) were playing their first game since entering the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 poll last week.

Behind three touchdown runs by senior quarterback Park Parish, Harding led 36-0 at halftime, outgaining the Boll Weevils (1-3) 268-45 in total yardage.

“That was a team that really was hot offensively, I felt like,” Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba said. “Our guys just went out there and took control of the game on defense. It’s a credit to them and the way they prepared. Those guys play so hard.”

The Bisons finished with a 435-131 advantage in total yardage. They entered the game allowing 174.3 total yards per game, No. 2 in NCAA Division II.

Harding finished with nine tackles for a loss, and the minus-25 rushing yards allowed represented the second-best mark in school history.

UAM’s only touchdown came on a 6-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Cole Sears to junior wide receiver Jalen Tolliver with 2:10 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bisons finished with 378 yards rushing on 51 attempts.

Parish ran 9 times for 88 yards and 3 touchdowns (1, 44 and 3 yards). Parish, who didn’t play in the second half, completed 3 of 3 passes for 37 yards.

Freshman fullback Romar Reades ran 8 times for 86 yards and 3 touchdowns (14, 2 and 37 yards).

Senior slotback Eric Kelley gave Harding a 26-0 lead on a 38-yard touchdown run with eight minutes left in the first half.

Harding led 36-0 at halftime on a 32-yard field goal by junior Tristan Parsley with three seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Parsley missed an extra-point attempt after Harding’s first touchdown and had another extra-point attempt blocked in the first half.

Reades’ first touchdown – a 14-yard run with 9:59 remaining in the first half — came two plays after a 25-yard interception return to the UAM 15 by freshman defensive back Jacory Nichols.

Parsley’s field goal came two plays after senior defensive tackle Jensen Jackson recovered a fumble at the UAM 30 when Sears was sacked.

“Offensively, we got into a rhythm pretty early,” Huckeba said. “We had some short fields and were able to take advantage of that. Besides the little extra-point fiasco a couple of times — and we got that corrected — it was good.”

Harding, which led 36-7 after three quarters, scored three touchdowns in the final 15 minutes.

Sophomore backup quarterback Terrence Dingle scored on a 1-yard run, and Reades followed with touchdowns runs of 2 and 37 yards.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 28, ARKANSAS TECH 21

Will Haines scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:24 left in the fourth quarter to break a 21-21 tie and give Southern Arkansas (3-1, 3-1 GAC) the victory over Arkansas Tech (2-2, 2-2) in front of 4,159 at Wilkins Stadium in Magnolia.

The Muleriders trailed 10-7 after Tech’s Bryan Allen scored on a 19-yard run with 15 seconds left in the second quarter.

SAU scored two touchdowns in the third quarter on a pair of Barrett Renner touchdown passes to Tanner Hudson to take a 21-13 lead.

Tech’s Kristian Thompson’s 1-yard touchdown run with 13:01 left in the fourth quarter tied the score at 21-21.

The Muleriders then put together a 12play, 75-yard drive, which Haines capped on second and goal for the clinching touchdown.

SAU’s defense held the Wonder Boys on fourth and goal at the Muleriders’ 7 on the ensuing drive before Stacy Lawrence clinched the victory by intercepting Jabyes Cross’ pass at the SAU 8 with 2:12 left in the game.

NO. 8 HENDERSON STATE 45, SW OKLAHOMA STATE 17

Eighth-ranked Henderson State (4-0, 4-0 GAC) scored 21 third-quarter points to break away from a seven-point halftime advantage in the victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-4, 0-4) in front of 2,663 at ASAP Energy Field in Weatherford, Okla.

The start of the game was delayed 2½ hours because of severe weather.

Reddies quarterback Andrew Black completed 13 of 21 passes for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns, while teammate Jeremy Wilson rushed 15 times for 100 yards and 2 more scores on the ground.

Wilson also caught 3 passes for 57 yards, while Al Lasker had 2 receptions for 65 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown from Black to end the second quarter that gave the Reddies a 17-10 halftime advantage.

Wilson and Robert Thomas ran for third-quarter touchdowns in between Sheldon Watson’s 74-yard interception return for a score.

OUACHITA BAPTIST 42, NW OKLAHOMA ST. 34

Ouachita Baptist (3-1, 3-1) overcame a one-hour weather delay to begin the contest, then held on at the end to defeat Northwestern Oklahoma State (1-3, 1-3) in front of a crowd of 2,586 at Ranger Field in Alva, Okla.

OBU raced out to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter, then opened the advantage to 35-14 on Austin Warford’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Allie Freeman to begin the fourth.

The Rangers scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to trim the deficit to 35-27 with 11:07 left in the final quarter, before OBU’s Kris Oliver broke free for a 67yard touchdown run with 6:19 remaining to give the Tigers a 42-27 lead.

Reid Miller found Tamarick Courtney on a 28-yard touchdown pass with 4:06 left to set the final margin.

Jordan Jones intercepted Miller’s pass at the OBU 19 on the game’s final play.

Oliver ran for a game-high 237 yards and 2 touchdowns on 33 carries to pace the Tigers. Warford, the reigning GAC player of the week, was 10-of-14 passing for 176 yards to go with 3 touchdowns.