Commerce stops Harding’s playoff run, 31-17

COMMERCE, Texas — Harding entered its first NCAA Division II football semifinal Saturday with an 11-game winning streak but minus its first-team quarterback.

Texas A&M-Commerce exploited an unexpected edge at the key offensive position and advanced to next week’s championship game.

Luis Perez passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns, a 90-yard strike in the fourth quarter giving the Lions a cushion in their

31-17 victory over the Bisons. Commerce,

13-1 after nine straight wins, plays West Florida, a road winner over Indiana, Pa. in the other semifinal, at 6 p.m. Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

Harding, which went from its first possession until the fourth quarter without scoring, finished 11-4. The Bisons went with redshirt freshman Preston Paden at quarterback after learning Wednesday of junior Terrence Dingle’s suspension by the NCAA for the rest of the playoffs. No reason was given for the suspension, costing Harding the services of a player with 18 rushing touchdowns and 22 overall this season.

In his first college start, Paden completed three passes for 60 yards (long gain of 37) and had 21 of Harding’s 260 yards rushing.

At halftime, with Harding down 14-7, first-year Bisons coach Paul Simmons said, “The problems we’re having moving the ball aren’t about Preston. That guy’s a gamer; he’s doing dynamite.”

Harding was hurt less by Paden’s inexperience than its 13 penalties for 106 yards and inability to stop a balanced Commerce attack. Perez completed 24 of 34 attempts without an interception, and the Lions ran for 101 yards and two scores.

The first half swung on a Commerce gamble that succeeded. On fourth and one from the A&M 10, punter Tristan Perry passed for seven yards out of his end zone for a first down as the Lions drove 99 yards in 13 plays for a 14-7 lead.

“Our offense was dead and flat and wasn’t doing squat,” coach Colby Carthel said at haltime, “and I didn’t think we’d get much of a punt into the wind. We work on that play all year and I told the kids that someday we were going to run it in a game.”

Harding pulled within 17-14 on Cole Chancey’s one-yard run with 14:38 left and

24-17 on Tristan Parsley’s 30-yard field goal with 4:13 remaining.

Harding could not stop Commerce on two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, an

88-yard march in 12 plays and then a oneplay stunner for 90 yards after Parsley’s field goal.

Perez threw a bubble screen from the Commerce 10 to D’Arthur Cowan, star receiver Vincent Hobbs getting a key downfield block on the scoring play with 3:50 left.

Harding turned the ball over on downs on its last possession, and Commerce ran off the last 1:15.

Commerce led 24-14 on Carandal Hall’s

11-yard run with 8:14 left, capping a drive that Perez ran for two first downs and completed two passes for 19 yards to the 11.

Grant Kimberlin ran 51 yards for a touchdown on Harding’s third play from scrimmage. Commerce tied it on Gabriel Rodriguez’ two-yard run and went ahead on Hobbs’ over-the-shoulder catch of a three-yard pass from Perez with 5:28 before halftime.