Bisons survive Washburn, host NW Missouri next
FROM STAFF REPORTS SEARCY — Harding may have defeated Washburn 30-14, but the box score indicates the Bisons did enough to win by 50.
Harding (10-1), the No. 2 seed in Super Region 3, did enough to earn a second-round home game with Northwest Missouri (10-1), the region’s No. 3 seed and a team that has defeated Harding three times in the past nine years in the playoffs.
Northwest Missouri advanced with a 50-21 over Central Washington in Maryville, Mo.
Harding outgained Washburn 409-38 through three quarters (473-212 for the game), held the ball for 47:24 of 60 minutes, including an edge of 27:33 to 2:27 in the second and third quarters.
Harding finished with 29 first downs to 7 for Washburn, the Bisons rushed for 419 yards and held the Ichabods (9-3) to minus-2 yards rushing.
Harding even threw a 54-yard touchdown pass — from quarterback Preston Paden to Roland Wallace, which gave it a 17-7 second quarter lead.
The Bisons led 20-7 at halftime and 27-7 after three quarters, but could not shake a Washburn team that had 38 offensive yards and a 97-yard kickoff return for touchdown by James Letcher Jr. to account for its output heading into the fourth quarter.
Paden (18-71 rushing, 1 TD; 1-2 passing, 54, 1 TD) spent most of his day handing the ball to Harding’s inimitable 5-11, 195-pound fullback Cole Chancey, who rushed 41 times for 176 yards and 1 TD.
He also pitched it to hard-running slot back Omar Sinclair (14110 rushing) on a day when the Bisons did everything but run up the score.
TARLETON STATE 24, UCA 3
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Central Arkansas missed its chance of finishing above .500 Saturday against Tarleton State, but with starting quarterback Breylin Smith highlighting multiple injury-related absences, the Bears looked lost against the Texans.
UCA (5-6) finished with a season-low 161 yards of offense, unable to go over 100 yards on the ground or through the air. While the Bears were without Smith and receiver Lujuan Winningham, both out with ankle injuries, they couldn’t seem to find anything in their absence.
UCA brought three young quarterbacks on on the road trip in freshmen Hunter Loyd and Tyler Gee and redshirt freshman Darius Bowers. As a unit, they were 8-of-26 passing for 69 yards and an interception.
Bowers started but only threw six passes in the first half and didn’t complete any of them. Loyd threw the team’s first completion in the third quarter.
The offense was helpless without Smith, but the defense — which has been the Bears’ weakest link all year — was almost as ineffective. Tarleton State (6-5) generated 477 yards, marking the fifth time this year that the Bears allowed 400-plus yards of offense.
The Bears gave up a season-high 260 yards on the ground, which is the largest the Bears gave up all season, and the third time they’ve given up 200-plus yards.
While UCA began the season with a top-25 ranking, its 5-6 finish marks the first losing season since 2009, when it finished 5-7.