Box Score
CARROLLTON, GA. – Harding University junior quarterback David Knighton completed 20-of-24 passes and threw three touchdowns to lead the Bisons to a 34-16 road victory over West Georgia in Gulf South Conference action.
Harding (4-2, 3-1 GSC) won its third straight conference game and its fifth in its last six meetings with West Georgia. The Wolves (0-5, 0-3) lost their fifth straight and scored in double figures for only the second time this season.
The Bison defense came up big for the second straight week, forcing four turnovers. Harding has 10 take-aways in the last two games without a turnover of its own. West Georgia entered the game as the GSC’s leader in turnover margin. The Bisons have 38 points off turnovers in the last two contests.
Knighton threw his first touchdown pass from three yards out to Heath Adams less than four minutes into the game. The Bisons had taken over at the West Georgia 30 following a fumble.
West Georgia came back to take a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Freshman kicker Casey Hale booted a 30-yard field goal and senior fullback Brian Davis scored on a 1-yard carry.
It looked as if the Wolves would take that lead into the halftime break after Harding’s Kenneth Wakwe blocked a field goal and Robert Towns returned the recovery to the UWG 48 with only 10 seconds remaining in the half. On the final play, Knighton avoided several Wolf defenders and launched a 48-yard touchdown pass into waiting arms of Devin Link in the back of the end zone.
Harding came out with an up-tempo offense in the second half and scored 20 points before West Georgia threw its first touchdown pass of the season on the last play of the game. The Bisons had the ball for more than 19 minutes in the second half.
Knighton connected with Jonathan Paulson on a 2-yard touchdown pass with 8:21 left in the third quarter. The junior has 16 touchdown passes through six games, only six short of the Harding single-season record. Ben Davis added a 37-yard field goal later in the third and a 34-yarder at the 4:52 mark of the fourth quarter to give Harding a 27-10 lead.
The Bisons’ final score came on a 17-yard run by redshirt tailback Teddy Luke with 1:41 remaining. Harding’s 34 points were the most against West Georgia since Presbyterian scored 48 points in UWG’s 2005 season opener.
Knighton’s 83.3 completion percentage broke the Harding single game record of 76.0 percent, previously set by Freddie Langston against Texas A&M-Commerce in 2001. His 20 completions went for 198 yards.
Link had seven receptions for the Bisons for 97 yards and the key touchdown of the game.
West Georgia’s defense entered the game ranked third in the GSC, but it was the Harding defense that continually made big plays Saturday. The Bisons limited the Wolf offense to 251 yards and allowed only 10 completions. Junior Sevohn Greer led Harding with seven tackles, including a sack.
Harding will be off for 12 days before its next game. The Bisons will host Southern Arkansas on Oct. 19 in the GSC-TV game of the week. The Muleriders lost 41-7 to Valdosta State on Saturday.
