Box Score
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Harding senior Calvin Roberts scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard run in overtime to lift the Bisons to a 31-24 victory over Southern Arkansas on Homecoming at Wilkins Stadium.
Harding (4-3, 3-2 Gulf South Conference) won its third straight conference game and its fifth in the last six meetings against Southern Arkansas (2-6, 1-5) in Magnolia. The loss for the Muleriders was their fifth straight.
Harding, which rushed for a season-high 208 yards in the game, kept the ball on the ground for all six of its overtime plays. Junior Alan Webster carried for 12 yards to the SAU 13 before Roberts picked up eight more to get to the 4-yard line. On 2nd-and-2, Webster dove to within inches of the goal line. After two plays with no gain, Roberts powered in the eventual game-winning score.
Southern Arkansas picked up one first down on its drive, but a false start penalty and a two-yard rush set up 2nd-and-13 from the Harding 17. That is when the Harding defense made three straight game-saving plays.
Bison junior rover Michael Solano dropped Mulerider tailback Steven Ashley for a six-yard loss. On third down, freshman Marcus Jones and sophomore Jeremy Townsend recorded a four-yard sack. SAU quarterback Josh SanFilippo's pass into the end zone on fourth down sailed over the head of intended receiver Marco Coleman, and Harding had its sixth win in seven overtime games since joining the NCAA in 1997.
With the game tied 17-17 after the third quarter, Harding recaptured the lead on the third play of the fourth when Ardell Briggs burst up the middle for a 42-yard touchdown run. It was the Bisons' longest touchdown run of the season.
With 2:46 remaining, SAU scored on a 17-yard pass from SanFilippo to Coleman to send the game into overtime.
Harding had not played in 16 days following its 49-31 victory over West Georgia on Oct. 4. In the first half, the rust was evident, especially for the Harding offense. The Mulerider defense limited the Bisons to only 67 yards and four first downs before the break. Harding quarterback David Knighton, the GSC's leading passer at 302 yards per game, had only 44 passing yards on 9-of-15 attempts.
Southern Arkansas led 10-3 at halftime.
Knighton's third quarter was much better than his first half. The junior threw a pair of touchdown passes, the first going to Calvin Roberts from two yards out. The key play of the drive was Webster's season-long 52-yard run. Following a Southern Arkansas punt, Harding drove 60 yards on four plays with Knighton hitting Webster on a swing pass for a 24-yard score.
Webster finished with 16 carries for 119 yards, Harding's first 100-yard rushing game in 2007. Knighton was 19-of-28 for 162 yards and the two scores.
Possibly the biggest story for the resurgent Bisons was the play of the defense. Harding limited Southern Arkansas to only 325 total yards, the Bisons' best effort of the season. The defense also recorded five sacks, equaling its total from the season's first six games. Sophomore Jermaine Blanchard led the squad with nine stops, and sophomore Kyle Young added eight.
Southern Arkansas completed only 7-of-24 passes 108 yards.
Harding will look for its fourth consecutive victory under new head coach Ronnie Huckeba next Saturday at Henderson State.
