Harding Game Notes

SEARCY - Harding plays the third of its four road games this season Saturday in Cleveland, Miss., taking on 12th-ranked Delta State for a 4 p.m. kickoff on Parker Field at McCool Stadium. Harding is seeking its first Gulf South Conference victory. It is Homecoming at Delta State.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME

• Live Streaming Video - presented by Delta State
  
• Live Streaming Audio - presented by KVHU 95.3 (Billy Morgan and Jerry Mote)
• Live Stats - presented by the Delta State Sports Information Office

COACHING MATCHUP
HARDING HEAD COACH RONNIE HUCKEBA

• Alma Mater: Harding, 1978
• 4th Season at Harding: 14-21 (.400)

DELTA STATE HEAD COACH RON ROBERTS

• Alma Mater: Tennessee-Martin, 1988
• 4th Season at Delta State: 30-10 (.750)

HARDING QUICK HITTERS

The Bisons are looking for their first GSC victory Saturday. Harding is 0-3 in its first three conference games, but three losses have come by a total of 15 points. In fact, Harding has outscored its opponents by 32 points this season.

Another first Harding would like to pick up Saturday is its first-ever win over Delta State. It is likely that this will be the last chance for the Bison for some time. Delta State is not on the 2011 schedule and the teams will be in different conferences beginning in 2012.

Delta State is currently ranked 12th in the AFCA Division II Poll. Harding enters the game 6-22 vs. ranked NCAA opponents since joining the NCAA in 1997. The Bisons are 2-14 on the road vs. ranked opponents. Harding won its last road game against a ranked opponent, defeating 20th-ranked Ouachita Baptist on Oct. 10, 2009. Harding is 0-4 vs. ranked Delta State teams.

Much of Harding's offensive success this season has come on the ground. The Bisons lead the GSC with 230.0 rushing yards per game, but ground yards have been hard to come by for Harding against Delta State. In the last two games against the Statesmen, the Bisons have rushed for just nine yards on 39 carries (18 carries, 4 yards in 2008; 21 carries, 5 yards in 2009). Those numbers should improve in this game though, as Delta State ranks last in the GSC in rushing defense, allowing 158.5 yards per game.

Delta State leads the all-time series with Harding, 10-0-1 and has won the last eight straight, all GSC games, since the two teams tied 24-24 in Searcy in 1994.

The Statesmen have won all six meetings in Cleveland, including a 48-10 victory over Harding last season.

Harding continues to lead the GSC in rushing offense, averaging 230.0 yards per game. That ranks 11th in NCAA Division II. The Bisons have rushed for 1,152 yards through six games, which is more than Harding rushed for in either of the previous two seasons.

Junior Kale Gelles had his third 100-yard rushing game of the season vs. West Alabama and leads the GSC and ranks 20th nationally with 109.2 rushing yards per game.

Kyle Wess in 2006 was the last Harding player with three 100-yard rushing games in a season. The last player with four or more was Chris Pierson, who had five in 1997.

Harding starts two of its most prolific wide receivers in school history. Kurt Adams, who missed all but two games last season with a knee injury, has 2,080 career receiving yards and broke Gerald Payne's career receiving touchdown record with his 26 career receiving touchdown vs. West Alabama. Jordan Watson has 1,781 career receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

Adams' record-setting catch came with one second left in the third quarter on a six-yard pass from Chaz Rogers. He has four of Harding's six receiving touchdowns this season.

Adams is tied for seventh in career receiving touchdowns in GSC history. He needs three more to reach Ellis Debrow of Delta State (2002-04) for sixth.

Adams is the only Harding receiver with over 2,000 receiving yards and more than 20 receiving touchdowns.

Through the first five games, Harding's top offensive lineman is sophomore L.J. Tarrant. He leads the team with an average film grade of 78.8 and has a team-high 168 knock-out blocks. Tory Day is second in both categories at 75% and 147 KOs.

Harding boasts one of the top defensive units in the Gulf South Conference. The Bisons rank second in total defense, second in rushing defense and third in scoring defense.

Harding ranks 13th nationally in total defense, yielding only 264.8 yards per game. The Bisons have allowed only 10 touchdowns, tied for second in the conference and allow only 4.6 yards per play, third in the conference. The last time a Harding team allowed fewer than 300 yards per game was 1992 (299.5).

The Bisons' rushing defense is ranked eighth nationally, allowing just 70.0 yards per game. Harding's opponents average only 2.5 yards per carry and have scored just three rushing touchdowns. No Harding team has ever allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards per game over an entire season.

Kickoffs have been good to the Bisons this season. Harding is fourth in the GSC in both kickoff returns and kickoff return defense. Harding averages 20.5 yards per return, while Bison opponents average only 17.2 yards per return.

Harding junior Jeremy Holt leads the GSC and ranks 26th nationally with 26.12 yards per return. He has three kickoff returns of 30 yards or more.

Through the first three games, Harding has outscored its opponents 93-38 in the first three quarters but has been outscored 49-26 in the fourth quarter. Harding has not allowed a touchdown in the third quarter this season.

Harding has suffered the fewest penalty yards per game by any GSC team this season at 58.0 yards per game. Delta State, on the other hand, is the second-most penalized team in the NCAA at any level. The Statesmen average 12.83 penalties per game for an average of 109.17 yards. Only Bethune-Cookman of the NCAA FCS with 13.20 penalties for 115.20 yards is penalized more than Delta State.