Harding Game Notes

SEARCY – It has been 27 years since Harding fans had to wait this late in the calendar for football season to start, but the Bisons get the season underway Saturday against former Gulf South Conference foe North Alabama. Kickoff at Braly Municipal Stadium is at 6 p.m.

The game will be broadcast live in Searcy on Harding's KVHU 95.3-FM with Billy Morgan and Jerry Mote on the call. Live statistics will also be available courtesy of the North Alabama sports information office.

Saturday's game is the first of three on the road to open the season before Harding hosts East Central on Sept. 29. It is the first time the Bisons have opened a season this late since opening on Sept. 12, 1985 at Evangel.

Head coach Ronnie Huckeba's Bisons return an experienced squad, especially on defense, where seven of its nine returning starters are seniors.

Last season, Harding was 4-7 overall and 3-3 in its first season in the Great American Conference. The Bisons led NCAA Division II with 360.9 rushing yards per game last season, and led the GAC in both total offense and total defense.

The key to success this season for the Bisons is to limit turnovers that proved costly in several losses in 2011.

Harding's offense will be directed by senior quarterback Kelvin Martin, who will make his fifth career start Saturday against North Alabama. Martin was second on the team last season with 540 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, Harding returns all four starters on the defensive line –defensive ends Josh Aldridge and B.J. Jones and defensive tackles Joe Calvin and Matt Buehler—who combined for 16 of the Bisons' GAC-leading 28 sacks last season.

North Alabama opened its season last Sunday against Miles College at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. The Lions stopped Miles on a two-point conversion with 16 seconds left to hang on to a 31-30 victory.

UNA appeared to have the game won when Chris Alexander hit Brian Sutherland with a 40-yard scoring pass with just 1:05 left in the game to give the Lions a 31-24 lead. But the Bears drove the length of the field and scored with just 16 seconds left on a 19-yard TD pass from David Thomas to Lonnie Outlaw. The Bears then chose to go for two points and the win but were stopped short.

The win was the 10^th consecutive season-opening win for the Lions and the first victory in the second term under new head coach Bobby Wallace. Miles, coached by former UNA All-American Reginald Ruffin, falls to 0-1.

A crowd of 22,268 was in attendance, marking the second largest crowd ever for a UNA football game.

UNA led 24-3 at the half but Miles put up 27 second half points to just one score for the Lions.

The win was UNA's 20^th consecutive regular season win over a non-Gulf South Conference school.

Harding and North Alabama will be playing for the 13th time, with the Lions holding a 7-5 lead. The Bisons' last win in the series came in 2010, when Harding won 29-28 in Searcy. UNA has won the last four meetings in Florence, since Harding's last road win, 45-38, in 2002.

Last season, second-ranked North Alabama scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase a six-point Harding lead and defeat the Bisons 28-20 in Florence, Ala., on Sept. 24, 2011.

Harding piled up 381 rushing yards against North Alabama, including 109 on seven carries from sophomore slot back Colton Kamper. Junior quarterback Chaz Rogers had 81 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and senior kicker Eddy Carmona connected on field goals of 32 yards and 42 yards.

North Alabama quarterback Lee Chapple passed for 308 yards and threw touchdown passes to three different receivers, including a 6-yard, fourth quarter touchdown pass to Daniel Almon and a 61-yard touchdown pass to Jason Smith with 8:06 left in the game.

Harding limited North Alabama to only 25 rushing yards on 24 carries and controlled the ball for almost 37 minutes.