Harding Game Notes
Henderson State Game Notes

•    The 23rd-ranked Harding football team will play its  second straight game against a nationally-ranked team Saturday when the Bisons meet No. 4 Henderson State at 3 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.

•    The Bisons will be playing their fifth straight game as a nationally-ranked team this season. Harding entered the AFCA poll on Sept. 15 at No. 20 and is currently ranked No. 23.

•    Harding's offense enters the game as the NCAA Division II leader in Rushing Offense (405.2). The Bisons' offense is also ranked in the top five in Division II in Scoring Offense (5th, 47.3), and Time of Possession (34:18).

•    Harding's defense ranks in the NCAA Division II top five in Total Defense (5th, 250.2), Rushing Defense (5th, 81.7), Scoring Defense (4th, 12.0), Turnover Margin (5th, 1.83), and First Downs Defense (2nd, 86).

•    Harding leads the GAC in Scoring Offense (47.3), Scoring Defense (12.0), Total Defense (250.2), Rushing Offense (405.2), Rushing Defense (81.7), Opponent 1st Downs (14.3), 3rd-Down Conversions (51.2), and Time of Possession (34:18).

•    Harding's defense has allowed opponents only 10 trips to the Red Zone in six games, the fewest among GAC teams. Harding has outscored its opponents 184-43 in the Red Zone.

•    A victory for Harding would set a new school record for road victories. The Bisons have won seven straight road games tying the mark of the 1971-73 teams. Harding's current streak is tied for the seventh-longest road winning streak in NCAA Division II.

•    Harding and Henderson State are meeting for the 50th time. The Reddies lead the series 31-17-1 overall and 21-4 in 25 meetings in Arkadelphia. Henderson State has won the last four meetings overall and has won the last five in Arkadelphia. Harding's last road win at Henderson State came in 2001 (26-10).

•    Saturday's game will be the 619th game in program history. Harding enters the game with a record of 302-298-18. The Bisons earned their 300th victory at Southern Nazarene on Sept. 27.

•    Harding senior running back Romo Westbrook is third in career rushing yards with 2,627. He needs 196 yards to pass Jim Howard (1964-67) for second.

•    Westbrook scored his 26th career touchdown vs. Ouachita Baptist and is tied for third on Harding's career touchdowns list. He needs three more touchdowns to tie Kurt Adams (2006-10) for second.

•    Harding senior kicker John Gay made four extra points against Ouachita Baptist and has 206 career points. With five more points, Gay would pass Alan Dixon (1970-73) for third in career scoring at Harding.

•    Through six games, Harding has 35 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more (24 rushing, 11 passing). Harding's opponents have 16 plays of 20 yards or more (5 rushing, 11 passing).

Last Week's Game in One Paragraph
•    Ouachita Baptist senior kicker Matthew Ehasz kicked a 38-yard game winning field goal in overtime to give the No. 22 Tigers a 31-28 victory over No. 13 Harding on Saturday in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium.

Winning Tradition
•    Harding has won 23 games in the last two-plus seasons. Harding won 18 games over the last two seasons, breaking the previous record of 17 wins in 1972-73.

•    Harding needs one more win this season to break the school record for wins in three seasons. The Bisons from 1971-73 won 23 games.

•    Harding has played in the postseason in each of the last two years, a first for the Bison program. In 2012, Harding reached the NCAA II Super Region 3 Playoffs, meeting Northwest Missouri State, and last season the Bisons won the inaugural Live United Texarkana Bowl 44-3 over Texas A&M-Commerce.

Head Coach Ronnie Huckeba
Harding is in its eighth season under head coach Ronnie Huckeba. Now in his 29th season as a coach at Harding, Huckeba has a 45-34 overall record as head coach.

AFCA Poll
Harding dropped 10 spots from No. 13 to No. 23 following its the Ouachita Baptist game.

The Series vs. Henderson State - Highlights
1978 - Mike Vanlandingham set a Harding record with 40 carries in a 28-14 loss.
1982 - Bruce Baldwin became only the third Harding player with three interception in a game. The Bisons lost the game 14-3.
2000 - Gerald Payne had three touchdown receptions in a 35-10 victory.
2002 - Coy Nance set a school record by landing five punts inside the 20 in a 42-30 victory.
2003 - Harding set a school record with 103 tackles in a game.
2004 - Travis DeSisso recovered two fumbles in a 20-17 Harding victory.
2008 - David Knighton attempted a school-record 70 passes in a 37-30 loss. Jeremy Holt had a school-record 14 receptions in the game.

Harding's individual best games against Henderson State:
RUSHING - Romo Westbrook (30 rushes, 161 yards in 2013); PASSING - David Knighton (39-of-70, 384 yards, 2TD in 2008); RECEIVING - Gerald Payne (6 receptions, 148 yards in 2000); TACKLES - Kennard Henderson (14 tackles in 2009).

Harding vs. Henderson State - Last Meeting
SEARCY – Harding rushed for 369 yards and three touchdowns but managed only two field goals in the second half and fell 45-30 to No. 5-ranked Henderson State in Great American Conference action on Homecoming last season at First Security Stadium.

Harding dropped to 5-2 overall and in the GAC with the loss and goes on the road next Saturday at Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant. Henderson State improved to 8-0 overall and 7-0 in conference play with its 21st straight regular season victory.

Harding had first-half touchdown runs by Keenan Kellett (2 yards), Jason Oller (44 yards) and Romo Westbrook (4 yards), and took a 24-21 lead with 7:44 left before halftime on Westbrook's score. Westbrook carried 30 times for 161 yards, marking only the fourth time in program history a Harding player rushed for over 100 in four consecutive games.

Henderson State capitalized on big plays in the first half, including a 70-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Rodgers to Darius Davis on their first play from scrimmage. Corey Chappell ran back a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and Rodgers connected with Robert Jordan on two touchdown passes, the second of which gave Henderson State a 28-24 lead going into halftime.

Harding had 244 rushing yards at the break, but the Henderson State defense limited the Bisons to 155 yards on the ground in the second half.

CURRENT BISONS VS. HENDERSON STATE
RUSHING
NAME    G    ATT.    YARDS    TD
Kellett    2    10    17    1
Kelly    1    2    3    0
Luckett    3    6    38    0
Oller    2    13    105    1
Scott    3    16    71    1
Simmons    1    4    21    0
Westbrook    3    35    206    1

PASSING
NAME    G    A-C    YARDS    I-TD
Kellett    2    11-27    149    3-0

RECEIVING
NAME    G    REC    YARDS    TD
Luckett    3    14    134    0

DEFENSE
NAME    G    T    TFL    SCK    INT
Biglow    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Bracken    3    1    0.0    0.0    0
Britt    3    5    0.0    0.0    0
Buckner    2    10    1.0    0.0    0
Cantrell    2    7    0.0    0.0    0
Garrett    1    2    0.5    0.0    0
Lane    1    3    0.0    0.0    0
Morgan    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Roberson    3    4    0.0    0.0    0
Sarkissian    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Skidmore    1    10    0.5    0.0    0
Stevenson    2    3    0.0    0.0    0

Offensive Notes
•    Harding fullback Romo Westbrook is ranked second in the GAC and 27th in NCAA Division II with 114.7 rushing yards per game.

•    Harding starting quarterback Keenan Kellett leads the GAC in pass efficiency (168.3). He is completing 55.6 percent and has five passing touchdowns in 25 completions.

•    Donatella Luckett is 5th in the GAC with 63.0 receiving yards per game. He also leads the conference with a 23.6-yards-per-catch average.

•    Senior Romo Westbrook ranks 18th among active players in NCAA Division II with 2,627 career rushing yards. He is sixth with 6.6 yards per carry and 27th with 25 rushing touchdowns.

•    With his 190-yard effort at Ouachita Baptist, Westbrook has 10 career 100-yard rushing games. He is tied with Kale Gelles (2008-11) for second. Alan Dixon is Harding's career leader with 21 100-yard games.

•    Harding rushed for 380 yards against Ouachita Baptist and have now rushed for over 300 yards 26 times in the last 38 games since 2011. The Bisons have rushed for over 400 yards 13 times since 2011.

•    Harding currently leads NCAA II in rushing offense with 405.2 rushing yards per game. Harding ranked No. 3 in NCAA II in rushing offense last season with 359.7 yards per game. The Bisons rushed for over 300 yards eight times, over 400 yards four times, and over 500 yards once (505 vs. Southern Nazarene).

•    Harding has finished in the top five in rushing offense in each of the last four seasons.

    HARDING'S NCAA RUSHING OFFENSE RANKINGS (SINCE 2009)
    2013 - No. 3 (359.70)
    2012 - No. 4 (320.55)
    2011 - No. 1 (360.91)
    2010 - No. 5 (272.20)
    2009 - No. 124 (94.55) - HU's last season in the spread offense

•    Harding has scored 47.3 points per game in its first five games and rank No. 5 in NCAA II. Harding ranked No. 7 in NCAA II last season in scoring offense with 43.5 points per game. It broke the previous school record of 35.5 points per game in 2011.

•    Harding has reached the Red Zone 33 times in six games and have scored 26 touchdowns and one field goal. Twenty-five of the 26 touchdowns have been rushing. Harding's opponents have only reached the Red Zone 10 times and scored only five touchdowns.

•    Harding wide receiver Donatella Luckett scored on a 64-yard touchdown reception vs. Southern Arkansas. Luckett now has 19 career touchdowns, all of them of 18 yards or more and averaging 50.4 yards per touchdown.

•    Luckett has 2,889 all-purpose yards in his career to rank ninth all-time at Harding. He needs 111 yards to become only the ninth Bison with 3,000 career all-purpose yards.

•    Senior Mike Thompson, a 1st Team All-GAC offensive lineman last season, anchors the Bison line. Thompson has started 28 consecutive games, including all 11 last season at left guard.

•    Center David Lee has played 335 plays this season, the most by any Harding offensive linemen and 79 percent of the Bisons' total snaps. He has been on the field for 31 of Harding's 39 offensive touchdowns.

•    Senior Keenan Kellett is Harding's starting quarterback. He will make his 16th career start, and the Bisons have a 13-2 record in his previous 15 starts. Kellett has 17 career rushing touchdowns and 14 touchdown passes.

Defensive Notes
•    Junior linebacker Jordan Cantrell leads Harding and ranks 26th in the GAC with 6.0 tackles per game.

•    Senior defensive end Jeremy Bracken leads the Bisons and ranks 18th in the GAC with 5.5 tackles for loss.

•    Sophomore safety Aric Stock leads Harding and is tied for fourth in the GAC with three interceptions.

•    Senior defensive lineman Romas Roberson leads Harding and the GAC with three forced fumbles  and is tied for the GAC lead with two fumble recoveries.

•    Harding enters the Henderson State game ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Divsion II in the following defensive categories:
    - First Down Defense, 2nd (86)
    - Scoring Defense, 4th (12.0)
    - Total Defense, 5th (250.2)
    - Rushing Defense, 5th (81.7)

Special Teams Notes
•    Senior John Gay has made 21-of-27 field goal attempts in his career. including 7-of-8 from 40 yards or further. He is Harding's career record holder with 143 extra points. He needs 38 points to become Harding's career scoring leader.

•    Harding kicker John Gay ranks eighth in the GAC and fourth among kickers in scoring with 7.6 points per game. Gay has made all 39 of his extra points, the most without a miss in the GAC.

•    Harding kickoff returner Donatella Luckett has 904 career kickoff return yards to rank ninth in program history.

•    Sophomore linebacker Benjamin Shields is Harding's leading tackler on special teams with nine tackles on kickoff returns.