Harding Game Notes
Arkansas-Monticello Game Notes

Today's Game
•    The 14th-ranked Harding football team will play its third road game of the season Saturday when the Bisons travel to Arkansas-Monticello. Kickoff at Convoy Leslie Cotton Bowl Stadium is at 3 p.m.

•    The Bisons will be playing their third game as a nationally-ranked team this season. Harding entered the AFCA poll on Sept. 15 at No. 20 and is currently ranked No. 14, its highest ranking since being No. 12 in the Nov. 12, 2012 poll. The Bisons are also ranked No. 19 in the D2Football.com Poll.

•    Harding enters the game as the NCAA Division II leader in Rushing Offense (399.3) and Rushing Defense (45.0). The Bisons are also the only Division II team in the top five in both Scoring Offense (5th, 50.3) and Scoring Defense (2nd, 6.5).

•    Harding's offense leads the GAC in Rushing Offense (399.2), Rushing TD (23), Yards per Rush (6.5), and Pass Efficiency (172.6). 

•    Harding's defense leads the GAC in Scoring Defense (6.5), Total Defense (193.2), Rushing Defense (45.0), Pass Defense (148.2), Pass Defense Efficiency (86.4), and Opponent 1st Downs (11.2).

•    Harding is the least penalized team in the GAC, at just 44.0 yards per game. The Bisons also have the least penalized opponents in the GAC. Harding foes have received only 13 penalties for 105 yards (26.2 yards per game).

•    Harding's defense has allowed opponents only three trips to the Red Zone in four games, the fewest among GAC teams. This week's opponent, Arkansas-Monticello, has allowed a GAC-high 28 Red Zone trips.

•    A victory Saturday would give Harding a school-record nine-game winning streak. The Bisons have won eight straight to match the school record set in 1972-73 (10/28/72-9/29/73). Harding's current eight-game winning streak is the fourth-longest in NCAA Division II.

•    A victory Saturday would match the longest road winning streak in program history. Harding has won six straight road games, tied for the 10th-longest active streak in NCAA Division II. The record of seven was set  from 1971-73.

•    Harding and Arkansas-Monticello are meeting for the 50th time with the Bisons holding a slight 25-24 lead. The Bisons have won the last three meetings overall, including a 52-7 victory in 2012 in the last meeting in Monticello.

•    Saturday's game will be the 617th game in program history. Harding enters the game with a record of 301-297-18. The Bisons earned their 300th victory at Southern Nazarene on Sept. 27.

•    Harding head coach Ronnie Huckeba is in his eighth season as head coach of the Bisons and has a record of 44-33.

•    Harding senior running back Romo Westbrook rushed for 134 yards vs. Southern Arkansas and moved into fourth in career rushing yards with 2,287. He needs 197 yards to pass Chris Pierson (1996-97) for third place.

•    Westbrook scored two touchdowns vs. Southern Arkansas and has 23 career touchdowns, fourth in on Harding's career touchdowns list. He needs three more touchdowns to tie Gerald Payne (1999-2000) for third.

•    Harding senior kicker John Gay made eight extra points vs. Southern Arkansas and has 195 career points. With five more points, Gay would become only the fourth Harding player and third kicker to surpass 200 points for a career.

•    Through four games, Harding has 29 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more (19 rushing, 10 passing). Harding's opponents have six plays of 20 yards or more (1 rushing, 5 passing).

last week's game in one paragraph
•    Harding rushed for an NCAA season-high 500 yards and scored seven rushing touchdowns in a 56-13 victory over Southern Arkansas on Family Weekend. Senior Romo Westbrook led Harding with 134 rushing yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Donatella Luckett added two receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Winning Tradition
•    Harding has won 22 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 two more wins 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 44-33 overall record as head coach. Under Coach Huckeba, the Bisons are 18-20 on the road and 35-25 in conference games.

First Quarter Success
Harding led Southern Arkansas 14-6 after the first quarter last Saturday, and has outscored its opponents 194-43 in the first quarter over the last 15 games and 58-6 in the first quarter this season. Over the last four-plus seasons, Harding has scored 465 first-quarter points to only 157 by its opponents.

Harding has outscored its opponents 42-0 this season in the third quarter.

AFCA Poll
Harding moved up one spot from No. 15 to No. 14 following its victory over Southern Arkansas. It is Harding's highest ranking since Nov. 12, 2012 when the team was No. 12.

The Series vs. Arkansas-Monticello - Highlights
1972 - Harding recovered five fumbles, second-most in a single game, in a 56-7 victory at Monticello.
1973 - Running back Jack Barber had the longest non-scoring run in program history, an 86-yard gain in Harding's 33-7 victory.
1975 - Running back Joe David Smith carried 39 times for a school-record 284 yards in Harding's 25-15 victory.  He also set a school record with 332 all-purpose yards in the game.
1986 - Daron Cathey returned a punt 76 yards in a 23-17 loss. It is the second-longest punt return by a Harding player.
1997 - Harding had 134 punt return yards in a 48-14 victory. It was the second-most punt return yards in a game.
2004 - Travis DeSisso set a school record with 4.0 sacks in a 37-28 loss.
2006 - Running back Kyle Wess rushed 23 times for 200 yards in a 17-6 Harding victory ... Patrick Nicks returned a kickoff 94 yards, the second-longest kickoff return by a Bison.
2007 - Zac Ross set a school record with 199 kickoff return yards on eight returns in a 48-32 loss.
2008 - Quarterback David Knighton passed for 493 yards in a 46-43 Harding loss. It is the fourth-most passing yards in an HU single game ... Wide Receiver Kurt Adams had nine receptions for 205 yards, fourth in an HU single game.
2013 - Quarterback Keenan Kellett tied a school record by rushing for four touchdowns in a 63-30 Harding victory. Harding rushed for 474 yards and eight touchdowns 

Extra Note: Harding has only punted 12 times in a game twice, both against Arkansas-Monticello (1980 and 1984).

Harding's individual best games against Arkansas-Monticello: RUSHING - Joe David Smith (39 rushes, 284 yards in 1975); PASSING - David Knighton (30-of-56, 493 yards, 3TD in 2008); RECEIVING - Kurt Adams (9 receptions, 205 yards in 2008); TACKLES - Daylan Skidmore (15 tackles in 2013).

Harding vs. Arkansas-Monticello – Last Meeting
After a shaky start, Harding unleashed its NCAA-leading rushing offense and defeated Arkansas-Monticello 63-30 on Oct. 12, 2013, in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium.

The Bisons rushed for 337 yards and seven touchdowns in the first half, including a school-record tying four rushing touchdowns from junior quarterback Keenan Kellett.

Kellett scored on a 1-yard keeper on Harding's first possession, a five-play, 85-yard drive. Arkansas-Monticello then used Jamal Nixon's 67-yard kickoff return to start its first drive at the Harding 29. The Boll Weevils picked up one first down but were held to a 29-yard field goal by Jamie McGee with 10:05 left in the first quarter.

The Bisons tacked on two more touchdowns in the first quarter, both on short runs by Kellett, and led 21-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Bisons had 260 yards of total offense in the quarter.

Harding scored four rushing touchdowns in the second quarter, one each by Romo Westbrook, Kellett, Ahmad Scott, and Ty Finley. The Bisons limited the Boll Weevils to a 33-yard Jamie McGee field goal and led 49-13 at halftime.

Westbrook, the reigning GAC Offensive Player of the Week, rushed for 106 yards on six carries and did not play in the second half. It was his second straight 100-yard rushing effort and his third of the season.

CURRENT BISONS 
VS. ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
RUSHING
NAME    G    ATT.    YARDS    TD
Kellett    2    13    64    4
Kelly    1    4    57    0
Magalei    1    6    75    0
Oller    2    7    96    1
Parish    1    5    14    0
Scott    2    4    41    1
Westbrook    2    17    153    4

PASSING
NAME    G    A-C    YARDS    I-TD
Kellett    2    4-4    108    0-0

RECEIVING
NAME    G    REC    YARDS    TD
Luckett    2    2    87    1
Oller    2    1    40    0

DEFENSE
NAME    G    T    TFL    SCK    INT
Akers    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Biglow    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Bracken    2    6    2.5    1.0    0
Britt    2    7    0.0    0.0    0
Buckner    2    4    0.5    0.0    0
Cain    2    2    0.0    0.0    0
Cantrell    2    12    0.0    0.0    0
Daranda    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Garrett    1    2    0.0    0.0    0
Jackson    1    2    0.0    0.0    0
Lane    1    2    0.0    0.0    0
Morgan    1    3    0.0    0.0    0
Placide    1    1    0.0    0.0    1-TD
Roberson    2    6    1.5    0.5    0
Sarkissian    2    6    0.0    0.0    0
Shields    1    4    0.0    0.0    0
Skidmore    1    15    0.5    0.0    0
Stevenson    2    6    0.0    0.0    0
Stock    1    3    0.0    0.0    0
Zalenski    1    1    0.0    0.0    0

Offensive Notes
•    Harding has two of the top eight rushers in the GAC. Romo Westbrook is 3rd with 87.0 yards per game, and Alapeti Magalei is 8th with 70.8 per game.

•    Harding starting quarterback Keenan Kellett is the GAC's leader with a quarterback rating of 194.2. Kellett is completing 59.4 percent of his passes.

•    Donatella Luckett is 3rd in the GAC with 78.2 receiving yards per game. He also leads the conference with a 26.1-yards-per-catch average.

•    Senior Romo Westbrook ranks 27th among active players in NCAA Division II with 2,287 career rushing yards. He is 10th with 6.3 yards per carry and 32nd with 23 rushing touchdowns.

•    With his 134-yard effort vs. Southern Arkansas, Westbrook has eight career 100-yard rushing games. He is tied with Mike Vanlandingham (1977-78) for fifth at Harding. Chris Pierson (1996-97) and Jim Howard (1964-67) both had nine 100-yard games.

•    Westbrook needs 197 rushing yards to move into third in career rushing yards at Harding.

•    Harding rushed for 500 yards against Southern Arkansas and have now rushed for over 300 yards 24 times in the last 36 games since 2011. The Bisons have rushed for over 400 yards 12 times since 2011.

•    Harding currently leads NCAA II in rushing offense with 399.3 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 50.3 points per game in its first four 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. The Bisons averaged 55.4 points per game in their five home games.

•    Harding has reached the Red Zone 23 times in four games and have scored 17 touchdowns and one field goal. All 17 touchdowns have been rushing.

•    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 2,806 all-purpose yards in his career to rank ninth all-time at Harding. He needs 194 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 26 consecutive games, including all 11 last season at left guard.

•    Center David Lee has played 204 plays this season, the most by any Harding offensive linemen and 72 percent of the Bisons' total snaps. He has been on the field for 21 of Harding's 28 offensive touchdowns.

•    Senior Keenan Kellett is Harding's starting quarterback. He will make his 14th career start, and the Bisons have a 12-1 record in his previous 13 starts. Kellett has 14 career rushing touchdowns and 13 touchdown passes.

Defensive Notes
•    Senior defensive end Jeremy Bracken leads the Bisons and ranks 12th in the GAC with 5.0 tackles for loss.

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

•    Senior defensive lineman Romas Roberson leads Harding and the GAC with three forced fumbles.

•    Harding enters the Arkansas-Monticello game ranked in the top 10 in NCAA Divsion II in the following defensive categories:
    - Rushing Defense - 1st (45.0)
    - Scoring Defense - 2nd (6.5)
    - First Down Defense - 2nd (45)
    - Total Defense - 3rd (193.3)
    - Turnover Margin - 6th (2.25)
    - Pass Efficiency Defense - 9th (86.43)

•    Southern Arkansas rushed for 132 yards against Harding and became the first time in the last 10 games to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bisons.

•    Southern Arkansas snapped Harding's school-record tying streak of four games allowing opponents fewer than 10 points. The Muleriders scored 13.

•    Harding has held each of its four opponents to fewer than 20 first downs. No team has more than seven rushing first downs.

•    Harding has held three of its first four opponents to fewer than 200 total yards.

•    Harding has either won or tied the turnover battle in each of the first four games.

Special Teams Notes
•    Senior John Gay returns as Harding's kicker. 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 132 extra points. He needs 49 points will become Harding's career scoring leader.

•    Harding kicker John Gay ranks ninth in the GAC and fourth among kickers in scoring with 7.8 points per game. Gay has made all 28 of his extra points, the most without a miss in the GAC.

•    Harding kickoff returner Donatella Luckett has 897 career kickoff return yards to rank ninth in program history.

•    Sophomore linebacker Benjamin Shields is Harding's leader in special-teams tackles. He has five tackles, all on kickoff returns. Junior defensive back Frank Herbert is second with four tackles.

Southwestern Oklahoma Leftovers
•    Harding moved above .500 as a program at 298-297-18. It is the first time Harding has had a winning record since the team was 2-1 in the 1924 season.
•    Harding extended its series lead to 6-4 over Southwestern Oklahoma, including 3-1 in GAC games.
•    Harding has won the last three games at home against Southwestern by a total of 150-41.
•    Harding is now 40-21-3 in season openers, has won 10 of its last 13, and eight straight at home.
•    Harding had a 226.0 passing efficiency, the seventh-best figure in program history. The Bisons completed 7-of-12 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Kellett's passing efficiency of 246.6 was a career best and the fifth-best ever by a Bison.
•    Keenan Kellett averaged 14.6 yards per pass attempt, completing 11 passes for 161 yards.
•    Harding limited Southwestern to only 7 rushing yards, tied for eighth-fewest by a Bison opponent and the second-best effort by Harding in a GAC game.
•    Harding's defense allowed only 197 total yards, its fourth-lowest figure in a GAC game.

Northwestern Oklahoma Leftovers
•    Romo Westbrook scored his 21st career rushing touchdown on Harding's first play from scrimmage.
•    Donatella Luckett scored his 17th and 18th career touchdowns, the first on a 45-yard screen pass and the second on an 18-yard reverse. It was the shortest touchdown of his career.
•    Luckett had 105 receiving yards on five receptions, his third career game with over 100 receiving yards.
•    Redshirt freshman Zach Shelley led Harding in rushing with 87 yards on four carries with touchdowns of  29 and 52 yards.
•    Dennis Buckner became Harding's first defensive player since Philip Mion against Ouachita Baptist last season with two interceptions in a game.
•    Buckner returned the second interception 36 yards for a touchdown. Darious Lane was the last Bison to return an interception for a touchdown, last season vs. East Central.
•    Kicker John Gay made a 41-yard field goal, his fourth straight from 40 yards or more.
•    Harding rushed for 310 yards and four touchdowns to give HU 23 games of 300 rushing yards or more in its last 35 since 2011.
•    Harding made five interceptions, the most by Harding in a GAC game, third-most ever, and the first five-interception game since Oct. 10, 2009 against Ouachita Baptist.

Southern Nazarene Leftovers
•    Harding's 58-0 victory over Southern Nazarene was its largest-ever road shutout.
•    Harding's safety in the first quarter was its first since blocking a punt out of the end zone against Arkansas-Monticello in 2010.
•    Harding had eight rushing touchdowns, the most ever by the Bisons in a road game.
•    Harding had 28 rushing first downs, shattering the old school record of 24 at Northeastern State in 2011.
•    Harding limited Southern Nazarene to only two first downs, breaking the previous school record of three first downs by Lane in 1990.
•    Harding's 462 rushing yards were the second-most ever in a road game. (Southern Arkansas, 515, 2011).
•    Harding allowed only 6 rushing yards, third-fewest by a Bison team on the road and tied for seventh overall.
•    Harding allowed 42 total yards, its best defensive effort ever in a Great American Conference game and fourth overall.
•    Harding held Southern Nazarene to 0-for-10 on third downs. Lambuth in 2010 was the last Harding opponent that did not convert a third down (0-of-10).
•    Harding scored touchdowns on eight of its 12 possessions. Southern Nazarene's longest drive was 17 yards and only had five drives in positive yardage.

Southern Arkansas Leftovers
•    Harding rushed for 500 yards, the most by a team in Division II this season and fourth-most by a Bison team. The Bisons averaged 9.1 yards per rush, also fourth.
•    Harding scored seven rushing touchdowns. It was the eighth time the Bisons scored seven or more rushing touchdowns in the last four seasons.
•    Harding's 593 total yards tied for seventh-most alltime, and the Bisons 9.9 yards per play was third.
•    Romo Westbrook rushed for 134 yards on 10 carries. It was his second 100-yard game of the season and eighth of his career. His 13.4 yards per rush ranks third in an HU single game.
•    Westbrook scored two rushing touchdowns, his sixth multi-touchdown game in his career. His 76-yard touchdown tied for the second-longest of his career.
•    Romas Roberson tied a school record with two forced fumbles in the game.