Harding Game Notes
East Central Game Notes

Today's Game
The 16th-ranked Harding football team will play its final road game of the regular season Saturday as it takes on East Central at 3 p.m. in Ada, Oklahoma.

Harding enters the game ranked No. 9 in the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 rankings. Six teams in the super region advance to the NCAA II Championship tournament. Super Region 3 is made of teams from the Great American Conference, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, MIAA, and Great Northwest Conference.

Super Region 3 Rankings with this week's opponents:
    1. Minn. St. Mankato at Wayne St. (NE), 2 p.m.
    2. Ouachita Baptist at Ark.-Monticello, 3 p.m.
    3. Minn. Duluth vs. Mary, 1 p.m.
    4. Pittsburg St. vs. Central Mo., 2 p.m.
    5. Northwest Mo. St. at Emporia St., 2 p.m.
    6. Azusa Pacific at Simon Fraser, 3 p.m.
    7. Sioux Falls vs. Upper Iowa, 1 p.m.
    8. Humboldt St. at Western Ore., 3 p.m.
    9. Harding at East Central, 2 p.m.
    10. Henderson St. at Southern Ark., 2 p.m.

The Bisons will be playing their seventh straight game as a nationally-ranked team. Harding entered the AFCA poll on Sept. 15 at No. 20 and is currently ranked No. 16. Harding's highest ranking was No. 12 on Nov. 12, 2012. The Bisons have been as high as No. 13 this season.

Harding is currently on a school record eight-game road winning streak. The Bisons broke the record with a 28-24 victory over Henderson State on Oct. 25. Harding's streak began with a 28-14 victory over Southern Arkansas on Oct. 3, 2013.

Harding and East Central are meeting for the 13th time with the Bisons leading the series 9-3. The Bisons have won two of the five meetings in Ada, last winning 22-19 in 2003. East Central won the last meeting in Ada 23-16 in 2011.

Saturday's game will be the 621st game in program history. Harding enters the game with a record of 304-298-18. The Bisons earned their 300th victory at Southern Nazarene on Sept. 27.

Through seven games, Harding has 42 plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more (30 rushing, 12 passing). Harding's opponents have 21 plays of 20 yards or more (5 rushing, 16 passing).

Winning Tradition
Harding has won 25 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 has broken 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 47-34 overall record as head coach.

The Series vs. East Central - Highlights
1996 - Chris Pierson rushed for 257 yards on only 15 carries in HU's 41-31 victory. It is tied for the second-most rushing yards in a game by a Bison and set a school record with 17.1 yards per rush. Daniel McCondichie had the fourth-longest interception in program history, a 74-yard return.
1999 - Luke Cullins completed 30 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-7 Harding victory. Marc Fager had 11 receptions for 150 yards.
2002 - Tim Polk had a team-high 15 tackles, including nine solos in HU's 34-23 victory.
2003 - Marco Cole blocked two kicks in HU's 22-19 victory.
2011 - Eddy Carmona kicked a school-record 62-yard field goal and booted a 73-yard punt (2nd-longest by an HU punter) in the same game.
2013 - Harding set school records with 10 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in HU's 52-30 victory.

Harding's individual best games against East Central:
RUSHING - Chris Pierson (15 rushes, 257 yards in 1996); PASSING - Luke Cullins (30-of-49, 353 yards, 3TD in 1999); RECEIVING - Marc Fager (11 receptions, 150 yards in 1999); TACKLES - Tim Polk (15 tackles in 2002).

Harding vs. East Central – Last Meeting
SEARCY – Harding's defense sacked East Central 10 times, limited the Tigers to -21 rushing yards, and returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns in a 52-30 victory in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium.

With the victory, Harding improved to 7-2 overall and in the GAC, remained tied for second in the conference with Ouachita Baptist. It was the Bisons' seventh straight victory over the Tigers in Searcy and dropped East Central to 4-5 overall and in the GAC.

Harding scored 28 points in the first quarter with two offensive touchdowns and two defensive touchdowns. Junior Darious Lane intercepted a pass by East Central quarterback Spencer Bond on the second play of the game and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown.

The Bisons also scored two rushing touchdowns on 1-yard runs by quarterback Keenan Kellett and fullback Romo Westbrook to make it 21-0 with 1:02 left in the first quarter. It was the 10th rushing touchdown of the season for both players, and they became the first Harding teammates with 10 or more rushing touchdowns in the same season.

Westbrook led Harding's rushing attack with 94 yards on 18 carries and the touchdown. It was Westbrook's eighth straight game with at least one rushing touchdown.

East Central took over at the Harding 48 on its next possession, but redshirt freshman Daylan Skidmore forced a fumble from Tiger tailback JoJo Snell. Harding junior defensive back Terrell Hill recovered the fumble and returned it 42 yards for Harding's fourth touchdown of the first quarter. It was also the 53rd touchdown of the season, breaking the school record of 52 touchdowns by the 2011 team.

Harding led 31-10 at halftime and East Central never got any closer.

Current Bisons vs. East Central
RUSHING
NAME    G    ATT.    YARDS    TD
Kellett    3    11    34    1
Kelly    1    6    23    0
Luckett    3    6    40    0
Magalei    1    1    1    0
Oller    3    9    61    0
Parish    1    3    22    0
Scott    3    18    97    1
Simmons    1    1    8    0
Westbrook    3    36    186    1

PASSING
NAME    G    A-C    YARDS    I-TD
Kellett    3    7-11    182    1-2
Parish    1    1-1    4    0-0

RECEIVING
NAME    G    REC    YARDS    TD
Kelly    1    1    37    1
Luckett    3    6    38    0

DEFENSE
NAME    G    T    TFL    SCK    INT
Akers    1    2    2.0    2.0    0
Biglow    1    2    1.0    1.0    0
Bracken    3    2    1.0    0.0    0
Britt    3    6    2.0    0.0    0
Buckner    2    3    0.0    0.0    0
Cantrell    2    6    0.5    0.0    0
Garrett    1    1    1.0    0.0    0
Lane    1    3    0.0    0.0    1 (TD)
McKeown    2    1    1.0    1.0    1
Morgan    1    1    0.0    0.0    0
Roberson    2    2    1.0    1.0    0
Skidmore    1    3    0.0    0.0    0
Stevenson    2    9    0.0    0.0    0
Zalenski    1    1    0.5    0.5    0

Offensive Notes
Harding's offense enters the game ranked No. 2 in Division II in rushing offense (403.9 yards per game). Lenoir-Rhyne leads Division II with 410.7 rushing yards per game.

The Bisons rank No. 5 in NCAA II in scoring offense with 45.4 points per game. Harding, who leads the GAC in the category, has scored more than 40 points six times this season.

Harding ranks No. 6 in NCAA II in time-of-possession. The Bisons average 34:32 and have won the TOP battle in seven of its eight games.

Harding senior running back Romo Westbrook is second in career rushing yards with 2,841 yards. He needs 1,373 yards to pass Alan Dixon (1970-73) for first.

Westbrook scored his 27th career touchdown vs. Southeastern Oklahoma and is third on Harding's career touchdowns list. He needs two more touchdowns to tie Kurt Adams (2006-10) for second.

Westbrook leads the GAC and ranks 30th in NCAA Division II with 112.8 rushing yards per game. He is third in the conference with 7.05 yards per rush.

Westbrook ranks 17th among active players in NCAA Division II with 2,841 career rushing yards. He is sixth with 6.5 yards per carry and 28th with 26 rushing touchdowns.

With his 121-yard effort vs. Southeastern Oklahoma, Westbrook has 11 career 100-yard rushing games. He moved ahead of Kale Gelles (2008-11) for second. Alan Dixon is Harding's career leader with 21 100-yard games.

Harding rushed for 467 yards against Southeastern Oklahoma and have now rushed for over 300 yards 28 times in the last 40 games since 2011. The Bisons have rushed for over 400 yards 14 times since 2011.

Harding currently ranks second in NCAA II in rushing offense with 403.9 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 45.4 points per game in its first eight games and ranks 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.

Senior wide receiver Donatella Luckett is 10th in the GAC with 50.1 receiving yards per game.

Harding wide receiver Donatella Luckett scored on a 3-yard reverse against Henderson State, only the second of his 20 career touchdowns that came inside the Red Zone. He still averages 48.1 yards per touchdown.

Luckett has 2,931 all-purpose yards in his career to rank 10th all-time at Harding. He needs 69 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 30 consecutive games, including all 11 last season at left guard.

Center David Lee has played 459 plays this season, the most by any Harding offensive linemen and 82 percent of the Bisons' total snaps. He has been on the field for 38 of Harding's 46 offensive touchdowns.

Senior Keenan Kellett is Harding's starting quarterback. He will make his 18th career start, and the Bisons have a 15-2 record in his previous 17 starts. Kellett has 17 career rushing touchdowns and 14 touchdown passes.

Defensive Notes
Harding leads NCAA II in Turnovers Gained (31) and Fumbles Recovered (15).

Harding leads the GAC and ranks No. 5 in NCAA II in total defense, allowing just 267.3 yards per game.  The Bisons have held five opponents to 300 yards or fewer.

Harding's rush defense leads the GAC and ranks No. 4 in NCAA II at 79.6 yards per game. The Bisons have held six of their eight opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards.

Harding leads the GAC and is second in NCAA II in turnover margin. The Bisons have forced 31 turnovers, including an NCAA II-high 15 fumbles, and 16 interceptions. Harding has only 14 turnovers, 10 fumbles and four interceptions.

Harding's defense has allowed opponents only 16 trips to the Red Zone in eight games, the fewest among GAC teams. Harding's offense has made 42 trips to the Red Zone.

Harding has three defensive players in the top 50 in the GAC in tackles per game -- LB Daylan Skidmore (22nd, 6.0 tackles per game), DB Devonte Britt (43rd, 4.8), and LB Jordan Cantrell (45th, 4.7).

Special Teams Notes
Senior kicker John Gay made a 40-yard field goal and 5-of-6 extra points vs. Southeastern Oklahoma.  Gay is Harding's record holder with 151 career extra points, ranks third in career scoring with 223 points (needs 19 to pass Jeremy Thompson for second and 21 to pass Coy Nance for first). Gay has made 24-of-31 field attempts in his career, including 8-of-9 from 40 yards or more.

Harding kicker John Gay ranks eighth in the GAC and fifth among kickers in scoring with 7.4 points per game. Gay has made 47-of-48 extra points this season.

Harding has only punted 18 times this season, fewest in the GAC. Henderson State is second with 31 punts. The Bisons have allowed only 46 punt return yards, second-fewest in the GAC.

Harding ranks third in the GAC with 22.1 yards per kickoff return and are one of only three teams with a kickoff return touchdown.

The Bisons rank fourth in the GAC with 8.4 yards per punt return and are one of five teams with a punt return touchdown.

Harding kickoff returner Donatella Luckett has 918 career kickoff return yards to rank ninth in program history.

Sophomore linebacker Benjamin Shields is Harding's leading tackler on special teams with 10 tackles on kickoff returns. Junior Frank Herbert is second with eight tackles, all on kickoffs.