Football 10/22/2015 4:38:00 PM by Scott Goode (10/22/15)

Harding Football Takes on East Central on Homecoming

Harding Bisons (5-2, 5-2) vs. East Central Tigers (5-2, 5-2)
Saturday, Oct. 24 • First Security Stadium • 2 p.m.

Today's Game
•   Harding will play the fourth of its five home games Saturday. The Bisons will take on the East Central Tigers in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium in Searcy, Arkansas. Kickoff for Homecoming 2015 is at 2 p.m.
•   Harding is 36-17-2 in 55 Homecoming games, including a 51-6 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma last season. The Bisons last played East Central for Homecoming in 1999 and won 30-7 with current Harding assistant coach Luke Cullins passing for 353 yards and three touchdowns.
•   Harding enters the game 5-2 overall and 5-2 in the GAC following a 63-60 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant. The four-overtime game was the longest game in GAC history, the first multiple overtime game in Harding history and the highest combined (123 points) scoring game in Bison history. Harding tied a school record with nine rushing touchdowns in the game.
•   Harding enters the game tied with four other teams for second place in the GAC. The Bisons are one game behind leader Henderson State.
•   Harding and East Central are two of the top three scoring teams in the GAC. Harding leads the GAC with 40.0 points per game, and East Central is third at 37.4 points per game.
•   The two teams are at opposite ends of the penalty spectrum. Harding averages the fewest penalty yards per game in the GAC (60.86), while East Central averages the most (106.43).
•   Saturday's matchup is a contest between the GAC's top rushing offense (Harding, 372.3 yards per game) and the GAC's top passing offense (East Central, 319.6 yards per game).
•   Harding enters the game with four of the top 10 rushers in the GAC. Park Parish is fourth (79.6), Zach Shelley is sixth (75.7), Michael Latu is ninth (64.5) and Matt Tenison is 10th (62.7).
•   Harding junior quarterback Park Parish enters the game with 15 rushing touchdowns, the most by any quarterback in NCAA Division II. Parish has at least one rushing touchdown in all seven games this season and is only two behind Alan Dixon's school record of 17 in 1972.
•   The East Central game is the seventh of 11 games in the 2015 season, all of which are Great American Conference games. The Bisons play six road games and five home games during the regular season.
•   Harding is 32-9 in its four-plus seasons in the GAC and is 18-2 against teams from Oklahoma. The Bisons have won 12 straight games against Oklahoma schools.
•   Harding has won 32 games over the last three-plus seasons and has reached the postseason each of the last three years. Last season, Harding went 9-2 and played in the NCAA II Playoffs for the second time.
•   Harding defensive back Trendall Stevenson has been a part of 31 wins in his career. With the Bisons' next victory, Stevenson will have been a part of more wins than any other Harding player.
•   Harding enters the game ranked second in NCAA Division II in rushing offense with 372.3 rushing yards per game. The Bisons lead Division II in passing yards per completion (26.28).

Last Week
•   Harding fell to 5-2 overall and in the GAC with a 63-60 victory at Southeastern Oklahoma. The Bisons rushed for 528 yards, the second-highest single-game total in program history, and tied a school record with nine rushing touchdowns.
•   Sophomore Zach Shelley rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and junior Matt Tenison had 106 yards on 20 carries. It was the second time this season Harding had two players rush for more than 100 yards. Park Parish (113) and Tenison (111) reached 100 at Southern Arkansas.
•   Park Parish had two rushing touchdowns to give him 15 on the season. It is the second-most ever by a Harding player, trailing only Alan Dixon's 17 in 1972.
•   Senior DeAndre Baines had four pass breakups. It was only the fourth time a Harding player had four in a game and the first since Darren Newson against Arkansas Tech in 2009.
•   Harding's defense set season-highs with 12.0 tackles for loss and 10 pass breakups.

Next Week
•   Harding will make its last trip to Oklahoma on Saturday when it takes on Southwestern Oklahoma in Weatherford. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m.
•   Harding holds the series lead 6-4 overall, and Southwestern has won two of the three meetings in Weatherford.

Offensive Notes
•   Harding is averaging 40.0 points per game this season, most in the GAC. The Bisons have averaged more than 30 points per game in each of the last four seasons, including a school-record 44.3 points last season.
•   Harding has outscored its opponents 48-41 off turnovers this season.
•   Harding leads the GAC and ranks second in NCAA Division II with 372.3 rushing yards per game. The Bisons have rushed for at least 245 in each game, have eclipsed 300 yards three times, and have twice rushed for more than 500 yards.
•   Harding leads NCAA Division II with 35 rushing touchdowns, two ahead of Eastern New Mexico (33). The Bisons have rushed for nine touchdowns twice, the highest single-game total in Division II this season.
•   Harding leads NCAA Division II in yards per completion (26.28).

Defensive Notes
•   Harding is ranked fourth in the GAC in total defense, allowing 353.7 yards per game. Twice the Bisons have allowed fewer than 300 yards.
•   Harding leads the GAC and ranks 19th in rushing defense. The Bisons are allowing 106.4 yards per game and have held four of their seven opponents to fewer than 100 yards. Opponents average only 2.9 yards per rush.
•   Harding ranks seventh in the GAC in passing defense, allowing 247.3 yards per game. Three of Harding's seven opponents passed for fewer than 200 yards.
•   Harding averages 7.6 tackles for loss per game, tops in the GAC. Harding had a season-high 12.0 tackles for loss against Southeastern Oklahoma.

Opponent/Series Notes
•   East Central earned its third home win in four games and improved to 5-2 on the season with a 20-19 victory over Arkansas Tech on Saturday in Ada. ECU quarterback Rocky Moore passed for 370 yards and two touchdowns, but the Tigers rushed for only 49 yards on 29 carries.
•   Last season, Harding used more than 38 minutes of possession and three fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat East Central 41-14 in Searcy. Harding held a narrow 396-362 advantage in total yards but limited East Central to only two scores in six trips to the red zone.
•   East Central has the top passing offense in the GAC and is ranked 11th in NCAA Division II with 319.6 yards per game. The Tigers have eclipsed 300 passing yards in five of their seven games. In the two games they were below 300 passing yards, they rushed for more than 300 yards.
•   East Central has had 400 or more total yards in every game and rank third in the GAC in total offense.
•   The Tigers lead the GAC and rank third in NCAA Division II in turnover margin at +13. East Central has forced multiple turnovers in six of its seven games.
•   ECU quarterback Rocky Moore leads the GAC in passing efficiency (16th in D2, 157.5), passing touchdowns (3rd in D2, 26), passing yards per game (11th in D2, 315.3) and passing yards per completion (12th in D2, 14.91).
•   ECU wide receiver David Moore leads the GAC (4th in D2) with 10 receiving touchdowns. He also leads the GAC (20th in D2) with 94.4 receiving yards per game.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Park Parish: QB; 5' 10"; Junior

#28 Zach Shelley: RB; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#1 Trendall Stevenson: DB; 5' 9"; Senior

#31 Matt Tenison: RB; 5' 8"; Junior

#3 DeAndre Baines: DB; 6' 1"; Senior

#9 Michael Latu: RB; 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#15 Park Parish
: 5' 10"; Junior
: QB

#28 Zach Shelley
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: RB

#1 Trendall Stevenson
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DB

#31 Matt Tenison
: 5' 8"; Junior
: RB

#3 DeAndre Baines
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DB

#9 Michael Latu
: 5' 11"; Junior
: RB