Football 9/10/2015 2:17:00 PM by Scott Goode (9/10/15)

19th-Ranked Harding Football Hosts Southern Nazarene on Saturday

Harding Bisons (1-0, 1-0) vs. Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (0-1, 0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 12 • First Security Stadium • 6 p.m.

This Week's Game
•   Harding will play its first of five home games at First Security Stadium on Saturday when it hosts Southern Nazarene in Great American Conference action.
•   Harding enters the game 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the GAC following a 20-19 overtime victory over Oklahoma Baptist last Saturday at Hurt Field in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Zach Shelley scored on a 5-yard touchdown run in overtime, and Tristan Parsley's extra point gave the Bisons the victory.
•   Harding is ranked No. 19 in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Poll and is ranked No. 20 in the D2Football.com Poll. The Bisons have been ranked in the last 13 straight AFCA polls. The last time Harding was ranked No. 19 was in the final poll of the 2012 season.
•   The Southern Nazarene game is the second of 11 games in the 2015 season, all of which are Great American Conference games. The Bisons will play six road games and five home games during the regular season.
•   Harding is 28-7 in its four-plus seasons in the GAC and is 16-2 against teams from Oklahoma. The Bisons have won nine straight against teams from the Sooner State and five straight GAC games.
•   Harding has a 16-7 (.696) record as a nationally-ranked team and has won 12 of its last 15 games as a ranked team. The Bisons were 7-2 while nationally-ranked last season.
•   Saturday's game is the first of five regular season home games in 2015. The Bisons are 11-3 (.786) at home over the last three seasons and are 9-0 against Oklahoma teams in Searcy since the inception of the GAC.

2015 Bisons
•   Harding has won 28 games over the last three-plus seasons and have 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 has 90 players on the active roster, including 15 seniors. Six Bisons are in their fifth season in the program -- DB Trendall Stevenson, LB Chris Sarkissian, OL Cole Lockwood, OL Nathan Cash, OL Davis Hudson, and DL Matt McKeown. Harding has 25 juniors, 23 sophomores, and 24 redshirt freshmen.
•   Harding also starts the season with four true freshmen on the active roster -- DL Martez Modica, LB De'Andre McCarthy, K/P Cameron Scott, and DL Dylan Hampton.

Special Teams Player of the Week
•   Corey Bassett provided support in two facets of the kicking game as the Bisons escaped against Oklahoma Baptist, 20-19 in overtime. He returned a punt 24 yards to set up their second touchdown of the game. At the end of regulation, he blocked the Bison's potential game-winning field goal attempt. Bassett's honor is the ninth Special Teams Player of the Week award for a Harding player in the four-plus seasons in the GAC. The last Harding player to receive the honor was Darious Lane on Nov. 3, 2014.

Last Week
•   Harding opened the 2015 season with a 20-19 overtime victory over Oklahoma Baptist in Shawnee. It was the first time the Bisons' season opener went to overtime and Harding's 13th all-time overtime game. Harding is 9-4 in its overtime games.
•   Junior quarterback Park Parish made his first career start and set career highs with 87 rushing yards and 123 passing yards. Sophomore Andrew Dather made three receptions for 108 yards, his first career 100-yard game.
•   Junior Daylan Skidmore led Harding with 10 tackles, his sixth career game with 10 or more tackles. Junior Madison Firman set a career-high with seven tackles, and senior Jonathan Coleman made his first career interception.

Next Week
•   Harding plays its second road game of the season with a 6 p.m. kickoff against Southern Arkansas in Magnolia. The Harding-Southern Arkansas series is tied 25-25-1 overall, and the Bisons lead 13-10 in Magnolia. Harding has won the last nine meetings between the teams.

Offensive Notes
•   Last season, Harding outscored its opponents 120-30 in the first quarter. Over the last six seasons, the Bisons hold a 534-181 scoring advantage over opponents in the first period. Harding led Oklahoma Baptist 7-0 after the first quarter.
•   Harding has ranked in the top five in NCAA Division II in rushing in each of the last five seasons. The Bisons ranked second last season with 371.7 rushing yards per game. Harding rushed for 279 yards and three touchdowns against Oklahoma Baptist.
•   Since moving to the flexbone in 2011, Harding has rushed for 15,816 yards or a little under 9.0 miles. The Bisons need to rush for 1,784 more yards to reach 10 miles.
•   Harding led NCAA Division II last season in passing efficiency (188.1). The Bisons scored a passing touchdown every 7.2 pass attempts (86 passes, 12 touchdowns). Against Oklahoma Baptist, Harding had a 268.3 passing efficiency, averaging 36.0 yards per completion. Harding's passing efficiency ranked third in NCAA Division II in the first week, and the 36.0 yards per completion was tops in Division II.
•   In the last three seasons, Harding has 91 more rushing touchdowns than its opponents. The Bisons have rushed for 107 touchdowns and allowed only 16.
•   Harding had eight plays of 20 yards or more against Oklahoma Baptist: three rushes, four passes and one punt return. The longest pass play went for 63 yards from Park Parish to Andrew Dather. Parish also accounted for the longest run, 32 yards.

Defensive Notes
•   Harding's defense has finished in the top 10 in NCAA Division II in rushing defense in each of the last three seasons. The Bisons were third last season, allowing only 77.7 rushing yards per game. Harding allowed 122 rushing yards, but only 3.2 yards per carry, against Oklahoma Baptist.
•   Harding had 11 tackles for loss against Oklahoma Baptist. It was the 17th time since 2000 that the Bisons had 11 or more tackles for loss. Nine different players contributed to a tackle for loss.

Opponent/Series Notes
•   Harding leads the series 3-0 and has outscored Southern Nazarene 163-34.
•   Southern Nazarene enters the game 0-1 overall and in the GAC following a 62-14 loss to Arkansas Tech last Thursday in Bethany. Arkansas Tech rushed for 469 yards and six touchdowns.
•   Southern Nazarene had 196 yards of total offense, rushing for 72 yards and passing for 124 yards. Redshirt freshman Quincey Whitfield led the Crimson Storm with 30 rushing yards on 11 carries. Junior quarterback James Mauro completed 14-of-29 passes for 124 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
•   Southern Nazarene had four different players with more than 10 tackles. Sophomore defensive back Isaiah Young led the team with 13 tackles.
•   Southern Nazarene has lost its last 23 games overall, 27 straight GAC games and 14 consecutive road games.

2015 Captains
•   Harding head coach Ronnie Huckeba announced the team's six captains at practice on Tuesday. The captains for the 2015 season are senior DB Trendall Stevenson, senior OL Davis Hudson, junior QB Park Parish, junior LB Daylan Skidmore, junior DL De'Onte Garrett, and junior DL Cordell Zalenski.
•   The six players have combined to play in 134 games with 46 starts entering the season.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Darious Lane: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#12 Corey Bassett: DB; 5' 8"; Junior

#64 Nathan Cash: OL; 6' 1"; Senior

#5 Jonathan Coleman: DB; 6' 1"; Senior

#18 Andrew Dather: WR; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#72 De'Onte Garrett: DL; 6' 1"; Junior

#66 Davis Hudson: OL; 6' 2"; Senior

#59 Cole Lockwood: OL; 6' 2"; Senior

#90 Matt McKeown: DL; 6' 3"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

#24 Darious Lane
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#12 Corey Bassett
: 5' 8"; Junior
: DB

#64 Nathan Cash
: 6' 1"; Senior
: OL

#5 Jonathan Coleman
: 6' 1"; Senior
: DB

#18 Andrew Dather
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: WR

#72 De'Onte Garrett
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DL

#66 Davis Hudson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OL

#59 Cole Lockwood
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OL

#90 Matt McKeown
: 6' 3"; Senior
: DL

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