Football 8/29/2018 8:16:00 AM by Scott Goode (8/29/18)

No. 7 Harding at Henderson St. - GAME NOTES

#7 Harding Bisons (0-0, 0-0) at Henderson St. Reddies (0-0, 0-0)
Aug. 30, 2018 • 7 p.m. • Arkadelphia, Ark. • Carpenter-Haygood Stadium

Game Story
Harding Football opens its 68th season of intercollegiate competition Thursday at 7 p.m. against Henderson State at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The Bisons, who reached the NCAA Division II semifinals last season, will be playing their sixth consecutive road game dating to the 2017 season. Harding set a school record with eight road victories last season, including three straight against top-10 teams in the playoffs.

Harding is ranked No. 7 in the AFCA Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll, the highest the Bisons have ever been ranked in the preseason. Harding was ranked No. 21 in the 2015 preseason poll and No. 15 in the 2017 preseason poll. Henderson State did not receive votes in the preseason poll. Harding is No. 8 in the MasseyRatings.com preseason rankings with Henderson State at No. 36.

Harding returns 13 starters, including All-America linebacker Sam Blankenship, All-Region center Bryce Bray and All-Region defensive end T.J. Winslow from last season's team that finished 11-4 overall and 8-3 in the GAC.

Harding is 42-22-3 (.649) in its previous 67 season openers. The Bisons have won 13 of their last 16 and seven of their last nine openers. Harding lost its season opener to Henderson State 28-20 last season in Searcy.

Harding was picked first in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The coaches selected Henderson State sixth in the 12-team conference.

The 2018 captains are LB Sam Blankenship, OL Bryce Bray, WR Kohl Blickenstaff, DB Christian Witt and DL T.J. Winslow.

Up Next
Harding hosts Southern Arkansas in a game that will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Kickoff will be at 6:05 p.m. Harding leads the series 27-26-1 and has won 11 of its last 12 meetings with Southern Arkansas, including five straight in Searcy.

The Coaches
Paul Simmons begins his second season as head coach at Harding. He has an 11-4 overall record and led Harding to the national semifinals in 2017. He is in his 13th season at Harding and had been Harding's defensive coordinator for the previous seven seasons. Simmons was a three-time All-American defensive end and linebacker at Harding from 1992-94.

Scott Maxfield is in his 14th season at Henderson State and has a 94-48 overall record. He is a 1984 graduate of Louisiana Tech. He has guided the Reddies to eight straight winning seasons.

Series History
Harding and Henderson State are meeting for the 54th time with the Reddies leading 33-19-1. Harding has won the last two meetings in Arkadelphia. In fact, the road team has won the last five matchups.

Home/Road Records
Harding was 8-2 on the road last season, setting school records for road wins and road games played. The Bisons won five consecutive GAC road games to close the season and three straight over top-10, nationally ranked teams in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Harding is 10-1 in GAC road games over the last two seasons.

Last Meeting
Henderson State scored on two big plays, and 15th-ranked Harding had two turnovers deep in Henderson territory as the Reddies defeated the Bisons 28-20 last season in Searcy.

Trailing by eight points late in the game, Harding recovered an onside kick at the 50 yard line with only 57 seconds remaining in the game. The Bisons drove to the Henderson State 25 but an interception sealed the victory for the Reddies.

Harding quarterback Terrence Dingle scored his second 1-yard touchdown of the game to culminate a 14-play, 75-yard drive and set up the onside kick.

Streaks, Trends and Records
Harding ranked second in NCAA Division II in rushing last season at 341.9 yards per game. The Bisons have finished in the top three nationally in each of the last five seasons and led Division II in rushing in 2016 at 362.8 yards per game.

Harding has five players who will be playing their 41st game as Bisons -- DE T.J. Winslow, DB Jon Aaron Howell, DB Frank Herbert, LB Sam Blankenship and OL Keith Pledger. Senior OL Bryce Bray is Harding's active leader with 38 career starts.

Harding has won eight consecutive regular season games, including five regular season road games.

Harding has scored nine defensive touchdowns in the last two seasons (4, 2016 & 5, 2017), the most by a GAC team. Ouachita Baptist has six defensive touchdowns, and Arkansas Tech has five.

Sophomore fullback Cole Chancey has 15 career rushing TD and needs only two more to move into Harding's career top 10.

Harding has scored 270 rushing touchdowns in the last five seasons and has allowed 56. The Bisons have rushed for 22,289 yards and allowed 5,421 yards in the last five seasons.

A Quick Look at Henderson State
Henderson State was 6-5 last season and finished sixth in the GAC. The Reddies have had eight straight winning seasons dating to 2010.

Last season, Henderson State was the least-penalized team in the GAC (51.45 yards per game) ... the Reddies were last in the GAC in rushing offense (122.1) and recovered only two fumbles.

Returning Team Leaders
HU (2017 stats)
Rushing - Cole Chancey: 253 rushes, 1,347 yards (1st GAC), 15 TD (3rd GAC)
Passing - Preston Paden: 4-14, 71 yards, 0 TD
Receiving - Bobby Green: 6 receptions, 97 yards, 1 TD
Tackles - Sam Blankenship (LB): 130 tackles (3rd GAC), 13.0 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 3 INT, 4 FF; Devyn Comer (DL): 38 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 8.5 sacks (2nd GAC)

HSU (2017 stats)
Rushing - Cobra Jones: 42 rushes, 188 yards, 2 TD
Passing - None
Receiving - Ben Johnson: 46 receptions, 536 yards, 6 TD
Tackles - Cameron Sonnier: 52 tackles

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#1 Terrence Dingle: QB; 5' 10"; Junior

#42 Sam Blankenship: LB; 6' 3"; Senior

#17 Kohl Blickenstaff: WR; 6' 0"; Senior

#73 Bryce Bray: OL; 6' 0"; Senior

#34 Cole Chancey: RB; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#13 Devyn Comer: DL; 6' 2"; Senior

#14 Bobby Green: WR; 6' 2"; Junior

#21 Frank Herbert: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#16 Jon Aaron Howell: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Preston Paden: QB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#1 Terrence Dingle
: 5' 10"; Junior
: QB

#42 Sam Blankenship
: 6' 3"; Senior
: LB

#17 Kohl Blickenstaff
: 6' 0"; Senior
: WR

#73 Bryce Bray
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OL

#34 Cole Chancey
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: RB

#13 Devyn Comer
: 6' 2"; Senior
: DL

#14 Bobby Green
: 6' 2"; Junior
: WR

#21 Frank Herbert
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#16 Jon Aaron Howell
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#11 Preston Paden
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: QB