Football 9/13/2018 1:56:00 PM by Scott Goode (9/13/18)

No. 21 Harding vs. Southern Nazarene - GAME NOTES

#21 Harding Bisons (1-1, 1-1) at Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm (1-1, 1-1)
Sept. 15, 2018 • 1 p.m. • Bethany, Okla. • SNU Football Stadium

Game Story
Harding will look to continue its recent road success Saturday with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Oklahoma. Harding is 9-2 in its last 11 road games and 14-3 in Oklahoma since the GAC began in 2011.

Harding is ranked No. 21 in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Southern Nazarene is not ranked. Harding is ranked No. 9 by MasseyRatings.com with Southern Nazarene at No. 63. Harding is 17th in D2Football.com poll.

Harding is coming off a 28-23 loss to Southern Arkansas on Sunday in Searcy. The game was postponed due to lightning Saturday. Harding led 17-7 at halftime, but Southern Arkansas scored twice on long drives and on a 57-yard fumble return to take the lead for good. Both teams had three turnovers.

Southern Nazarene defeated East Central 45-20 on Saturday in Bethany, Oklahoma. Southern Nazarene rushed for 280 yards, including 129 from quarterback Jacob Spady. Alfred Grear had 97 yards on only four carries. Southern Nazarene had both an interception return and a kickoff return for touchdowns.

Up Next
Harding returns home for Family Weekend with a matchup against Oklahoma Baptist. Harding holds a 3-0 series lead over Oklahoma Baptist, winning 45-14 last season.

The Coaches
Paul Simmons is in his second season as head coach at Harding. He has a 12-5 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 before becoming head coach in 2017. Simmons was a three-time All-American defensive end and linebacker at Harding from 1992-94.

Andy Lambert is in his third season at Southern Nazarene and has a 7-17 overall record. He is a 1991 graduate of Trinity International.

Series History
Harding leads the series 5-1 and has won all three meetings in Bethany. The average score of Harding's three road wins is 54-7.

Home/Road Records
Harding is 1-0 on the road this season and has won six consecutive regular season road games. Southern Nazarene is 1-0 at home, winning last week. The Crimson Storm is 4-25 at home since joining the GAC in 2013.

Last Meeting
Southern Nazarene scored two touchdowns in the final 49 seconds to erase a 13-point Harding lead and defeat the Bisons 28-27 in GAC action at First Security Stadium on Sept. 16, 2017.

A pair of Tristan Parsley fourth-quarter field goals, the second coming from 22 yards out with 3:57 left in the game gave Harding a 27-14 lead.

Junior quarterback Jackson Hopking entered the game for Southern Nazarene on its next drive, filling in for injured starter Jacob Spady. Hopking directed an 11-play, 83-yard drive and connected with sophomore wide receiver Zach Walker on a 16-yard touchdown pass to cut Harding's lead to 27-21 with 49 seconds left.

Southern Nazarene recovered kicker Carlos Anguiano's ensuing on-side kick, a slow roller covered by Reid Roelofs just after it reached the required 10 yards.

Southern Nazarene took over at its own 46 with 46 seconds left. Following a pass interference penalty, Hopking threw a pass to the near sideline that was deflected by wide receiver Reese Carlson into the hands of Roelofs, who raced 39 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds remaining.

Streaks, Trends and Records
Harding has outscored its opponents 24-0 in the first quarter of its first two games.

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's 307 rushing yards against Henderson State marked the 63rd time the Bisons rushed for more than 300 yards since Harding went to the flexbone offense in 2010.

Senior center Bryce Bray will make his 40th consecutive start against SNU.

Harding has scored 10 defensive touchdowns in the last three seasons (4, 2016; 5, 2017; 1, 2018), the most by a GAC team. Ouachita Baptist and Arkansas Tech each have six.

Sophomore fullback Cole Chancey has 15 career rushing TD and needs only two more to move into Harding's career top 10. Chancey needs 28 yards to become the 20th Harding player to rush for 1,500 career yards.

Harding has scored 275 rushing touchdowns in the last six seasons and has allowed 56. The Bisons have rushed for 22,780 yards and allowed 5,572 yards in the last six seasons.

Harding junior punter Cameron Scott leads the GAC and ranks 10th in D2 with 45.9 yards per punt. Four of his nine punts have traveled more than 50 yards.

A Quick Look at Southern Nazarene
Southern Nazarene was 4-7 last season with losses in five of its last six games ... the four wins were the most in their four seasons in the GAC ... Southern Nazarene has an 8-38 record as a GAC member ... Southern Nazarene has been very good on special teams, ranking fourth in D2 in kickoff return defense (8.50) and eighth in kickoff returns (28.57) with one kickoff return TD.

Team Leaders
HARDING
Rushing - Tristan Tucker: 18 rushes, 154 yards (6th GAC), 2 TD; Cole Chancey: 28 rushes, 135 yards (9th GAC), 0 TD
Passing - Preston Paden: 8-10, 177 yards (12th GAC), 2 TD
Receiving - Taylor Bissell: 2 receptions, 70 yards, 0 TD
Tackles - Dra Smith: 14 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT; T.J. Winslow: 6 tackles, 3.0 sacks (1st GAC)
Punting - Cameron Scott: 9 punts, 45.9 avg. (1st GAC/10th NCAAII)
Kicking - Cameron Scott: 3 for 3 FG, 7 for 7 PAT

SOUTHERN NAZARENE
Rushing - Jacob Spady: 37 rushes, 220 yards (4th GAC), 1 TD
Passing - Jacob Spady: 11-31, 179 yards (11th GAC), 2 TD
Receiving - Reid Roelofs: 7 receptions, 107 yards (10th GAC), 1 TD
Tackles - Jake Hanson: 20 tackles (6th GAC)
Punting - Ryan Reid: 10 punts, 38.9 avg. (7th GAC)
Kicking - Carlos Anguiano: 1 for 1 FG, 6 for 6 PAT

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Players Mentioned

#80 Tristan Parsley: K/P; 5' 9"; Senior

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

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

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

#26 Taylor Bissell: RB; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#18 Cameron Scott: K/P; 6' 1"; Junior

#2 Dra Smith: DB; 6' 2"; Senior

#19 Tristan Tucker: RB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#8 T.J. Winslow: DL; 6' 4"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#80 Tristan Parsley
: 5' 9"; Senior
: K/P

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

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

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

#26 Taylor Bissell
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: RB

#18 Cameron Scott
: 6' 1"; Junior
: K/P

#2 Dra Smith
: 6' 2"; Senior
: DB

#19 Tristan Tucker
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: RB

#8 T.J. Winslow
: 6' 4"; Senior
: DL