Football 10/31/2019 12:04:00 PM by Scott Goode (10/31/19)

No. 18 Harding vs. East Central -- GAME NOTES

#18 Harding Bisons (7-1, 7-1) vs. East Central (1-7, 1-7)
Nov. 1, 2019 • 2 p.m. • Searcy, Ark. • First Security Stadium

Game Story
No. 18 Harding hosts East Central for Senior Day. The Bisons are seeking their eighth straight win (would be Harding's fifth winning streak of eight games or longer). The game features the top to rushers in the Great American Conference. HU's Cole Chancey leads the GAC with 981 rushing yards, and ECU's Ontario Douglas is second with 977 rushing yards.

Harding is part of a three-way tie for second place in the GAC, one game back of leader Ouachita Baptist. East Central (1-7) has lost five straight overall and four straight on the road.

Harding is ranked No. 18 in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. East Central is not ranked.

Harding is ranked No. 5 in the first NCAA Division II Super Region 3 Rankings, released Wednesday. The top seven teams qualify for the Division II Playoffs.

Up Next
Harding plays the first of two road games to close out the regular season. The Bisons travel to Southeastern Oklahoma for a 2 p.m. kickoff. Harding holds a 23-7 series lead and has won the last eight.

The Coaches
Paul Simmons is in his third season as head coach at Harding. He has a 27-8 overall record and led Harding to the NCAA II Playoffs both seasons, including a spot in the national semifinals in 2017. He is in his 14th 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.

Al Johnson is in his third season at East Central and has a 4-15 record. He graduated from Southern New Hampshire in 2014.

Series History
Harding and East Central are meeting for the 18th time with the Bisons leading the series 14-3. Harding has won the last seven overall and all nine meetings in Searcy.

Harding Series Records
Team
Points - 62, 2015
Rushing - 564, 2018
Passing - 353, 1999
Total - 597, 2018
Individual
Rushing - 257, Chris Pierson, 1996
Passing - 353, Luke Cullins, 1999
Receiving - 150, Marc Fager, 1999
Tackles - 15, Tim Polk, 2002

Home/Road Records
Harding has won its last seven home games, is 11-4 at home under Simmons and 18-4 at home in the last three seasons. East Central is 6-20 on the road since 2013. Harding last won eight straight home games as part of a nine-game winning streak in 2015 (2 games) and 2016 (7 games).

Last Meeting
Harding rushed for 564 yards, the second-most in program history, cruising to a 49-7 victory over East Central last season at Koi Ishto Stadium. Harding rushed for 296 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and 268 yards and four touchdowns in the second half.

Tristan Tucker rushed for 108 yards on seven carries and Malik Mathews had 100 yards on seven carries. The Bisons had seven rushing TD, including three from Cole Chancey, who rushed for 95 yards on 18 carries.

East Central managed only 60 rushing yards and 10 total first downs.

Streaks, Trends and Records
Cole Chancey needs 18 rushing yards for 1,000 on the season. He would become the fifth Harding player with two 1,000-yard seasons, joining Alan Dixon, Chris Pierson, Romo Westbrook and Kale Gelles.

Senior Jacory Nichols enters the game as the GAC's leader in combined kick return yardage with 474 yards. He has 258 yards on kickoffs and 216 on punts. Nichols ranks second in the GAC and sixth in D2 with 15.4 yards per punt return.

Harding has scored 45 or more points in its last three games. The Bisons last scored 45 or more in four straight games in 2014 (45 vs. NWOSU, 58 at SNU, 56 vs. SAU, 55 at UAM).

Junior fullback Cole Chancey has 3,279 career rushing yards, ranking second all-time at Harding, fourth in GAC history (needs 175 yards to pass Devlon Wortham, SE, 2013-16, 3,453) and seventh among active NCAA II players.

Harding has rushed for more than 400 yards and four or more TD in the last three games. The last time Harding had 400+ rushing yards and 4+ rushing TD in four straight games was in 2013 (NWOSU 454-8; SNU 505-7; SAU 424-4; UAM 474-8).

Freshman kicker Grant Ennis has made six consecutive field goals. Jeremy Thompson holds the school record with eight straight made in 1999.

Harding has outscored its opponents 72-9 in the first quarter in 2019. The Bisons have not allowed a first-quarter TD.

Harding has converted 16 fourth downs in 2019, tied for third in D2, and is one of two teams (Minnesota State) that have not allowed a fourth down conversion.

A Quick Look at East Central
East Central went 6-5 in three of its first four seasons in the GAC, but is 7-34 over the last four seasons.

East Central is the only GAC team to block three punts this season. The Tigers have allowed nine fourth-down conversions in 11 opponent attempts.

Team Leaders
HARDING
Rushing - Cole Chancey: 165 rushes, 981 yards (1st GAC/10th D2), 8 TD (6th GAC); Tristan Tucker: 61 rushes, 594 yards (7th GAC), 9 TD (3rd GAC/23rd D2)
Passing - Preston Paden: 9-19, 278 yards, 3 TD
Receiving - Taylor Bissell: 3 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD
Defense - Chris Wein: 38 tackles; Dylan Hendricks: 6.0 TFL; Jay Marshall: 3.0 sacks

EAST CENTRAL
Rushing - Ontario Douglas: 170 rushes, 977 yards (2nd GAC/11th D2), 12 TD (2nd GAC/6th D2); Kenny Hrncir: 89 rushes, 378 yards, 5 TD (10th GAC)
Passing - Kenny Hrncir: 95-164, 1,253 yards (6th GAC), 3 TD
Receiving - Ontario Douglas: 37 receptions (5th GAC), 209 yards; JayQuan Lincoln: 36 receptions (7th GAC), 502 yards (6th GAC), 1 TD
Defense - Devon Roush: 54 tackles (12th GAC); Cameron Jones: 3 INT (3rd GAC)

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Players Mentioned

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

#43 Dylan Hendricks: LB; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#24 Malik Mathews: RB; 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman

#7 Jacory Nichols: DB; 5' 6"; Junior

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

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

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

#25 Chris Wein: LB; 6' 1"; Junior

Jay Marshall: DL; 6' 3"; Freshman

#84 Grant Ennis: K; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#43 Dylan Hendricks
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: LB

#24 Malik Mathews
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman
: RB

#7 Jacory Nichols
: 5' 6"; Junior
: DB

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

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

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

#25 Chris Wein
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LB

Jay Marshall
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: DL

#84 Grant Ennis
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: K