Football 11/21/2019 8:25:00 AM by Scott Goode (11/21/19)

No. 12 Harding vs. Northwest Mo. St. -- GAME NOTES

#12 Harding Bisons (10-1, 10-1) vs. #10 Northwest Mo. St. (10-1, 10-1)
Nov. 23, 2019 • 1 p.m. • Maryville, Mo. • Bearcat Stadium

Game Story
No. 12 Harding seeks its 11th straight win Saturday against Northwest Mo. St. It is Harding's fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs and sixth overall.

Harding enters the game as the leading rushing attack in College Football at 393.8 rushing yards per game.

Harding, at 10-1, was the runner up in the Great American Conference. Northwest Mo. St., at 10-1, tied for the MIAA conference championship. The Bearcats are the No. 3 seed in this section of the NCAA Division II Playoff bracket.

Harding is ranked No. 12 in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Northwest Mo. St. is ranked No. 10.

Up Next
The winner of the Harding-Northwest Mo. St. game will play the winner of the Ouachita Baptist-Lindenwood (MO) game Saturday, Nov. 30.

The Coaches
Paul Simmons is in his third season as head coach at Harding. He has a 30-8 overall record and has led Harding to the NCAA II Playoffs all three 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.

Rich Wright is in his third season at Northwest Mo. St. and has a 29-7 record. He graduated from Dana in 1995.

Series History
Harding and Northwest Mo. St. are meeting for the third time, all in the NCAA. The Bearcats won 35-0 in 2012 and 2016. Both games were in Maryville.

Home/Road Records
Harding is 5-1 on the road this season, 18-4 on the road under Simmons and 24-5 on the road in the last three-plus seasons. The Bisons won 15 of their last 16 GAC road games. Northwest Mo. St. was 5-0 at home this season.

Last Meeting
No. 1-ranked Northwest Missouri State scored on each of its first five possessions, held Harding to only one first down in the first half, and the Bearcats defeated the Bisons 35-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2016 NCAA Division II Playoffs.

No. 5 Harding's best season in program history, and the last for head coach Ronnie Huckeba, came to an end with the Bisons finishing 13-1 overall. Harding also won its first outright conference championship.

Northwest Missouri, the NCAA Division II defending national champion, improved to 13-0, winning its 28th consecutive game.

Bearcat junior Jordan Grove scored three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, and senior Simon Mathiesen kicked a school-record five field goals.

Harding's All-GAC Players
1st Team - FB Cole Chancey, DE Jordan Allison, ILB Dylan Hendricks, S Jacory Nichols, P Cameron Scott, ST Jon Cain

2nd Team - DT Michael Mounga, OLB Chris Wein, CB V'Onte Williams

Honorable Mention - CB Cory Batie, RS Jacory Nichols

Streaks, Trends and Records
Harding is playing its 11th game in the NCAA Division II Playoffs and its 10th on the road. Harding is 5-5 overall and 4-5 on the road in the playoffs. Harding's lone home game was a 48-31 victory over Central Missouri in 2016.

In its last six games, Harding has averaged 47.0 points and rushed for an average of 468.3 yards. Harding leads D2 with 393.8 rushing yards per game and has rushed for more than 400 yards and four or more TD in six straight games for the first time in program history.

Harding is seeking its third 11-win season in program history and first since winning 11 games in 2017. A victory over Northwest Mo. St. would give Harding its third winning streak of 11 games or more, all coming since 2016.

Jacory Nichols has three INT returns for TD, the first HU player with three in one season and one of only four Division II players with three INT TD this season. He is fourth in Division II with 195 INT return yards. Harding is tied for second in D2 with five INT returns for TD.

Harding has outscored its opponents 114-16 in the first quarter in 2019. The Bisons have allowed only one first-quarter TD. Harding opponents have scored only once on their opening drive in the last 22 games.

Harding has converted 78% of its fourth downs (18 of 23), the second-highest percentage in D2. Harding is the only NCAA team that has not allowed a fourth-down conversion this season.

A Quick Look at Northwest Mo. St.
Northwest Mo. St. is making its 16th consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs, the longest active streak in Division II.

The Bearcats have outscored their opponents 277-76, an average of 40.2 points per game ... NWMSU scored on 33 of its 34 red zone trips this season (27 TD, 6 FG).

Team Leaders (Rank in D2)
HARDING
Rushing - Cole Chancey: 223 rushes, 1,338 yards (10th), 13 TD (18th); Tristan Tucker: 68 rushes, 641 yards, 10 TD (45th); Preston Paden: 120 rushes, 627 yards, 7 TD
Passing - Preston Paden: 11-23, 386 yards, 5 TD
Receiving - Taylor Bissell: 4 receptions, 134 yards, 2 TD
Defense - Chris Wein: 55 tackles; Dylan Hendricks: 7.0 TFL; Jay Marshall: 4.0 sacks; Jacory Nichols: 4 INT

NORTHWEST MO. ST.
Rushing - Justin Rankin: 163 rushes, 910 yards (44th), 11 TD (33rd); Braden Wright: 87 rushes, 612 yards, 9 TD
Passing - Braden Wright: 145-275, 2,160 yards, 23 TD (23rd)
Receiving - Imoni Donadelle: 34 receptions, 613 yards, 8 TD (45th)
Defense - Blake Bayer: 68 tackles; Spencer Phillips: 15.0 TFL (41st), 8.0 sacks (42nd); Trey Washington: 6 INT (15th)

COLE CHANCEY NOTES
CAREER
•   Has 3,636 career rushing yards, second all-time at Harding, and second all-time in the Great American Conference ... needs 579 yards to become Harding's career rushing leader ... needs 128 yards to pass Ouachita's Kris Oliver as the GAC's career rushing leader ... ranks seventh in career rushing yards among active NCAA Division II players.
•   Has 42 career rushing TD ... needs four TD to pass Park Parish and become Harding's career leader ... needs five TD to pass Southeastern's Devlon Wortham as the GAC's career leader.
•   Has 14 career 100-yard rushing games, second at Harding behind Alan Dixon (21) ... along with Dixon, Chancey is the only other Harding player with two career 200-yard rushing games.

SEASON
•   Has a GAC-record 1,338 rushing yards, breaking his own conference record from 2017 ... won his second GAC rushing title.
•   Ranks second in HU single-season history ... needs 143 yards to break Alan Dixon's single-season school record.
•   Scored multiple rushing TD in four consecutive games, becoming the first HU player to accomplish that feat.
•   Has six 100-yard rushing games, two behind Dixon's school record of eight in 1972.
•   Is the only Harding player ever with two 200-yard rushing games in the same season.
•   Enters the game with four straight 100-yard rushing games ... only Alan Dixon (twice), Chris Pierson and Romo Westbrook have had four straight 100-yard games.

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Players Mentioned

#88 Jordan Allison: DL; 6' 2"; Junior

#12 Cory Batie: DB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#48 Jon Cain: LS; 6' 1"; Junior

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#88 Jordan Allison
: 6' 2"; Junior
: DL

#12 Cory Batie
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: DB

#48 Jon Cain
: 6' 1"; Junior
: LS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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