17th-Ranked Harding Blasts Arkansas Tech 55-10 in Regular Season Finale

Box Score SEARCY – Harding, ranked 17th nationally, scored touchdowns in each of its first eight drives and trounced Arkansas Tech 55-10 in its final home game of the season. The Great American Conference victory at First Security Stadium gave the Bisons a 9-2 record. It was the 50th victory for Harding head coach Paul Simmons in only 63 games.

It was Harding's sixth straight win over Tech, matching its longest winning run of the series between the teams. The Bisons also won six straight over the Wonder Boys from 1973-78.

Harding entered the weekend ranked No. 8 in the latest NCAA Super Region 3 Rankings. The Bisons will find out if their season continues in the NCAA Division II Playoff when the NCAA announces the postseason field of 28 on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Harding scored rushing touchdowns on all five of its first half possessions and led Arkansas Tech 35-3 at halftime. The Bisons rolled up 315 total yards in the first 30 minutes. Freshman Braden Jay scored Harding's first touchdown from 38 yards out and later scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.

Sophomore Blake Delacruz scored on a 72-yard run on Harding's second possession, the Bisons's third rushing touchdown of longer than 70 yards this season.

Sophomore Chauncey Martin gave Harding a 21-0 lead with 3:36 left in the first with a 29-yard run up the middle. It was his fifth touchdown of the season.

Jay's second touchdown opened the scoring in the second quarter. After a Tech field goal, sophomore Stone Sheffield scored for the first time this season on a 7-yard run to complete the first half scoring.

Harding rushed 29 times for 272 yards in the half, and Roland Wallace had two receptions for 42 yards.

The offensive onslaught continued in the second half with Harding added three more rushing touchdowns from Delacruz (39 yards), freshman quarterback Cole Keylon (2 yards) and sophomore Josh Jones (1 yard).

Harding's rushing tally for the game read: 59 carries, 487 yards, 8 TD. The yardage and touchdown totals were both season highs.

Delacruz rushed for 116 yards on only four carries and scored two touchdowns. The only other Harding player ever to rush for more than 100 yards on four carries was Eric Kelly, who had four rushes for 114 yards against Ouachita Baptist in 2015.

The Bisons had 530 total yards and limited Tech to only 235 yards and 3.9 yards per play.

Harding's defense forced three 3-and-outs, ended two drives on downs, and limited Tech to fewer than 40 yards on nine of its 11 drives. The Bisons had 10 pass breakups, with two each from Oric Walker, Jr. and Anthony Richard. Dre Hall had two tackles for loss for the second straight week. Clark Griffin led the team with seven tackles.

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Players Mentioned

#26 Blake Delacruz: RB; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#93 Dre Hall: DL; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#35 Josh Jones: RB; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Cole Keylon: QB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#29 Anthony Richard: DB; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#12 Stone Sheffield: RB; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#28 Oric Walker, Jr.: DB; 5' 10"; Junior

#8 Roland Wallace: WR; 6' 2"; Junior

#14 Braden Jay: RB; 5' 9"; Freshman

#21 Chauncey Martin: RB; 5' 10"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#26 Blake Delacruz
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: RB

#93 Dre Hall
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: DL

#35 Josh Jones
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: RB

#6 Cole Keylon
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: QB

#29 Anthony Richard
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: DB

#12 Stone Sheffield
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: RB

#28 Oric Walker, Jr.
: 5' 10"; Junior
: DB

#8 Roland Wallace
: 6' 2"; Junior
: WR

#14 Braden Jay
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: RB

#21 Chauncey Martin
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: RB