SEARCY, Ark. – No. 9 Harding emphatically ended NCAA Division II's longest road winning streak and second-longest conference winning streak Saturday with a 41-10 victory over No. 5 Ouachita Baptist in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium.

With the victory, Harding extended its own winning streak to 11 games, the longest in Division II. The Bisons improved to 7-0 overall for only the second time in program history and the first time since 2016. Ouachita entered with an 11-game road winning streak and 18-game conference winning streak. Both ended and the Tigers fell to 6-1 overall and the GAC.

Ouachita tied the game at 10-10 with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. It was all Harding from then on.

Harding retook the lead with a Grant Ennis 34-yard field goal with 4:40 left in the third. After an OBU kickoff return that came out only to the 6-yard line, Harding defensive end Nathaniel Wallace forced a fumble on a sack that Devonte Manning recovered. Three plays later slot back Omar Sinclair scored from 4 yards out to push the lead to 20-10 with 2:12 remaining in the third.

Harding scored on all three of its fourth-quarter drives with a pair of rushing touchdowns from slot back Braden Jay (9 and 54 yards) and a 1-yard TD plunge from fullback Blake Delacruz.

Harding rushed for 427 yards, led by 131 on 10 carries from Jay. Ouachita averaged more than 440 yards per game, but Harding's defense limited the Tigers to only 234 yards, including only 79 passing yards.

Wallace and Dre Hall combined for all four of Harding's sacks, and Clark Griffin and Oric Walker, Jr. led the team with 10 tackles each.

Harding plays its only neutral site regular season game next Saturday at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado, Arkansas, against Southern Arkansas in the Murphy USA Classic.

TEAM NOTES

• Harding won its 11th consecutive game for the first time since Sept. 23-Dec. 9, 2017.
• Harding's defense has only allowed one touchdown in its opponents last 36 drives.
• Harding is now 64-9 in GAC games since 2016.
• Harding entered the game ranked No. 1 in Division II in rushing and eclipsed the 400-yard rushing mark for the third time this season.
• Harding held Ouachita to only 79 passing yards, its third straight opponent below 100 passing yards … the last time Harding held three straight opponents below 100 passing yards was the final game of the 1988 season (90 vs. Central Arkansas) and the first two games of the 1989 season (71 vs. Emporia State and 62 vs. Evangel).
• Harding held Ouachita to only 3 of 13 on third down and has held its last three opponents to a combined 5 of 38 on third down.

PLAYER NOTES

• Braden Jay rushed for 131 yards on 10 carries, his first career 100-yard rushing game … he is the third different Bison to rush for more than 100 yards this season.
• Wide receiver Roland Wallace rushed twice on reverses and gained 55 yards, scoring Harding's first TD … it was his second career TD and first rushing TD.
• Blake Delacruz scored a TD for the fifth straight game … he leads the team with 13 rushing TD, tied for ninth in an HU single season (Cole Chancey holds the record with 24 in 2021).
• Omar Sinclair's TD was his second of the season.
• Punter Ryan Fox landed all three of his punts inside the OBU 20 and averaged 45.0 yards per punt with a long of 57.
• Kicker Grant Ennis made two field goals … he has four for the season and 26 in his career (eighth among Harding kickers).
• Defensive end Nathaniel Wallace had a career-high 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
• Defensive end Dre Hall recorded a sack for the third straight game and leads the team with 5.5 sacks.
• Defensive back Oric Walker, Jr., set a career high with 10 tackles.
• Linebacker Clark Griffin had 10 tackles, his second game this season with 10 or more tackles and third of his career.
• Gage Price blocked a Ouachita field goal, his second blocked kick of the season.

SERIES NOTES

• Harding now leads the series 34-26-4 overall and 18-11-2 in Searcy … the Bisons have won three of the last four in Searcy.
• Harding's 41 points were the most against Ouachita since the Bisons won 42-30 in Searcy in 2002.

UP NEXT

• Harding plays its only neutral site regular season game next Saturday at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado, Arkansas, against Southern Arkansas in the Murphy USA Classic.