EL DORADO, Ark. – Sixth-ranked Harding eclipsed the 600-yard rushing mark for the second time in program history and had two players with more than 200 rushing yards for the first time ever in a 54-20 victory over Southern Arkansas on Saturday in Great American Conference action.

It was the second time Harding played Southern Arkansas in the Murphy USA Classic, played at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado, Arkansas.

With the victory, Harding improved to 8-0 overall and in the GAC, running its Division II-best winning streak to 12 games. It is the second time the Bisons have won their first eight games of the season and the second 12-game winning streak. Southern Arkansas fell to 6-2 overall and had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Harding rushed for 631 yards, second only to its school-record 689 yards at Northwestern Oklahoma in 2021, and scored seven rushing TD. Braden Jay rushed eight times for 202 yards and a TD, and Blake Delacruz carried 16 times for 201 yards and two TD.

Harding led 24-7 at halftime and scored on all four of its second half possessions prior to taking a knee on the SAU 9 to end the game.

Southern Arkansas scored on the opening drive of the second half, but Harding answered with a three-play scoring drive that ended on Jay's 66-yard TD run.

Harding forced two turnovers in the third quarter and scored after both to pull away. Cooper Carroll made his second interception of the season, and Delacruz scored four plays later on a 24-yard run.

Harding retook possession following a Southern Arkansas fumble recovered by Kyle McDonald, and Andrew Miller capped off a 10-play drive with a 5-yard run that gave the Bisons a 45-14 lead with 0:53 left in the third quarter.

Will Fitzhugh concluded Harding's scoring with an 8-yard TD run with 7:56 left.

Harding rushed for 321 yards in the first half, led by 151 on 12 carries from Delacruz. The Bisons had the ball for more than 18 minutes and converted 5 of 7 third downs, holding Southern Arkansas to 1 of 5 on third down.

The Bisons drove 75 yards on the opening series of the game with Delacruz scoring from 6 yards out to take a 7-0 lead.

Southern Arkansas scored on a 73-yard TD run to tie the game, but Harding answered with another long Delacruz run, 74 yards down to the Southern Arkansas 1-yard line. Fitzhugh ploughed in for the touchdown to give the Bisons a 14-7 lead with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

Harding forced a punt on Southern Arkansas's next drive, and the kick rolled out of bounds at the Bisons' 1-yard line. Harding controlled the ball for the next seven minutes and completed a 99-yard drive with a 7-yard TD run by Jhalen Spicer on a pitch around the right side. Harding led 21-7 with 8:08 left in the first half.

Southern Arkansas drove all the way to the Harding 3-yard line, but an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the Bisons the ball back. Harding used 12 plays to reach the Southern Arkansas 18, and Grant Ennis gave Harding a 17-point lead with a 35-yard field goal as time expired before halftime.

Harding rolled up 29 first downs and had 653 total yards, holding possession for more than 36 minutes and converting 8 of 10 first downs. Southern Arkansas had 19 first downs but had two turnovers and did not score in its only drive into the red zone.

Harding plays the second of two straight road games next Saturday in Durant, Oklahoma, against Southeastern Oklahoma. The Savage Storm defeated Southwestern Oklahoma 32-13 on Saturday and has a 4-4 record.

TEAM NOTES

• Harding's 631 rushing yards were the most since setting a school record with 689 yards at Northwestern Oklahoma in 2021 ... it was the highest rushing total by a Division II team this season and second-highest by any NCAA team.
• Harding had two rushers over 100 yards for the 31st time in program history and for the first time since Will Fitzhugh and Cole Keylon went over 100 last season vs. Southern Arkansas ... it was the first time two Harding rushers had more than 200 yards in the same game ... it was only the sixth time in NCAA Division II history that two rushers went over 200 yards and the first time since Thad Variance and Pat Norris of New Mexico Highlands both went over 200 against Colorado School of Mines in 1998.
• Harding tied a season high with seven rushing TD (also vs. Ark.-Monticello).
• Harding rushed for 10.2 yards per carry, the third time in program history that Harding has rushed for an average of 10 yards or more.

• Jay and Delacruz recorded Harding's 14th and 15th 200-yard rushing games in program history ... Jay was the first to rush for more than 200 yards with fewer than 10 carries.
• Delacruz has scored at least one TD in six straight games.
• Ahmad Butler returned Gage Price's blocked extra point 89 yards for a two-point conversion ... it was Harding's first since Cory Batie's extra point return vs. Oklahoma Baptist in 2019. ... it was Price's third blocked kick this season.