BETHANY, Okla. - 14th-ranked Harding opened its 72nd season of intercollegiate football with a 53-20 victory over Southern Nazarene on Thursday at SNU Football Stadium. The Bisons scored six rushing touchdowns and forced six turnovers in the season-opening win. Junior Blake Delacruz scored four first-half touchdowns in the victory.

TEAM NOTES

• Harding scored touchdowns on five of its six possessions in the first half and led 35-0 at halftime ... Harding downed Ryan Fox's 43-yard punt on the other possession on the 1-yard line, regained possession two plays later on an interception by Ahmad Butler, and scored on a 6-yard run by Delacruz.
• Harding forced only 12 turnovers all season in 2022 but had six in Thursday's win ... Harding last forced six turnovers in a 42-0 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma in 2017.
• Harding scored more than 50 points in a season opener for the fifth time in program history and for the first time since winning 63-14 at Southern Arkansas in 2011.
• Harding has now won its last five games dating to last season and has a six-game winning streak in road games in Oklahoma.
• Harding improved to 46-23-3 in its 72 season openers ... the Bisons have won 17 of their last 21 and 12 of their last 14 openers.

PLAYER NOTES

• Blake Delacruz scored four rushing touchdowns ... it was only the eighth time a Harding player scored four rushing TD in a game and the first time since Cole Chancey scored four TD at Henderson State in 2021 ... Delacruz had 11 rushes for 51 yards ... it was Delacruz's fourth career game with two or more TDs ... Delacruz now has 15 career TD in 25 games.
• Braden Jay led Harding with 63 rushing yards on four carries and had Harding's longest run of the game at 34 yards ... Jay's 26-yard TD reception was the first of his career.
• Cole Keylon had a 6-yard rushing TD, the seventh of his career, and completed a 26-yard TD pass to Jay, the sixth TD pass of his career.
• Josh Strickland, Jr. scored a 24-yard rushing TD on the first carry of his career.
• Cayden Pierce forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery ... he also led Harding with 2.0 TFL.
• Dre Hall had a strip sack, the eighth sack of his career and third forced fumble.
• Ahmad Butler, Ty Dugger and Luke Martin all had interceptions ... Butler's led immediately to a touchdown and was the third of his career ... Dugger's was the first of his career and came on the next-to-last play of the first half ... Martin's was the first of his career.
• Clark Griffin led Harding six tackles.
• Grant Ennis kicked a 39-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

SERIES NOTES

• Harding improved to 10-1 against Southern Nazarene and has won the last five ... the Bisons improved to 6-0 against Southern Nazarene in Bethany.

UP NEXT

• Harding hosts Oklahoma Baptist next Saturday, Sept. 9 for a 7 p.m. kickoff at First Security Stadium.