MAGNOLIA, Ark. — Second-ranked Harding leaned on its dominant ground game and a stingy defense Saturday to defeat Southern Arkansas, 31-12, in Great American Conference action at Wilkins Stadium.
The Bisons (3-0) amassed 433 total yards, all on the ground, and held the Muleriders to just 333 total yards, well below their season average of 486. It was Harding's sixth consecutive win over Southern Arkansas.
After a slow start on their first possession, Harding's defense set the tone early. The Bisons made a key fourth-down stop at their own 23-yard line, turning back the Muleriders and securing HU's fourth such stop of the season.
The Bisons got on the board in the second quarter with a 14-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal by Magnus Lepak, giving Harding a 3-0 lead with 9:55 left in the half.
Harding's next score came after a turnover forced by the defense. Deion Campbell stripped the ball from a Mulerider, and Grayson Lewis recovered at the SAU 27. Four plays later, Christian Franklin took a pitch, hurdled a defender, and scored from 16 yards out to make it 10-0 with 7:39 left.
The Bisons put together one of their most impressive drives just before the half, traveling 98 yards on 11 plays in just under two and a half minutes. The key play was a 29-yard toss to Josh Evans-Pickens, which set up Cole Keylon for a 2-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 17-0 with 10 seconds remaining.
Harding came out of the locker room and scored on its first two plays of the second half. Andrew Miller ran 45 yards up the middle, and Braden Jay followed with a 31-yard touchdown run, his 40th career score, extending the lead to 24-0. The touchdown moved Jay past Zach Shelley into sixth place on Harding's career rushing yards list.
Miller finished with a game-high 137 yards on 15 carries, while Jay contributed 114 yards on seven attempts and two touchdowns. It was the first time since the 2023 national championship game that Harding had two 100-yard rushers in a single contest.
Southern Arkansas (2-1) broke through in the second half, with backup quarterback Adam Parker scoring the first offensive touchdown by a Harding opponent this season on a 1-yard run, capping a 24-play, 75-yard drive. The Muleriders added a 30-yard touchdown pass with just over eight minutes left in the game.
Defensively, Clark Griffin led Harding with 11 tackles, and Ty Dugger added 10. Campbell forced two fumbles. Griffin now has 308 career tackles, second-most in program history.
Next Saturday, Harding hosts Ouachita Baptist at First Security Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
