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Football

No. 2 Harding vs. East Central -- GAME NOTES

#2 Harding Bisons (4-0, 4-0) vs. East Central (4-0, 4-0)
Oct. 3, 2026 • 2 p.m. • Ada, Okla. • Koi Ishto Stadium

THE MATCHUP: Consensus No. 2-ranked Harding (4-0, 4-0 GAC) travels to Ada, Oklahoma, for a clash of Great American Conference unbeatens against East Central (4-0, 4-0 GAC) on Saturday, Oct. 3 (2:00 p.m.) at Koi Ishto Stadium ... marks the third road contest of the Roddy Mote head coaching era and features two of the three remaining undefeated teams in the GAC standings.

WEEK 4 RECAP (28-27 AT OUACHITA BAPTIST): Harding denied a potential go-ahead two-point conversion pass with 23 seconds remaining to hold on for a 28-27 victory over archrival Ouachita Baptist before 6,348 fans at Cliff Harris Stadium ... the victory snapped a three-game skid in Arkadelphia and gave the Bisons their first road win over the Tigers since 2017 ... Andrew Miller rushed 23 times for 134 yards and three touchdowns, while Jeff Regan added 88 yards and a score ... sophomore defensive end Kaleb Walker delivered a strip-sack at the OBU 11-yard line with 1:36 remaining, setting up Miller's game-winning 4-yard touchdown run.

MILLER & WALKER SWEEP GAC WEEKLY HONORS: Fifth-year fullback Andrew Miller and sophomore defensive end Kaleb Walker were named the Great American Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, following Week 4 ... Miller totaled 134 rushing yards and scored on runs of 2, 1, and 4 yards ... Walker recorded five tackles, 2.0 sacks (-9 yards), a pass breakup, and the decisive fourth-quarter strip-sack that led to the winning touchdown ... Harding has now earned four GAC Player of the Week awards through four weeks (Roberts, Regan, Miller, Walker).

MILLER REACHES 4,000-YARD MILESTONE & EYES 2ND ALL-TIME: Andrew Miller eclipsed the 4,000-yard career rushing plateau on Saturday, entering Week 5 with 4,096 career rushing yards ... he became just the third player in Harding history to reach 4,000 yards, moving past former teammate Braden Jay (3,962) into sole possession of third place on the program's all-time rushing list ... Miller needs only 119 yards to pass Alan "Snake" Dixon (4,214 yards, 1970–73) for second place on Harding's career rushing list ... Miller's three scores increased his career touchdown total to 58, trailing only Cole Chancey (66) in school history.

MILLER AMONG NCAA ACTIVE LEADERS: Andrew Miller stands as the active leader in NCAA Division II in career rushing yards (4,096), rushing touchdowns (58), total touchdowns (58), points scored (348), and yards per carry average (7.2 ypc) ... across all NCAA divisions (FBS, FCS, D-II, and D-III), Miller ranks second among all active players in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, third in total touchdowns, and fifth in points scored.

50-GAME CLUB ON HORIZON FOR MARTIN & MILLER: Fifth-year fullback Andrew Miller and fifth-year rover Luke Martin enter Week 5 tied for the NCAA Division II active lead in career games played with 49 appearances each ... both fifth-year veterans will become the newest members of Harding's prestigious 50-game club when they take the field on Saturday in Ada ... the Bisons boast five active players with at least 40 career appearances: Martin (T-1st in D-II, 49), Miller (T-1st in D-II, 49), safety Zac O'Day (5th in D-II, 45), safety Deion Campbell (9th in D-II, 44), and fullback Josh Strickland, Jr. (18th in D-II, 42).

WALKER LEADS NATION IN SACKS: Sophomore defensive end Kaleb Walker leads all of NCAA Division II in sacks per game (1.50) and paces the GAC with 6.0 total sacks on the season ... Walker has registered at least one sack in all four games this season, with multi-sack outings at SWOSU (2.0) and Ouachita Baptist (2.0).

NATION'S NO. 1 RUSHING ATTACK: Harding enters Week 5 leading all of NCAA Division II in rushing offense (419.3 ypg), having accumulated 1,677 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns on 222 carries (7.6 ypc) ... the Bisons also top the GAC and rank fourth nationally in rushing defense (63.8 ypg allowed), limiting opponents to 2.1 yards per carry.

STINGIEST FIRST DOWNS & TOTAL DEFENSE: Harding leads the country in first downs defense (46 allowed) and ranks second in NCAA Division II in total defense (212.0 ypg allowed) ... the Bison defense also ranks 14th nationally in scoring defense (15.5 ppg) and 15th in team sacks (3.00 per game).

AIR-ATTACK EFFICIENCY & PERFECTION: Operating out of the flexbone, Harding leads the entire nation in both team passing efficiency (335.40 rating) and passing yards per completion (35.00 yards) ... the Bisons are one of only seven teams in Division II that have not thrown an interception this season ... Camren Cavalier connected with Brady Barnett on a 39-yard pass in Week 4, setting up a touchdown drive.

RED-ZONE & KICKING PERFECTION: Harding is tied for first in NCAA Division II with a 1.000 red-zone conversion rate, scoring on all 15 trips inside the 20-yard line this fall (14 touchdowns, 1 field goal) ... placekicker Dean Roberts is tied for first nationally in field goal percentage (1.000, 5-for-5) and is a perfect 25-for-25 on PATs, totaling 40 kicking points.

SPECIAL TEAMS WEAPONS: Harding leads NCAA Division II in kickoff return average (34.22 yards per return) behind freshman Jeff Regan, who ranks second nationally with a 39.0-yard return average and leads the GAC with 141.5 all-purpose yards per game ... punter Griffin Thomas anchors a unit that ranks seventh in Division II in net punting (41.00 yards); Thomas pinned three of his four punts inside the 10 at Ouachita.

CONFERENCE WINNING STREAK: With the victory at Ouachita Baptist, Harding extended its Great American Conference winning streak to 19 consecutive games ... stands as the second-longest active conference winning streak in NCAA Division II, trailing only CSU Pueblo (28 games, RMAC).

ROAD WINNING STREAK: Harding carries a nine-game road winning streak into Ada, representing the third-longest road winning streak in program history and the fourth-longest active road winning streak in NCAA Division II ... the school record is 11 consecutive road victories (Oct. 8, 2022 – Oct. 19, 2024).

OKLAHOMA ROAD DOMINANCE: Harding has won 12 consecutive road games played in the state of Oklahoma, a streak dating back to the 2021 season ... the Bisons have already collected a road win in Oklahoma this fall, defeating SWOSU 37-14 in Week 2.

SCOUTING EAST CENTRAL: The Tigers enter 4-0 under head coach John Litrenta, featuring one of the most explosive offenses in Division II ... ECU ranks 10th nationally in total offense (481.0 ypg), 12th in rushing offense (251.8 ypg), and second in 3rd down conversion percentage (.608) ... quarterback Sergio Kennedy ranks fourth in D-II in total offense (321.5 ypg) and ninth in points responsible for per game (20.0), having rushed for eight touchdowns while throwing for 917 yards and five scores ... running back Quincy Thompson ranks 10th nationally averaging 116.0 rushing yards per game (464 yards, 6.11 ypc) ... linebacker Caden Pickens anchors the defense, ranking 13th in Division II with 10.8 total tackles per game (43 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks).

SERIES HISTORY: 24th all-time meeting between Harding and East Central ... Harding leads the series 20-3 and has won 13 consecutive meetings against the Tigers dating back to 2012 ... the Bisons are 7-3 all-time in Ada and a perfect 13-0 in Searcy ... Harding holds a 16-1 record against ECU in Great American Conference play ... in the last meeting on Oct. 4, 2025, Harding shut out ECU 65-0 in Searcy, establishing the largest margin of victory in series history ... East Central's last victory in the series came in overtime (23-16) on Nov. 5, 2011, in Ada.

LAST MEETING (OCT. 4, 2025): Harding set the series record for largest margin of victory with a 65-0 shutout of East Central at First Security Stadium ... the Bisons scored on their first play from scrimmage—a 66-yard touchdown sprint by Braden Jay—and led 37-0 at halftime before adding 28 third-quarter points ... Harding racked up 484 total yards (475 rushing, 8 rushing touchdowns) and held the ball for 38:36 ... Jay rushed seven times for 138 yards and two touchdowns, while Andrew Miller (2 TDs), Christian Franklin (2 TDs), Da'Shawn Chairs (1 TD), and Sam Mitchum (1 TD) also reached the end zone ... the Bison defense suffocated ECU, limiting the Tigers to 78 total yards, six first downs (zero rushing first downs), and just three net rushing yards on 24 carries (0.1 ypc) ... the defense added a first-quarter safety and a 30-yard fumble return touchdown.

BALL SECURITY: Harding has lost just one fumble over its last three games and did not commit a turnover at Ouachita Baptist ... the Bisons rank second in the nation in sacks allowed (0.25 per game), having surrendered just one sack in 52 pass-and-rush drops this fall.

DEFENSIVE LEADERSHIP: Linebacker Jordan Mays registered a game-high 14 tackles at Ouachita Baptist, pushing his team-leading tackle total to 33 stops (18 solo) ... Mays ranks sixth in the GAC averaging 8.3 tackles per game ... safety Corey Dean has two interceptions and five pass breakups, while Kyle Henry has totaled 21 tackles and two pass breakups.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION & 94-WEEK POLL STREAK: Harding maintained its consensus No. 2 ranking in NCAA Division II in both the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll and the D2Football.com Top 25 Media Poll ... the ranking marks Harding's 94th consecutive appearance in the AFCA national top 25 poll.

GAC SUPREMACY: Harding is 93-10 (.903) in Great American Conference play since 2016 and has suffered only one conference loss by more than 10 points since 2015.
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Players Mentioned

Christian Franklin

#9 Christian Franklin

RB
6' 0"
Senior
Braden Jay

#7 Braden Jay

RB
5' 9"
Senior
Sam Mitchum

#32 Sam Mitchum

RB
5' 9"
Sophomore
Brady Barnett

#13 Brady Barnett

WR
6' 2"
4th Year
Deion Campbell

#4 Deion Campbell

DB
6' 0"
4th Year
Camren Cavalier

#17 Camren Cavalier

QB
5' 11"
3rd Year
Da

#23 Da'Shawn Chairs

RB
5' 8"
3rd Year
Corey Dean

#15 Corey Dean

DB
6' 0"
3rd Year
Kyle Henry

#5 Kyle Henry

LB
5' 11"
3rd Year
Luke Martin

#6 Luke Martin

DB
6' 1"
Fifth Year

Players Mentioned

Christian Franklin

#9 Christian Franklin

6' 0"
Senior
RB
Braden Jay

#7 Braden Jay

5' 9"
Senior
RB
Sam Mitchum

#32 Sam Mitchum

5' 9"
Sophomore
RB
Brady Barnett

#13 Brady Barnett

6' 2"
4th Year
WR
Deion Campbell

#4 Deion Campbell

6' 0"
4th Year
DB
Camren Cavalier

#17 Camren Cavalier

5' 11"
3rd Year
QB
Da

#23 Da'Shawn Chairs

5' 8"
3rd Year
RB
Corey Dean

#15 Corey Dean

6' 0"
3rd Year
DB
Kyle Henry

#5 Kyle Henry

5' 11"
3rd Year
LB
Luke Martin

#6 Luke Martin

6' 1"
Fifth Year
DB
© 2026 Harding University Athletics Box 12281 Searcy, AR 72149
Phone: 501-279-4760