SEARCY – On the night senior Cole Chancey became the Great American Conference’s career rushing leader, Harding’s defense also had a memorable game as the 22nd-ranked Bisons shut out East Central, 28-0, before 3,500 fans at First Security Stadium.

Chancey, a native of Commerce, Ga., rushed 17 times for 102 yards and three touchdowns. He has 3,775 rushing yards, surpassing Ouachita Baptist’s Kris Oliver, who had 3,763 yards from 2015-18.

Chancey scored on runs of 6 yards and 1 yard in the first quarter and broke the record on a 24-yard touchdown run with 4:06 left in the third. It was his 15th career 100-yard rushing game and fifth with three or more touchdowns.

Harding’s defense recorded its seven opening-night shutout since the Bisons restarted their football program in 1959. The last shutout was 20-0 over Southern Arkansas in 2010. The 28-point margin was Harding’s second-largest shutout behind only a 39-0 victory over Lane in 1992.

Harding’s defense forced five turnovers, including four interceptions. Chancey’s first touchdown came after East Central (0-1) fumbled the opening kickoff. The Bisons took over at the East Central 16 and needed four plays before Chancey pounded through the middle of the East Central line to put the Bisons up 7-0 with 13:02 left in the first quarter.

After an East Central three-and-out, junior transfer Omar Sinclair took a pitch and raced down the Harding sideline, hurdling a pile of would-be tacklers and cutting across the field for a 72-yard touchdown. It was only his second carry as a Bison and gave Harding a 14-0 lead only 3:11 into the game. Sinclair carried four times for 92 yards.

The first of Harding’s four interceptions led to the team’s third first-quarter touchdown. Senior linebacker Shedrick Robinsonlaid out haul in his first career interception, giving the Bisons the ball at the Harding 44. A 13-play drive resulted in Chancey powering in from a yard out on 4th-and-goal.

Harding (1-0) has outscored its opponents 368-99 in the first quarter under head coach Paul Simmons.

Sophomore Ahmad Butler’s first career interception came in third quarter and gave the Bisons possession at the East Central 27. Two plays later, Chancey found a hole up the middle and found his way into the GAC record book with his third touchdown.

Harding’s defense limited East Central to only 48 rushing yards and 98 passing yards. The 146 total yards were the fewest by a Harding opponent since Southwestern Oklahoma had 135 yards in 2018.

Harding will play the first of two consecutive road games next Saturday against Southeastern Oklahoma in Durant. The Savage Storm won its opener 38-20 at Arkansas Tech on Thursday in Russellville.

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BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Harding scored 19 points in the fourth quarter but came up one drive short of overcoming a three-touchdown deficit after three quarters and fell 21-19 to Ferris State on Saturday at Top Taggart Field in the first round of the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 Playoffs.

Harding, the No. 7 seed, finished the season 9-3. The team’s seniors finished their careers with 40 victories.

No. 2 seed Ferris State remained undefeated at 12-0 and advances to host No. 6 seed Northwest Missouri State in the Super Region semifinals next weekend.

Trailing 21-0, Harding punctuated a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a 5-yard Taylor Bissell TD run on a pitch to the left. The score came on the first play of the fourth quarter. The extra point missed, and Harding trailed 21-6.

Harding’s shortest drive of the season came on its next drive. Devyn Comer forced a fumble on a sack that Chris Wein recovered at the Ferris 26 and returned to the 3-yard line. A Bulldog sideline penalty put the ball at the 1. Cole Chancey scored on the next play but Harding’s two-point conversion attempt failed and the Bisons trailed 21-12 with 13:22 left.

Harding cut the lead to 21-19 with 7:57 left when Bissell took a pitch to the left and dove into the end zone for a 16-yard TD run, ending a 53-yard drive that came after a Ferris punt.

Harding forced its fifth straight three-and-out, and Ferris punted to the Harding 38. The Bisons picked up a first down, but had it negated for an illegal block penalty. Four plays later, an incomplete pass on 4th-and-8 at the Ferris 48 ended Harding’s comeback hopes.

Ferris became only the second team this season to score against Harding in the first quarter when it took the opening kickoff 85 yards on 10 plays and scored on Jevon Shaw’s 5-yard run.

The Bulldogs added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, the first came after a 14-yard punt into the wind and the second after a high snap resulted in a blocked punt. Ferris quarterback Jayru Campbell threw a 2-yard pass to Marvin Campbell for the first score, and ran in from a yard out on the second TD.

Harding lost two offensive starters and one defensive starter in the first half to injuries. Starting quarterback Preston Paden and starting wide receiver and holder Kohl Blickenstaff both left with injuries. Starting safety Daylon Markham left early in the game with a shoulder injury. Paden returned in the second half, but Blickenstaff and Markham did not.

FACTS AND FIGURES

– Harding had 17 first downs, 13 of them coming in the second half and 172 of Harding’s 262 rushing yards came in the second half.

– Ferris State had only one first down and 48 total yards in the second half. The Bulldogs had 12 first downs and 153 total yards in the game.

– Cole Chancey led Harding’s rushing attack with 101 yards on 25 carries.

– GLIAC Player of the Year Jayru Campbell rushed for only 26 yards on 16 carries and passed for only 85 yards, completing 9-of-14 passes.

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SEARCY – Harding’s defense, ranked second in NCAA Division II, made four interceptions, and the offense turned them into three Cole Chancey touchdowns in a 24-10 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma Saturday in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium.

Harding improved to 8-2 overall and in the GAC and moved into a tie with Southern Arkansas for second place in the conference standings. It was Harding’s eighth consecutive win over Southeastern and its eighth straight over Southeastern in Searcy. The Savage Storm lost its third straight and fell to 5-5.

The only points of the first half came on a 28-yard field goal by Cameron Scott with 29 seconds left in the second quarter.

Harding junior defensive back V’Onte Williams got the second half started off strong for the Bison defense. Williams intercepted a pass by Southeastern quarterback Rollin Kinsaul on the Savage Storm’s first play of the third quarter, giving Harding the ball at the HU 32.

Harding’s longest drive of the game ensued. The Bisons drove 68 yards on 13 plays with Chancey scoring from 5 yards out to give Harding a 10-0 lead with 5:39 left in the third quarter.
Southeastern kicker Joel Carlos hit a 26-yard field goal late in the third quarter to cut Harding’s lead to 10-3.

The Savage Storm had two drives early in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game. Harding forced a punt on the first one, and senior defensive back Dra Smith recorded his third interception of the season on the second. He stepped in front of a Southeastern receiver to make the interception at the Savage Storm 12.

Chancey carried three times with the third resulting in a 7-yard touchdown that gave the Bisons a 17-3 lead with 6:48 left.

The next Southeastern drive resulted in Harding’s third interception, this one from senior linebacker Sam Blankenship. Chancey scored his third touchdown of the game on the next play, racing in from 26 yards out. Harding led 24-3 with 5:21 left.

Southeastern’s last score came on a 2-yard run from CJ Shavers with 1:56 left.

Harding recovered an onside kick but fumbled two plays later. On Southeastern’s last drive, Williams recorded his second interception of the game and team-leading fourth this season to seal the victory.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Harding entered the game ranked fifth nationally in rushing defense, allowing 76.7 yards per game. The Bisons held the Savage Storm to -3 rushing yards on 25 carries. It was the seventh time in program history that a Harding team held an opponent to negative rushing yards, the last coming on Sept. 24, 2016, when Arkansas-Monticello rushed for -25 in a 57-7 Harding win.
• Southeastern’s leading rusher was Kenneth Burks with 9 yards on six rushes. The Savage Storm’s longest run of the game was 7 yards.
• Cole Chancey rushed for 99 yards on 21 carries and became the eighth Harding player with more than 2,000 career rushing yards. He ranks eighth with 2,071 yards.
• Harding had seven interceptions in the first nine games of the season but had four Saturday. The last time Harding had four interceptions in a game was against Arkansas Tech on Nov. 12, 2016.
• Williams had two interceptions in a game for the first time in his career. He has seven career interceptions. The last Bison with two interceptions was Frank Herbert against Arkansas Tech in 2016.
• Cameron Scott punted five times with four downed inside the 20. It was the second time this season that Scott had four or more punts inside the 20.
• Southeastern Oklahoma quarterback Rollin Kinsaul completed 22-of-34 passes for 271 yards. Braxton Kincade had five catches for 100 yards, becoming the first Harding opponent with 100 or more receiving yards this season.
• Harding’s defense had a season-high 12 tackles for loss. Eleven different players were involved in a tackle for loss. T.J. Winslow had 2.0 tackles for loss, both sacks, and Dra Smith, Devyn Comer and Michael Gant each had 1.5 TFL.
• Harding holds a 23-7 series lead over Southeastern, including 13-1 in Searcy.

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