SEARCY – Senior quarterback Park Parish rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 173 yards and another touchdown to lead No. 5 Harding to a 48-31 victory over No. 20 Central Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs on Saturday at First Security Stadium.

The victory was Harding’s first in three NCAA playoff games and gave the Bisons a 12-0 record. Harding also reached the playoffs in 2012 and 2014. Harding, the No. 3 seed in Super Region 3, advances to play No. 2 seed Sioux Falls next Saturday in South Dakota.

Central Missouri, the No. 6 seed in Super Region 3, made its first playoff appearance since 2010 and finished its season 9-3.

Parish scored his first rushing touchdown with 2:09 left in the second quarter to give Harding a 21-17 lead, its first of the game. The score culminated a 12-play, 78-yard drive that took seven minutes.

Harding’s defense forced Central Missouri’s first punt of the game on its next possession, but a fumbled punt return gave the Mules the ball at Harding’s 26. Central Missouri scored two plays later on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Garrett Fugate to Jaylen Zachery, and the Mules led 24-21 with only 42 seconds remaining in the half.

Senior Corey Bassett caught the ensuing kickoff at the Harding 7, cut to the left and outran the Central Missouri coverage for a 93-yard touchdown that gave the Bisons a 28-24 lead at halftime. He became the first Bison ever to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season.

Central Missouri took its last lead early in the second half on Kyle Echols 25-yard touchdown reception from Fugate, but the Mules did not score again.

Harding took the lead for good on Eric Simmons’ 18-yard touchdown run with 6:40 left in the third quarter. The big play of the drive came on a 39-yard pass from Parish to Andrew Dather over the middle.

After a Central Missouri 3-and-out, Parish struck again on a 41-yard touchdown run that gave Harding a 41-31 lead with 1:35 left in the third. Parish sealed the victory with an 81-yard touchdown pass to Dather with 10:16 left in the game.

Harding had 530 total yards, including 355 on the ground and a season-high 173 in the air. Central Missouri had 381 total yards, 327 of them coming in the passing game. The Mules had only 91 yards in the second half.

Parish’s 118 rushing yards came on 21 carries. He was 6-of-7 passing, and Dather had a career-high 149 receiving yards on four catches.

Simmons, a senior slot back, had seven carries for a career-high 91 yards and his second career two-touchdown game.

Fugate was Central Missouri’s leading rusher with 29 yards on 12 carries and a 13-yard touchdown run. He completed 22-of-28 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns before exiting with 9:39 left in the game with an injury.

Harding controlled the ball for almost 39 minutes and did not punt for the second time this season.

Senior linebacker Daylan Skidmore led Harding’s defensive attack with eight tackles, including two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Sioux Falls, the No. 2 seed and now undefeated at 12-0, won 34-21 on Saturday over No. 7 seed Azusa Pacific.

Notes: Harding now has three postseason victories in program history. The others came at the 1972 Cowboy Bowl, a 30-27 victory over Langston, and at the 2013 Live United Texarkana Bowl, a 44-3 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce … Bassett’s 93-yard kickoff return was the fifth-longest in program history … Bassett also blocked a field goal attempt … Parish’s 81-yard pass to Dather was tied for the sixth-longest in program history.

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SEARCY – On a hot Homecoming afternoon, the No. 5 Harding Bisons rolled up 506 rushing yards and defeated Southwestern Oklahoma 42-27 to remain undefeated and clinch at least a share of the Great American Conference championship.

A crowd of 5,100 at First Security Stadium witnessed the fifth-best rushing effort in program history and the eighth 500-yard rushing effort. Quarterback Park Parish and slot back Zach Shelley both rushed for over 100 yards and had two touchdown each.

The victory moved Harding to 9-0 with two games remaining in the regular season. The Bisons last won a regular-season conference championship in 1989 when Harding was a member of the NAIA Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference.

Southwestern Oklahoma had its four-game winning streak snapped and fell to Harding in Searcy for the fourth consecutive game.

Parish rushed for a career-high 153 yards and scored Harding’s first and last touchdowns. The last coming after Southwestern Oklahoma had closed Harding’s lead to 35-27 with 7:49 remaining on a 7-yard Karltrell Henderson run.

Parish guided the offense 61 yards on 10 plays, and his 23-yard run that included two broken tackles gave Harding a 15-point lead with only 2:23 left in the game.

Shelley had 133 rushing yards on only seven carries, a 19.0-yard average, and scored on runs of 66 yards late in the first quarter and 58 yards on Harding’s first possession of the second half.

Harding controlled the ball for almost 41 minutes and gained a season-high 560 yards on 78 plays. The Bisons have 1,093 total yards in their last two games. Southwestern ran only 50 plays, including just 17 rushing plays, the fewest ever in a game by a Harding opponent.

The Bulldogs caned 378 total yards but were only 2 of 10 on third down. Southwestern had the ball fewer than five minutes in each quarter except the first.

Harding’s defensive standouts included senior defensive back Scott Middleton, who had seven tackles, including a tackle for loss, and two pass breakups. Junior Daylon Markham had five tackles and his second interception of the season. He returned it 32 yards to the Southwestern 11, and Dwayne Carter scored two plays later on a 4-yard run to give Harding a 28-13 lead at halftime.

Harding plays its final regular-season road game next Saturday at Northwestern Oklahoma in Alva. Kickoff is a 2 p.m.

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SEARCY – The second quarter was kind to the No. 8 Harding football team for the second straight week, as the Bisons scored 35 points in the period and defeated Southeastern Oklahoma 63-17 on Saturday in Great American Conference action at First Security Stadium.

Harding scored 28 points in the second quarter of its 35-3 win over Henderson State last week in Arkadelphia.

With the victory over Southeastern, Harding improved to 7-0 overall and in conference for the first time in program history. Southeastern (4-3) lost to Harding for the sixth consecutive time and seventh straight in Searcy.

The Savage Storm gained 204 of its 377 total yards in the first quarter and led the Bisons 17-14. Everything changed in the second quarter-Harding scored five times before halftime, and Southeastern never scored again.

On the first play after the quarter break, Harding quarterback Park Parish hit Andrew Dather in the corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. Dather made a juggling catch to give Harding a 21-17 lead.

Following a touchback on a Southeastern punt, Harding scored again on a three-play drive that ended in a 74-yard touchdown run on a reverse to slot back Grant Kimberlin. Harding led 28-17 with 11:24 left in the half.

Harding forced a three-and-out and took over at the 50-yard line. Two plays later, Harding fullback Michael Latu scored on a 42-yard run to put the Bisons up 35-17.

Harding’s defense recorded interceptions by linebacker Benjamin Shields and defensive end Dylan Hampton on the next two Southeastern possessions.

Hampton returned his interception to the Southeastern 13. A 9-yard run by Latu on the second play of the drive gave Harding a 42-17 lead with 52 seconds left in the half.

Southeastern did not pick up a first down on its next drive and was forced to punt. Harding senior Corey Bassett caught the punt at the Harding 31 and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown as time ran out in the half. Harding led 49-17.

Bassett, who also had a 56-yard kickoff return in the game, became only the second Harding player, and the first since Harry Lisle in 1966, to return a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same season. He had a 100-yard kickoff return earlier in the season against Southern Nazarene.

Harding’s defense continued its outstanding play in the second half, holding Southeastern to only 41 total yards. The Storm’s longest drive after halftime was 16 yards and resulted in a punt.

Senior defensive end Trevon Biglow recorded his third sack of the season during the second half. He joined Josh Aldridge (2009-12) as only the second Harding player in the NCAA era to record 20 career sacks.

Harding tacked on two touchdowns in the second half. Parish scored his second of the game and school-record 36th of his career on a 16-yard run in the third quarter. Freshman Romar Reades added a 4-yard touchdown with 8:44 left to complete the scoring.

Latu led Harding in rushing with 96 yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns for the third time in his career. Parish rushed 10 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns and completed two passes for 61 yards and another touchdown.

Southeastern’s Ronnie Green became the first player with more than 100 rushing yards against Harding this season. He carried 17 times for 116 yards and a touchdown.

CB Cantwell, the Storm’s starting quarterback, completed 16-of-28 for 174 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown, a 44-yard scoring pass to Anterric Maxey in the first quarter.

Southeastern had 132 rushing yards in the first quarter but only 70 for the rest of the game. Harding rushed for 431 yards and seven touchdowns and had 492 total yards.

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ARKADELPHIA – Harding’s No. 1-ranked defense forced six Henderson State turnovers that led to four touchdowns, and the 16th-ranked Bisons defeated the No. 5 Reddies 35-3 on Saturday in Great American Conference action at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.

Henderson State also turned the ball over on downs three times. Harding did not have a turnover for the second straight week and has only one in the last three games.

Harding improved to 6-0 for the first time in program history and sits alone atop the GAC standings. Henderson State fell to 5-1 overall and in conference. It was the first time Harding defeated Ouachita Baptist at home and Henderson State on the road since 1989, the same year Harding won its last conference championship in football.

Henderson State committed five turnovers in the first half, and Harding capitalized with four touchdowns to lead 35-0 at the break.

Harding senior Park Parish scored on a 1-yard touchdown with 3:36 left in the first quarter that followed a Henderson State fumbled punt at their own 12-yard line.

Harding’s only extended scoring drive of the half came on its first drive of the second quarter, and it also came after a turnover. Senior cornerback Corey Bassett intercepted a pass in the end zone, and Harding drove 80 yards on 11 plays with senior fullback Michael Latu scoring from 2 yards out.

The Bisons took a 21-0 lead at the 7:23 mark of the second quarter. Senior defensive end Arthur Akers took the ball away from Henderson State quarterback Andrew Black and raced 17 yards for a touchdown.

Harding’s only touchdown that did not come from a turnover came late in the first half. With less than 20 seconds remaining Parish found a wide-open Bobby Green on the Bison sideline for a 51-yard scoring strike.

Henderson State had time for one last play before halftime, and it resulted in Harding’s final touchdown. Black was under heavy pressure from two Bison defenders and threw to his left. Senior defensive back Scott Middleton intercepted the pass, cut across the field, beat one Reddie player and scored on a 27-yard return.

The only points of the second half came on a 31-yard field goal by Henderson State’s Houston Ray with 9:39 left in the third quarter.

Harding rushed for 214 yards on 54 carries. Latu led the team with 63 rushes on 14 carries.

The Bisons limited the Reddies to only 73 rushing yards and 235 passing yards on 45 pass attempts.

Harding returns to First Security Stadium next Saturday at 6 p.m. to take on Southeastern Oklahoma.

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Today on the GAC Weekly, we get to hear from Harding quarterback Park Parish and Southwestern outside hitter Carly Zak.

GAC Weekly Oct. 5, 2016

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The Bisons won seven games in 2015. Not bad, but it followed three consecutive nine-win seasons, which each included postseason play. However, the Bisons bring back seven of the top eight rushers from last season to an offense predicated upon the run and have a schedule with six home games that fall favorably for them.

OFFENSE

Park Parish will lead the charge in the triple option once again in his senior year. Parish was a First Team All-GAC quarterback, who led the team in rushing yards and was third in rushing touchdowns in ’15. Senior Michael Latu (6.1 yards per carry), an All-Super Region 3 player, and junior Zach Shelley (10.0 yards per carry) were second and third is rushing yards last year, respectively. The passing game is used sparingly, but junior Andrew Dather hauled in 45 percent of the completed passes last year. Harding graduated only two starters from last year’s offensive line, which gave up only six sacks, and juniors Michael Gragg and Gavin De Los Santos are key returners.

DEFENSE

Trevon Biglow, First Team All-GAC last year and All-Super Region 3, returns to the defensive line. The senior recorded 9.5 sacks in ’15. Senior Daylan Skidmore, the team’s leading tackler last season, returns at linebacker after a second team all-conference performance. And junior Daylan Markham and senior Scott Middleton are part of a strong defensive secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Tristan Parsley handled kicking and punting duties and the junior, while 6-for-14 on field goals, was successful on his final three attempts and made 53-of-55 PATs. Shelley, along with senior Corey Bassett, shared the kick return responsibilities.

OUTLOOK

Put simply – the triple option is a difficult offense to plan for, especially with usually just a few days to do it. Add to that the fact that Harding has the right players in place to run it and the Bisons run it well. HU has put up 52 rushing touchdowns for three straight seasons. Looking back to look ahead – three of the four losses in 2015 were on the road, in three of the four Harding had fourth quarter leads, and all the losses were by an average of 5.3 points – basically one score. All are strong motivational points for a team that is poised to win at least nine games again in 2016.

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