From Harding University
The winning formula for the 25th-ranked Harding football team Saturday – run the
ball and stop the run. It equaled a 34-14 road victory over 10th-ranked Ouachita
Baptist in Great American Conference play at A.U. Williams Field.
One of the
Bisons' three pass completions proved pretty pivotal as well.
It was
Harding's first road victory against a top-10 team since the Bisons joined the
NCAA in 1997.
With the victory, Harding improved to 6-1 overall and 4-1
in conference play. It is Harding's best start since opening the 2002 season
with the same record.
Harding, the GAC leader in rushing yards, rolled up
250 rushing yards on 55 carries.
The Bisons completely shut down Ouachita
Baptist's rushing attack that featured the GAC's leading rusher Chris Rycraw.
Ouachita Baptist (6-1, 4-1) had only 39 rushing yards on 21 carries, and Rycraw
carried for only eight times for 18 yards.
The turning point of the game
came late in the first half. Ouachita Baptist had cut the Harding lead to 10-7
with 54 seconds left before halftime on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Benson
Jordan to Brett Reece.
Instead of running out the half, Harding, with no
timeouts left, picked up 22 yards on a third-down run by quarterback Kelvin Martin that gave the Bisons
the ball at the OBU 37. Martin spiked the ball to give Harding one more play,
and sophomore wide receiver Donatella Luckett caught a
touchdown along the OBU sideline on a perfectly-thrown pass from Martin. Harding
took a 17-7 lead into halftime and never looked back.
Harding tacked on a
27-yard field goal from John Gay in the third quarter to
make it 20-7. Then the Bisons drove 77 yards on 11 plays to open the fourth
quarter, and freshman Tre' Clark scored his first
collegiate touchdown on a six-yard run with 9:50 left. Ouachita Baptist had
forced Harding to punt earlier in the drive, but a sideline infraction followed
by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept the drive alive, and the Bisons made
the Tigers pay.
Ouachita Baptist had 11 penalties for 102
yards.
Leading 27-7, Harding senior cornerback Tramaine Wilkes intercepted a pass
down the Harding sideline and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. It was his
second touchdown of the season and the first interception return for a score by
a Harding player this season. It gave Harding a 34-7 lead with 9:13
left.
It was the first of two interceptions for the Bisons. Redshirt
freshman Trendall Stevenson added another
in the fourth quarter.
Ouachita Baptist scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass
from Ty Towers to Drew White with seven seconds remaining in the
game.
Harding scored on its first possession of the game, going 70 yards
on 13 plays with Ahmad Scott catching a toss and
taking it in from four yards out. Sophomore John Gay's 34-yard field goal with
14:16 left in the second quarter made it 10-0.
The Bisons have won five
straight games away from home this season, its longest stretch of road victories
since winning eight straight from 1971-73.
Martin led Harding's rushing
attack with 70 yards on 15 carries. D'Nico Jackson-Best had 62 yards
on eight carries, including an early third quarter gain of 48
yards.
Jordan completed 11-of-23 passes for 137 yards with one
interception before leaving in the fourth quarter with an injury. Towers was
12-of-21 for 127 yards and an interception.
Harding returns to Searcy
next Saturday for Homecoming 2012 against Arkansas Tech. Kickoff at First
Security Stadium is at 2 p.m.
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