RUSSELLVILLE -- Harding University took advantage of three Arkansas Tech University miscues to score three touchdowns and win its 10th consecutive game Saturday at Thone Stadium in Russellville.
Harding (10-1) has its third winning streak of 10 or more games since 2016 and awaits the announcement of its playoff opponent at 4 p.m. today.
Arkansas Tech (3-8, 3-8) lost a fumble for only the third time this season on its opening drive. Harding responded with a 55-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Cole Chancey, his 12th of the season.
After the Wonder Boys missed a field goal, the Bisons took a 14-0 lead with 44 seconds left in the first quarter on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Preston Paden to Taylor Bissell.
Harding's defense got in on the act in the second quarter. Jacory Nichols intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown to give the Bisons a 21-0 lead. Nichols became the first Harding player with three interception returns for a touchdown in the same season, and he set a school record with 195 interception return yards in a season.
The lead grew to 28-0 with 10:48 left in the third quarter when Bissell ran for a 32-yard touchdown that capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive. Arkansas Tech prevented the shutout with 6:15 left in the third with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Carter Burcham to Drew Wade.
Paden threw his second touchdown pass later in the third, connecting with Kage Citty on a 56-yard pass that gave Harding a 35-7 lead with 4:48 left in the quarter. Wallace Foote scored on a 1-yard touchdown run for Arkansas Tech, capping an 11-play, 72 yard drive to cut the lead to 35-14 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
Chancey scored on a 47-yard touchdown run, and Zach Smith added a 4-yard touchdown run for the Bisons in the fourth quarter.
Harding rushed for 406 yards and threw for 108. It marked the sixth consecutive game the Bisons rushed for more than 400 yards and four or more touchdowns.
Chancey rushed for 121 yards on 18 carries. He has 1,438 rushing yards this season, just 42 short of Alan Dison's single-season record.
SAU 34, UAM 31
MAGNOLIA -- Southern Arkansas (8-3, 8-3 GAC) scored 31 of its 34 points in the first half Saturday, then held on to withstand a second-half comeback from Arkansas-Monticello (5-6, 5-6) in Magnolia.
Quarterback Heyden Mallory threw three touchdown passes in the first half for the Muleriders. His first went to Jalidon Parrish on a 45-yard pas that gave SAU a 7-0 lead nearly a minute and a half into the game. After the Boll Weevils got a 39-yard field goal from Josh Marini that cut the lead to 7-3, Mallory's second touchdown pass went to Dalton Wright for 5 yards to give the Muleriders a 14-3 lead with 1 minute left in the first quarter.
Arkansas-Monticello didn't take long to respond. Jeremy Hampton took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-10 with 45 seconds left in the first.
After SirCharles Perkins ran for an 18-yard touchdown and Austin Wilkerson added a 38-yard field goal, Mallory threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Parrish, giving the Muleriders a 31-10 halftime lead.
Demilon Brown threw touchdown passes for Arkansas-Monticello in the second half to DeAndre Washington, C.J. Parham and Hampton, and got a 46-yard field goal from Wilkerson, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.
Sports on 11/17/2019