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WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Facing a 20-7 deficit early in the third quarter, the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team outscored Harding 20-3 over the game's final 29 minutes to pick up an exciting 27-23 victory on Thursday night in the Fast Lane Kickoff Classic.
 
SWOSU took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards in 11 plays before a Dustin Stenta pass was deflected into the arms of Harding's Erik Ragsdale at the goal line, halting a promising offensive series. Neither team would threaten to score the rest of the first quarter, and it took a SWOSU mishap to set up the Bisons first points.
 
SWOSU punter Lucas Barry was unable to handle a punt on 4th and 7 from the SWOSU 20, allowing harding to take over at the SWOSU 11. The Bisons would capitalize, getting a one-yard TD plunge from John Moore three plays later to take a 7-0 lead.
 
The ensuing SWOSU drive covered 80 yards on 10 plays and was capped off by a 21-yard TD reception from Stenta to Teverick Boyd that tied the game at 7-7.
 
It took another SWOSU miscue to set up the Bisons second score. Stenta lost a fumble at the SWOSU 15 yard line, and again three plays later Harding was in the end zone, this time on an eight-yard TD run from Park Parish. After a missed extra point, the Bisons held a 13-7 lead that they would take to the break.
 
Just three plays into the second half, Harding was again in the end zone on a six-yard TD run by Jacob Moore that gave the Bison a 20-7 advantage.
 
After SWOSU was forced to punt, Abram Piggee intercepted a pass from Moore and an ensuing penalty set the Bulldogs up with possession at the Harding 23 yard line. Stenta hit Brad Smithey on the first play to get SWOSU down to the one yard line and D.C. Walker would punch it in three plays later to get SWOSU within six at 20-14.
 
The Dawgs defense forced another Harding stop, setting up a 15-play, 93-yard drive which lingered into the fourth quarter. The drive was capped off when Stenta again found Boyd in the end zone, this time from 16 yards out, to tie the game at 20-20.
 
Harding responded by driving to the SWOSU eight yard line, where they faced first and goal before the SWOSU defense made a stand. First, Barry stopped Eric Simmons for a five-yard loss on second down and Tyler George sacked Moore back to the 17 yard line to force a John Gay field goal, which put Harding on top 23-20.
 
After a SWOSU three-and-out, Harding was threatening to run out the clock before Moore fumbled a snap and Eric Rodriguez recovered for the Bulldogs. The recovery setup SWOSU with the ball at the Harding 44.
 
Facing 3rd and 2 from the Harding eight yard line, Stenta took the snap from the shotgun and went in on a quarterback draw, giving SWOSU their first lead of the season. Recent roster addition Kevin Cantrell tacked on the crucial extra point, giving SWOSU a four-point lead at 27-23 with 1:54 to play.
 
Harding would not go away easily, however, using back-to-back runs from Donatella Luckett to get to the SWOSU 34-yard line in the game's final minute. The Bulldogs defense again held, however, forcing four straight incomplete passes from Moore to close out the victory.
 
The win is the first season-opening victory for SWOSU since 2011 and just the second of head coach Dan Cocannouer's tenure. It also snapped a two-game losing streak to Harding, the No. 25-ranked team according to d2football.com.
 
SWOSU racked up 390 yards of total offense while holding the potent triple option offense of Harding to 337 total yards. Stenta connected on 20-of-33 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. The Bulldogs offensive line did a great job protecting Stenta, who was not sacked in the game.
 
Walker rushed for 81 yards and one touchdown while Stenta added 51 yards and the deciding score on the ground. Boyd was the top receiver for SWOSU, grabbing seven balls for 69 yards and two scores. Ryan Corbin hauled in five receptions for 55 yards while Smithey had four catches for a team-high 70 yards.
 
On defense, it was Ryan Feller and Jim O'Brien leading the way with eight tackles apiece while Piggee had seven tackles, one tackle for loss and the lone interception.
 
The Bulldogs will make their first road trip of the 2013 season next Saturday, September 14, when they visit Arkansas Tech. The Wonder Boys also picked up a victory, 38-10 over Northwestern Oklahoma State, on Thursday night. SWOSU and ATU will kickoff at 6 pm from Russellville.