Box Score (html)
SEARCY, Ark. – The SWOSU Football team gave league-leading and No. 5/10-ranked Harding one of their toughest tests of the season, but the Bisons scored a touchdown with 2:23 to play to hold off the Bulldogs by a score of 42-27.
Harding led 14-7 after a first quarter which saw the team's trade big plays, with
Marc Evans finding
D.J. Jones for a 55-yard touchdown pass and the Bisons answering with a 66-yard touchdown run by Zach Shelley. Harding upped their lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter, but the Dawgs had an answer when a deep pass from Evans to
JR Omigie setup a one-yard touchdown rush by
Karltrell Henderson that made it 21-13 with 4:30 to play in the opening half.
SWOSU came up with a defensive stop and regained possession late in the first half, but a pass from Evans to Omigie was tipped up in the air and intercepted by Harding and the Bisons capitalized with a score right before halftime to go up 28-13 at the break.
Harding got the ball to open the second half and took their second play 58 yards for a touchdown, making it 35-13 as the Bisons threatened to turn the game into a blowout. SWOSU's defense, however, had other plans as
Michael Adefolarin forced a fumble on Harding's next drive and
Navajo Smith recovered and returned it to give the Dawgs the ball in Harding territory. On the ensuing play, Evans went deep to Jones and connected for a 46-yard touchdown pass that made it 35-20 with 8:27 to play in the third.
After another defensive stop, SWOSU had the chance to make it a one possession game, but had another long touchdown pass from Evans to Jones called back due to holding and the Dawgs were forced to punt instead.
The next drive for Harding was halted by a penalty, allowing SWOSU to go on an eight-play drive that covered 87 yards in 3:10 and capped with a seven-yard touchdown plunge by Henderson that made it a one-score game, 35-27, with 7:49 to play.
Needing one stop to give their offense a chance to tie the game, the Bulldogs defense forced Harding into a third-and-eight on their first set of downs before the Bisons converted with one of their four completed passes in the game. SWOSU then forced the Bisons into a fourth-and-three, but Harding was able to convert after a timeout and moved the chains once again.
A penalty on first down had Harding facing first-and-25 at the SWOSU 41, but the Bisons had runs of nine yards on first and second down before quarterback Park Parish broke off a 23-yard touchdown run to put the game away at 42-27 with 2:23 to play.
Harding rushed for 506 yards against the Bulldogs while totaling 560 yards of total offense, but SWOSU had the most success any team has had against the Bisons through the air by throwing for 335 yards. Conversely, however, the Dawgs were limited to a season-low 43 rush yards on 17 attempts.
Marc Evans was 20-for-33 passing for 335 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He found
D.J. Jones four times for 136 yards and two scores while connecting with
Derrick Styles a team-best five times for 39 yards.
JR Omigie and
Collin Bricker added three receptions apiece, while
Karltrell Henderson carried the ball 13 times for 29 yards and two touchdowns.
Three members of the SWOSU defense had 10 or more tackles, led by
Dominic Blue, who had 13 tackles – seven solo – while making his first career start.
Deric Robertson, the reigning GAC Defensive Player of the Week, had 10 solo tackles among his 12 stops and the GAC's leading tackler,
Conner Bays, added 11 stops to his season total, which now stands at 102 as he has surpassed the 100-tackle mark in back-to-back seasons.
"I'm very proud of these guys, they don't know how to give up," SWOSU Head Coach
Dan Cocannouer said during his postgame interview. "They've showed that all year, even going back to the beginning of the season. Harding is a great opponent and we played them about as tough as anybody has all year. I'm disappointed with the loss but very proud of my team."
The defeat snaps a four-game winning streak for the Bulldogs and an eight-game winning streak in the month of October that dated back to last season. SWOSU is now 4-5 (4-5 GAC) on the year with home games against Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State the next two weeks to conclude the regular season.
