Oklahoma
No. 17 Harding keeps playoff hopes alive, beats Southwestern Oklahoma
No. 17 Harding remained within the hunt for the NCAA Division II Playoffs with a 37-29 street victory over Southwestern Oklahoma on Saturday at Milam Stadium.
With the victory, Harding improved to 8-2 total and within the Nice American Convention. The Bisons conclude the common season subsequent Saturday at dwelling in opposition to Arkansas Tech. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
Harding entered the sport ranked No. 8 within the NCAA Division II Tremendous Area 3 Rankings with the highest seven groups advancing to the NCAA II Playoffs.
Southwestern Oklahoma fell to Harding for the sixth straight time and dropped to 3-7 total. The Bulldogs’ loss was their fifth consecutive.
Southwestern led 23-21 with 11:23 left within the fourth quarter after the Bulldogs returned a blocked punt for a landing.
Harding then went on an 11-play, 70-yard drive with Jhalen Spicer scoring his second landing of the sport on a pitch round the correct aspect from 29 yards out. Quarterback Cole Keylon added a two-point conversion to offer the Bisons a 29-23 lead with 5:58 left.
Southwestern didn’t achieve a primary down on its subsequent possession and lined up in punt formation. Harding’s Jake Madding tackled the punter earlier than he may get the kick off and gave the Bisons the ball on the Southwestern 17.
4 performs later, Blake Delacruz scored on a 1-yard run, and Spicer added the two-point conversion to place the Bisons forward 37-23 with 2:33 left.
Southwestern added a late landing for the ultimate margin.
Harding rushed for 385 yards on 75 carries with Spicer main the way in which with 108 yards on seven carries and two touchdowns. Keylon rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries, and Delacruz had 82 yards on 18 totes.
Harding possessed the ball for greater than 41 minutes and transformed 6 of 12 third downs.
Harding led 14-10 at halftime with touchdowns approaching the Bisons’ first two possessions. Josh Jones scored from 3 yards out and Spicer had a 55-yard landing. Jones scored once more on a 1-yard dive on Harding’s first possession of the second half.
Clark Griffin led the protection with eight tackles, together with 1.5 tackles for loss. Dre Corridor had each of Harding’s sacks.
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