The Bisons clawed their way to a victory over Arkansas Tech University 28-17 on Saturday at Thone Stadium in Russellville, Ark.
The Bisons looked to continue their season on Saturday by defeating 5-4 Arkansas Tech. Harding came into the game with a two-game winning streak and a shot at playing in the Live United Bowl in Texarkana on Dec. 7.
On the first drive of the game, Harding drove 75 yards in 17 plays, taking an early 7-0 lead over Tech. After the quick start, the Bisons hit a wall and struggled in scoring.
“This was the third week in a row we saw a base 4-2 defense and I think we were starting to get frustrated that we couldn’t execute like we wanted to,” junior quarterback Keenan Kellett said. “But they came out fired up at home on their senior day and we put up enough points and at the end, we won.”
Kellett rushed for 79 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, bringing his total to 12 rushing touchdowns for the year and tying him with Mike Vanlandingham for second-most in school history.
Kellett said Harding managed to put together some nice drives in the second half to help seal the victory.
“The defense has been playing great,” Kellett said. “You know anytime the defense can create turnovers and even put up points, in addition to what the offense is doing, you have to like our chances of winning the football game.”
Harding’s defense allowed three yards rushing over the last two weeks and has been putting consistent pressure on the quarterback going into the game against Tech. That continued on Saturday as the Bisons allowed 46 yards of rushing.
“We knew we had to stop their run game early and force them to beat us with their struggling passing game; we held them to about 44 yards rushing but gave up some passing touchdowns,” senior safety Phil Mion said. “Overall, we played great defense and made big stops when we needed to.”
Mion grabbed two of the three turnovers Saturday, even returning one of them 94 yards for his first touchdown with six seconds left in the quarter, giving the Bisons a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Mion said with the offense struggling, they were on the field a lot Saturday, and said he was proud the defense manned up and had the offenses back.
The Bisons finished 8-2, placing them second in the Great American Conference and giving them the outright bid to play in the Texarkana Live United Bowl game on Dec. 7. Harding will find out who they play this Wednesday.
“We are excited about playing in this bowl game,” Mion said. “It’s just another chance to make memories with my brotherhood.”
