The Bisons got off to a good start Saturday night, with a win over Southwestern Oklahoma State University Bulldogs 42-6 at First Security Stadium in the team’s season opener.
In Hardin’s 2013 season opener, they lost a nail-biter to SWOSU, which marked one of the Bisons two losses all year. Harding dominated on both sides of the ball, outgaining the Bulldogs 485-196. The Bisons gained 324 of those yards on the ground, while hold the Bulldogs to only 29 yards rushing.
“It was more redemption for us than revenge,” head coach Ronnie Huckeba said. “We felt like we should’ve won the game (against Southwestern) last year, but didn’t play well enough to do that. So it was a good feeling to get the win this time around.”
The Bisons were led offensively by senior running back Romo Westbrook, who carried 16 times for 99 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Keenan Kellett also had a strong first outing, going 7 for 11 passing with 161 yards and 2 touchdowns, as well as carrying 12 times for 40 yards on the ground.
The Bisons defense, led by junior linebacker Jordan Cantrell, held the Bulldogs to only 98 total yards in the second half. Cantrell registered seven tackles and recovered a bad Bulldogs’ snap on the third play of the game to set up the Bisons’ first drive on the SWOSU one-yard line. Senior cornerback Devonte Britt starred in the secondary, finishing with a total of 6 tackles including two for loss in his first collegiate start. When it came to the game plan and its execution, Huckeba said it started with the players.
“We have talented kids,” Huckeba said. “They played with great passion and great pad level all night. Stopping the run was one our biggest concerns because doing that made them more one dimensional and gave us the ability to rush the passer and force them into turnovers.”
Thanks to the defense and those turnovers, the Bisons got off to a quick start in game one. After Cantrell recovered the errant snap on the third play, Senior Ahmad Scott punched it in from four yards out to put the Bisons on the board first. The Bulldogs next drive went for a quick three-and-out, and it took Harding only three plays to strike again, scoring on a Westbrook 12-yard scamper, the 20th touchdown of his career, which made it 14-0 only three minutes into the game.
The Bisons made it 21-0 on a 25-yard Kellett touchdown pass to junior Eric Kelly. Despite a Bulldog touchdown at the end of the half, the Bisons took a 21-6 advantage into the locker room and ran away with it in the second half, with touchdowns from senior wide receiver Donatella Luckett, senior fullback Alapeti Magalei and junior quarterback Park Parrish.
Coach Huckeba said that wins like these give a ton of momentum to start the year.
“It’s a lot easier to carry momentum after a win rather than a loss,” Huckeba said. “We have a good feeling about this team right now, but we know we face a tough challenge on the road next week in Alva, so we have to get ready for that.”
The Bisons play away the next two weeks, this Saturday, Sept. 13, against Northwestern Oklahoma State University at 1p.m. and Sept. 20 at Southern Nazarene University. They won’t return to First Security Stadium until Oct. 4 when they face Southern Arkansas University.
