The Bisons (6-1) go up against Southeastern Oklahoma State University Storm (SEOSU) (5-3) at First Security Stadium, Saturday, Nov. 1. Southeastern comes into Searcy riding a four game winning streak and will look to spoil Harding’s Homecoming.
“Every chance to play is special, but we are very excited about playing in front of a homecoming crowd,” secondary coach Luke Tribble said. “There will be a lot of former Bisons in the crowd who haven’t watched us play in a while, and we always want to play in a way that makes those guys proud.”
Tribble said it will not be hard to get the team focused for this week’s game because not only is it Homecoming, but they are also playing a team that has found a groove winning four straight.
Harding is coming off of an emotional victory over Henderson State University who was ranked No. 4 in the AFCA poll at the time. The Bisons are looking to move forward and put up another good performance in front of the homecoming crowd.
“It’s easy to be complacent when you’ve just come off of such an emotional victory,” junior linebacker Jordan Cantrell said. “I think the defense has to treat this game like a playoff game, because ultimately that is what it is.”
Over the last two games the Bisons defense has competed against two quarterbacks who have thrown for more than 1,000 yards and 10-plus touchdowns. The story does not change this week as SEOSU quarterback, Ryan Polite, has thrown for 1,814 yards and 14 touchdowns so far through eight games.
“Southeastern is a great team despite their record. I mean two of the three losses were by six points or less,” Cantrell said. “They are very well balanced in both run and pass collectively, and we will need to play sound assignment football.”
Cantrell said they have an elusive quarterback and arguably one of the best running backs in the conference. Cantrell said they will be ready to play with unmatched pursuit and get the win in convincing fashion.
Harding’s offense faces a defense in SEOSU that is towards the bottom of the conference in total defense, ranking 8th out of 10 teams. They allow an average of 398.1 yards a game. Harding’s surpasses that with an average of 473.3 yards of total offense a game this year.
“We need to take it to them and play with a physical attitude like we have all season long,” senior Ahmad Scott said.
Scott said he personally needs to make sure he plays just as dominate without the ball as he does with it.
Last week Scott was named Great American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week with a 98-yard kick return against Henderson State, proving how vital all three phases of the game can be.
“I plan on continuing to be a factor on special teams along with my other teammates,” Scott said. “Special teams are a big influence in big games, and I think if we continue making it a positive factor, then we have a better chance of winning.”
The Bisons moved up in the AFCA poll from No. 23 to No. 17 and are ranked No. 9 in the DII NCAA regional rankings. The Bisons will need to be in the top six in the region to get a bid for the NCAA DII playoffs.
