Harding Football Game Notes
SEARCY - Harding opens its 60th season of intercollegiate football Saturday when it hosts Southern Arkansas for a 6 p.m. kickoff at First Security Stadium. The Bisons have a 269-282-18 all-time record. It will be Harding's 11th season in the Gulf South Conference, although Saturday's game with SAU will NOT be a GSC game. Harding's conference schedule begins Sept. 16 at West Georgia. The Bisons are 40-46 all-time in GSC games.
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Season Openers
Harding is 36-20-3 (.636) all-time in 59 previous season-openers. The Bisons have won seven of their last eight openers, including a 17-15 victory over Missouri Southern last season in Searcy. The only loss during that stretch was a 45-31 defeat at Missouri Southern in 2008. Harding has never played Southern Arkansas in a season opener. The Bisons are 8-2 in openers since 2000.
Coach Huck
Harding is in its fourth season under head coach Ronnie Huckeba. Now in his 25th season as a coach at Harding, Huckeba has a 12-18 overall record as head coach. Under Coach Huck, the Bisons are 3-3 in non-conference games and 8-7 in home games. Harding is 1-1 under Huckeba in season openers.
Preseason GSC Poll
Harding was picked to finish 10th of 11 teams in the GSC Preseason Coaches' Poll. North Alabama is the preseason favorite in the conference. Southern Arkansas was selected ninth.
The Series with Southern Arkansas
Harding trails the all-time series with Southern Arkansas 25-20-1 overall. The Bisons have won the last four meetings, six of the last eight and 11 of the last 15. SAU holds a 14-9-1 advantage in games played in Searcy, but Harding has won the last two.
Harding vs. SAU – Last Meeting
Harding defeated Southern Arkansas 26-16 on Oct. 3, 2009 in Magnolia. The Bisons took a 10-0 lead into halftime on a 43-yard Micah Canterbury field goal and a 30-yard touchdown pass from Chaz Rogers to Zac Ross. Following an SAU touchdown in the third quarter, Dominic Blood scored from two yards out to put Harding ahead 17-7. Another Rogers-to-Ross touchdown pass of 16 yards and a 32-yard Canterbury field goal in the fourth quarter sealed the win.
Rogers, who replaced injured starter Josh Powell, rushed for 65 yards on 19 carries and completed 19-of-34 passes for 236 yards. Ross had seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns. The Bisons had three interceptions in the game, all by senior defensive back Josh Jones.
Southern Arkansas quarterback Austin Civita completed 16-of-31 passes for 170 yards but threw two of the interceptions. Harding's defense limited Southern Arkansas to only 294 total yards, the Bison defense's best effort of the season.
2010 Coaching Staff
Harding welcomes two new full-time coaches to its 2010 coaching staff—Luke Cullins, formerly at Riverview High School in Searcy, who will coach wide receivers, and Scott Symons, a graduate assistant at Harding for the last two seasons, who will coach cornerbacks and rovers and coordinate recruiting. Below is the 2010 coaching staff:
· Ronnie Huckeba – Head Coach
· Lee Edwards – Offensive Coordinator/QB
· Paul Simmons – Defensive Coordinator/DL
· Dr. Clay Beason – Special Teams Coordinator/Strength Coach/Safeties
· Luke Cullins – Wide Receivers
· Klay Bartee – Linebackers
· Scott Symons – Secondary/Recruiting
· GA Kenny Wheaton – Running Backs
· GA Kevin Chism – Offensive Line/Video
· GA Cade Caton – Receivers
· GA Rocky Hall – Strong Safeties
· SA Vince Daugherty – Defense
· SA Kyle Evans – Offense
The Roster
Harding currently has 116 players on its roster, 75 active players and 41 red-shirts. Below is a breakdown of the 2010 Harding Football active roster:
· Class: Seniors (17), Juniors (15), Sophomores (18), True Freshmen (6), Redshirt Freshmen (19).
· Harding has eight seniors who have been with the Bisons throughout their collegiate careers: WR Jordan Watson, WR Kurt Adams, DB Steve Hudson, DL Jermaine Blanchard, LB Jason Thomasson, DL Marcus Jones, P Micah Canterbury and DL Ray Hatfield.
· Harding's six true freshmen are: DB Derrick Bradshaw, RB Colton Kamper, OL David Lee, OL Alex Guth, OL Patrick Bingham and WR Trey Gavin.
· The Bisons have 39 offensive players, 31 defensive players, and five special teams players on the opening day roster.
· Offensively, Harding has four quarterbacks, 13 running backs, eight wide receivers and 14 offensive linemen.
· Defensively, the Bisons have 11 defensive linemen, six linebackers and 14 defensive backs.
· Deep snapper Darby Palmer, K Adin Menkin, P/K Tanner Dykema, P Kris Barnes and P/K Micah Canterbury are the five special teams players.
· Harding's active roster has student-athletes from 13 different states. The leaders are Texas (19), Arkansas (16), Tennessee (16), California (7) and Florida (7).
Non-conference Matchups
The SAU game is the first of two non-conference games for the 2010 season. The Bisons are 19-8 in non-conference games since joining the NCAA in 1997. Last season, Harding went 2-1 in non-conference games with wins over Missouri Southern and Southwest Baptist.
Next Time Out
Harding's next action is on the road against West Georgia in Carrollton on Sept. 16. The game will be telecast regionally as part of the GSC-TV package on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast. It is the second game of the eight-game package. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. Central Time.
Who's Back
Harding has 38 letterwinners returning off last seasons' team that finished 5-6 overall, 3-5 (8th place) in the Gulf South Conference. Harding returns five players who started last season on offense and seven on defense.
Home, Sweet, Home
Harding will play six home games at First Security Stadium for the second straight season. The Bisons are 34-17 (.667) at home since 2000.
