Comeback Bisons

After losing their first three games, most concluded the end of the regular season would be the end of the road for the 2017 Bisons football team. But the Bisons went on a roll, responding with eight-straight wins including a 24-17 road victory over Arkansas Tech University in Russellville in the regular season finale.

The Bisons, under first-year head coach Paul Simmons, had only appeared in the NCAA’s Super Region 3 Rankings a couple of weeks earlier. The Bisons were not in the super region top 10 in the first rankings release but appeared at No. 10 when the winning streak reached six games. A victory over East Central (Oklahoma) the following week in the final home game pushed Harding up to No. 7. With seven teams reaching the playoffs in Super Region 3, the victory over Tech sealed the Bisons’ second-straight and fourth overall trip to the NCAA Playoffs.

The team received the No. 7 seed and began a postseason journey that carried them almost 5,000 miles through four road playoff games and the deepest run into the playoffs any Harding team has ever made.

The Bisons’ playoff opener came at the No. 2 seed University of Indianapolis on Nov. 18. The Greyhounds entered the game 11-0 and champions of the Great Lakes Valley Conference with Division II’s longest winning streak at 15 games, an 11-game home winning streak, and Division II’s most efficient passing attack.

Indianapolis junior quarterback Jake Purichia had thrown only two interceptions all season. Against the Bisons, he threw two interceptions on the first drive. Harding linebacker Sam Blankenship intercepted a pass on the Bison goal line but fumbled the ball on the return. Three plays later, Christian Witt intercepted Purichia again.

The weather pregame included 25-mph winds and rain blowing sideways. It calmed a bit during the early part of the game, and Harding held a 14-10 lead with 5:32 left in the second quarter when weather struck again. Lightning in the area forced a delay of more than two hours as teams returned to the locker room for what turned out to be a very long almost-halftime. When the storm cleared, the teams returned to the field, and the game stayed tight.

With 13:38 left in the game, Purichia completed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Malik Higgins to give Indianapolis a 24-21 lead. The Bisons forced the Greyhounds to punt on their next drive, but the punt pinned Harding at its own 4-yard line with 10:28 left. The Bisons covered the 96 yards in only three plays: a 68-yard run by Grant Kimberlin, a 3-yard run by Cole Chancey, and a 25-yard touchdown run by Terrence Dingle to put Harding ahead 27-24 with 9:09 left.

Indianapolis drove to the Harding 1-yard line and had second-and-goal when the Bisons called timeout with 2:05 left on the clock. Harding stuffed running back Al McKeller, who rushed for 144 yards in the game, for a 1-yard loss on second down. Purichia fumbled the shotgun snap on third down and fumbled the snap again as the holder on a potential game-tying field goal.

Harding took over, ran out the clock, and began getting ready for the second leg of the playoff journey a week later in Ashland, Ohio.

Freshman fullback Cole Chancey rushed 29 times for 165 yards and tied a school record with four rushing touchdowns to lead Harding to a 34-24 victory over ninth-ranked Ashland.

The Bison defense limited the Eagles to only 70 rushing yards and sacked All-America quarterback Travis Tarnowski four times.

With the victory, the team began preparation for the Super Region 3 championship game, which also served as the national quarterfinals.

Ferris State, who finished second behind Ashland in the GLIAC, was the next opponent, and again the Bisons were on the road. This time the destination was Big Rapids, Michigan.

The Bisons controlled the ball for more than 41 minutes in the game, rushed for 303 yards, and drove 62 yards late in the game to set up Tristan Parsley’s 20-yard, game-winning field goal with no time left. The kick gave Harding a 16-14 win, its first Super Region championship, and its 11th-straight victory.

The defense again was solid in the game, limiting Ferris State to only 221 yards, forcing two turnovers, and sacking Bulldog quarterback Reggie Bell four times.

The storybook season came to an end in Commerce, Texas, on Dec. 9. Texas A&M- Commerce quarterback Luis Perez, the Harlon Hill Award winner as the best player in Division II football, passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 34-24 victory in a game streamed worldwide on ESPN3.

Senior slot back Grant Kimberlin had his best game as a Bison, rushing for 107 yards on nine carries with a 51-yard touchdown run. He also caught three passes for 60 more yards.

With the loss, the team ended with an 11-4 record one season after the Bisons went 13-1 and reached the national quarterfinals. Even though they progressed farther than last year’s team, they were ranked sixth — the same as the 2016 team — by the American Football Coaches Association poll. Harding’s 24 wins over the last two seasons are more than any other team in Division II.

Harding’s offense set a school record with 5,128 rushing yards, and Chancey broke all of Harding’s freshman rushing records, rushing for 1,337 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Two Harding players — junior linebacker Sam Blankenship and senior offensive lineman Gavin De Los Santos — earned first team All-America from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association and landed on the AP Division II All-America teams. It is the first time Harding has ever had two players named to the AP team in the same season.

The conclusion: Never count the Bisons out.