November 23rd, 2024 7:30pm
Defending national champion Harding completely dominated Pittsburg State in a first round playoff win Saturday afternoon. The Bisons took a quarter to get going, but once they broke through with a scoring drive early in the second quarter, they would never look back. Harding added second quarter points with drives of 75, 85 and 73 yards to take a 24-3 lead into halftime. The Gorillas had no response in the second half as the Bisons poured on four second half touchdowns to complete the day with 48 unanswered points. The Bisons posted 585 yards of total offense from 72 snaps while limitting the Gorillas to just 148 yards from 48 snaps. Harding had five players with more than 65 rushing yards. The Bisons will now turn their attention to No. 2 seed Grand Valley State who defeated Indianapolis in a first round match up.
Harding University's football team delivered a convincing 48-3 victory over Pittsburg State in the NCAA Division II Playoffs on Saturday at Carnie Smith Stadium.
With the win, Harding improves to 11-1 overall and advances to face Grand Valley State next Saturday at noon in Allendale, Michigan. Pittsburg State falls to 8-3.
The Bisons' rushing attack was unstoppable, amassing 518 yards (11th-most in program history and most ever in a playoff game) and a Harding play-off game record 585 total yards (18th all-time). In contrast, Harding's defense held Pittsburg State to a mere 148 yards, including 39 rushing and 109 passing yards.
Pittsburg State opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, but Harding responded with a dominating performance, scoring 48 unanswered points. Andrew Miller's 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave Harding a 7-3 lead, followed by Darius Brown's 75-yard reverse for a touchdown, the team's longest rushing play this season.
Jeremiah Jordan's interception and 54-yard return set up Cole Keylon's 3-yard touchdown run, increasing Harding's lead to 21-3. James Satterfield's 26-yard field goal gave the Bisons a 24-3 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Harding continued to pull away, with Miller scoring his second touchdown, followed by a 50-yard touchdown pass from Keylon to Brown. Stone Sheffield sealed the win with a 9-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Blake Delacruz led Harding's rushing attack with 89 yards on 15 carries, while Miller added 88 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. Harding's defense held strong, allowing just 112 yards in the first half and 148 total yards.