ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - No. 20 Henderson State led No. 10 Harding at halftime, 9-7, before the Bisons outscored the Reddies in the second half, 20-7, to leave Carpenter-Haygood Stadium with the 27-16 victory.
After both teams were tied in total yards at half, 146-146, HU (4-0) outgained Henderson (3-1) over the final 30 minutes, 217 to 98. Harding's run-heavy offense won the time-of-possession battle, 40:03 to 19:57.
Andrew Edwards continues to take care of the ball as the GAC's leader in interceptions was unable to pick off the Bentonville, Arkansas, product, going 15-of-28 for 190 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for a team-high 24 yards. Wide receivers
Timieone Jackson and
Chris Hatzis caught 13 of Edwards' 15 completions for a combined 178 yards.
The Reddies raced out to a 9-0 lead behind great special teams plays that saw a recovered Harding-muffed punt and a failed Harding fake punt. Off the first turnover, HSU kicker
Kolby King made his only field goal of the night with a season-long 38 yard attempt to give the game its first points.
Henderson's defense recorded another Bison stop before spoiling their fake punt early in the second quarter until HSU had its own turnover-on-downs at Harding's one-yard line to keep the score at 3-0. After another Harding punt, however, the Reddies were able to get their first touchdown of the contest thanks to a seven-play, 76-yard drive resulting in an eight-yard pass to Jackson, while a missed extra-point brought the count to 9-0.
Harding quickly responded with a touchdown drive of their own as the red-and-gray took the 9-7 advantage to the locker room. The Bisons' clock-draining offense came to life at the start of the third, as their first drive of the third period took 6:38 before a two-yard plunge gave the black-and-gold its first lead of the evening, 13-9.
The Reddies remained neck-and-neck with the Bisons after a touchdown-drive of 79 yards flipped the lead once more. From there, Henderson's offense saw three straight punts to close the game as Harding claimed two touchdowns on two more drives to take the in-state showdown, 27-16.
Henderson St. ended the night going 2-of-11 on third downs while Harding was successful on seven of its 15 such tries. The Bisons' top rushing attack in the nation racked up 353 rushing yards to HSU's 54.
The No. 20 Reddies will now head to Shawnee, Oklahoma, to take on Oklahoma Baptist in a matchup of 3-1 teams Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. Last time matching up with the Bison in the Sooner State, Henderson won on a walk-off field goal, 36-34.
