One play kept Harding and Henderson State from meeting in the Great American Conference "Game of the Year."
Instead, they'll meet in the GAC "Game of the Week" when Henderson hosts Harding for homecoming at 3 p.m. Saturday at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia.
Henderson (7-0, 6-0 GAC) is ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25. The Reddies are the two-time defending GAC champions and have won 30 consecutive regular-season games, including 27 in conference play.
Harding (5-1, 5-1) had its school-record nine-game winning streak broken Saturday in a 31-28 overtime loss to unbeaten Ouachita (6-0, 6-0).
The Tigers forced overtime on a 15-yard touchdown pass by senior quarterback Kiehl Frazier with no time remaining in regulation, then a two-point run by Frazier.
Although Harding is ranked No. 23 in the AFCA poll, the Bisons will have to topple the GAC's most dominant program to remain in the conference and playoff races.
"That's probably good, honestly," Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba said. "You can't sit around and lick your wounds with the Reddies coming up."
Henderson -- by its lofty standards -- struggled the past two weeks on the road, outlasting Southwestern Oklahoma (28-14) and Arkansas Tech (24-3).
The Reddies had scored at least 60 points in three of their first five games this fall, but averaged only 376 total yards the past two weeks -- well below their 500.7 season average.
Henderson Coach Scott Maxfield said his team wasn't as crisp in the 14- and 21-point victories, in part, because opponents were giving the Reddies different looks defensively.
"You've just go to work through it," Maxfield said. "You can't be 100 percent sharp every game. Luckily, we've played just good enough to win. I don't know if we're spoiled because of the success we've had, but I know there's a lot of years that I would have been grateful to win by that."
Henderson's Spread attack is paced by senior quarterback Kevin Rodgers and senior wide receiver Darius Davis, the state's all-time college leaders in passing yards and receiving yards, respectively.
Rodgers has completed 179 of 263 passes for 2,144 yards and 22 touchdowns this fall. Davis has 36 receptions for 813 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Harding overwhelms opponents with the top rushing attack in NCAA Division II, averaging 405.2 yards per game from an option-based Double-Slot scheme that mirrors Navy and Georgia Tech.
Fullback Romo Westbrook, a senior from Marion, is the GAC's second-leading rusher with 688 yards and 6 touchdowns on just 91 carries.
Westbrook scored on a 92-yard run against OBU, equaling the longest play from scrimmage in Harding history.
Maxfield said discipline is imperative Saturday because Harding's army of backs -- nine players have at least 126 rushing yards -- can turn innocent plays into big plays because defenders are out of position.
"We see this offense once a year," Maxfield said. "It's very difficult to prepare for. It changes your whole thought process of defensive strategy. It's more of an assignment style."
Echoing Huckeba, Maxfield said Henderson needs a victory Saturday to maintain a sterling playoff resume.
Henderson concludes the regular season Nov. 15 against OBU in the "Battle of the Ravine," meaning a three-way tie for the GAC title is still in play in late October.
Harding finished the regular season 8-2 last fall but missed the playoffs because its regional ranking wasn't high enough.
"Really, from this point forward, us, Harding and OBU, it's a sudden-death playoff every week," Maxfield said. "You don't want to take it out of your hands and put it in somebody else's hands."
Sports on 10/24/2014