SEARCY -- Central Missouri Coach Jim Svoboda said his team's ability to counterpunch would be crucial in containing Harding's option-heavy double-slot offensive scheme.
Nearing the end of the fight, in this case, the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, it was Harding that delivered the knockout blows.
Quarterback Park Parish, a senior from Clinton, had 291 yards running and passing and accounted for three touchdowns in Harding's 48-31 victory over Central Missouri before an announced crowd of 2,107 on a sunny, windy Saturday afternoon at First Security Stadium.
Harding (12-0) is at Sioux Falls (12-0), a 34-21 winner over Azusa Pacific on Saturday, in a second-round game Nov. 26.
"We're trying our best to be humble about our success, but continue to be hungry as we go forward, and that takes us to Sioux Falls," Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba said. "I've always wanted to go to South Dakota."
Parish, the 2016 Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, ran 21 times for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns (4 and 41 yards) and completed 6 of 7 passes for a season-high 173 yards and 1 touchdown.
Parish's 41-yard touchdown run on one of Harding's signature midline option plays gave the Bisons a 41-31 lead -- the first two-score advantage for either team -- with 1:35 remaining in the third quarter.
On Harding's first possession of the fourth quarter, Parish found junior wide receiver Andrew Dather open at midfield on a slant pattern. Dather then outran two defenders into the end zone to complete an 81-yard touchdown with 10:16 remaining.
The Mules (9-3) could never get off the mat after standout senior quarterback Garrett Fugate suffered a knee injury on their next series.
Harding amassed 528 total yards, including 355 rushing, on 68 plays.
Senior slotback Eric Simmons ran 7 times for a career-high 91 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Simmons gave Harding the lead for good, 35-31, on an 18-yard touchdown run with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Senior fullback Michael Latu finished with 69 rushing yards and 1 touchdown (3 yards) on 16 carries.
Dather had four receptions for a career-high 149 yards.
"Just got have good eyes, good keys to read," Central Missouri junior safety Tevin Teamer said. "You've got to be disciplined throughout all four quarters, which we weren't."
The Bisons entered as the top rushing team in NCAA Division II (388.5 yards per game).
Harding finished 10 of 12 on third-down conversions, never punted and had a whopping 38:50-21:10 advantage in time of possession.
"You can come up with a plan to stop the triple," Huckeba said. "But if you've got a week to prepare for all the formations, and then you stop all the run game, then what do you do about the play-action pass? Today, the play-action pass was the counterpunch, in my opinion."
The victory continued Harding's season of firsts under Huckeba, 61, who will retire from coaching at the end of the season.
After securing the school's first Great American Conference title and first perfect regular season, the Bisons won their first playoff game since joining the NCAA in 1997.
Harding also became the first GAC program to record a postseason victory over the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, a conference that has produced seven NCAA Division II national champions since 1991.
The GAC, which was formed in 2011, had been 0-4 against the MIAA, including Harding's first-round road losses in 2012 and 2014.
"I think it's a really good statement for our conference," said Huckeba, Harding's coach since 2007. "That was a really fine football team today."
Central Missouri, the MIAA's third-place finisher, finished with 381 total yards on 57 plays.
Before leaving with 9:39 remaining in the game, Fugate completed 22 of 28 passes for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns (27, 23 and 25 yards) and rushed 12 times for 29 yards and 1 touchdown (13 yards).
The Mules scored two touchdowns and a field goal on their first three possessions. But the Bisons countered with touchdowns on their first three possessions (drives of 68, 70 and 78 yards) and a special-teams score to lead 28-24 at halftime.
Central Missouri was poised to take a 24-21 halftime lead after Fugate threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jaylen Zachery with 42 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Instead, Harding led 28-24 after senior Corey Bassett returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.
Central Missouri's only second-half touchdown came on a 25-yard pass from Fugate to junior wide receiver Kyle Echols with 8:36 remaining in the third quarter.
The touchdown, which gave Central Missouri a 31-28 lead, came eight plays after one of its few stops -- Parish was tackled 2 yards short of a first down on a fourth-and-3 keeper from the Mules' 42.
But Central Missouri didn't have enough counterpunches on defense to survive.
"They did a lot of looks at the line of scrimmage and saw what was available to them," Svoboda said. "They didn't have many bad plays today. They really executed at a high level. You've got to give them credit."
Sports on 11/20/2016