The Great American Conference is only at its halfway point this fall, but the championship may be decided Saturday when Henderson hosts Harding at 2 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia.
Both teams are 5-0 and ranked in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.
Henderson is No. 5, Harding is No. 16.
"It's certainly one of the biggest games I've been in since I've been here," said Ronnie Huckeba, in his 10th season as Harding's coach.
Harding is seeking its first conference championship since winning the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference title in 1989.
A Henderson victory would give the Reddies the inside track to their second consecutive GAC title and fourth since the league was formed in 2011.
Henderson is 45-4 in GAC games, landing league championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Cross-street rival Ouachita Baptist was GAC champion in 2011 and 2014.
"We've been in a lot of big games over the years," Reddies Coach Scott Maxfield said. "I can't remember many times playing Harding that either one of us went into it with a losing record or not in the conference championship race at this time of the year. It's been a big game every year."
Harding beat Henderson 28-24 at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in 2014, ending the Reddies' 30-game regular-season winning streak and 27-game GAC winning streak.
Henderson won last year's meeting in Searcy, 22-17. The Reddies were limited to 90 rushing yards in that game.
The Bisons are leading NCAA Division II in rushing offense (369 yards per game) and total defense (199.0) this fall. Maxfield said Harding's defense is the school's best since he arrived at Henderson in 2005.
"I think this is the most talented defensive group he's had," Maxfield said. "And one of the reasons is he's got eight seniors that start on defense. All of those guys are pretty much three-year starters, all eight of them. Very talented, very seasoned, lot of experience. They're an outstanding unit."
Maxfield said sophomore quarterback Andrew Black and senior tailback Jaquan Cole, both held out of last week's 27-20 victory at Arkansas Tech because of "nagging injuries," will be full speed Saturday.
Cole was the 2015 GAC Offensive Player of the Year.
OUACHITA BAPTIST
Tough to swallow
Ouachita Baptist's hopes for a third GAC title since the league formed in 2011 took a major hit with last week's 24-20 loss at unbeaten Harding.
But Ouachita Coach Todd Knight bragged on his team's effort, noting the Tigers (3-2) were "crippled" physically and limited NCAA Division II's top rushing attack to almost 200 yards below its season average.
Ouachita, which led 20-17 in the fourth quarter, was playing its first game without standout senior wide receiver/kick returner Ke'vontae Pope, who is lost for the season with a torn ACL, Knight said.
"We've got three ACLs and a broken leg," Knight said. "But again, nobody's going around crying about it. I thought we did pretty good when you consider everything. That's why I'm so proud of the kids."
Harding (5-0) entered averaging 407.5 rushing yards per game.
But the Bisons, based out of an option-oriented Double-Slot formation, had only 116 yards before senior quarterback Park Parish's 75-yard run to the 2 midway through the fourth quarter.
Parish scored the game-winning touchdown on the following play.
The Bisons finished with 215 rushing yards.
Harding Coach Ronnie Peacock said Ouachita did a "good job" taking away the fullback (senior Michael Latu was held to 45 yards on 13 carries) and perimeter game.
"They always do a great job of defending us," Peacock said. "Todd has a background in this offense, and he understands what we're trying to do. I said earlier in the week that it doesn't matter who their defensive coordinator is. I know Todd is involved. They do a good job of taking away what we like to do and really have to make us work for the yards."
Six of the last seven games in the series have been decided by five points or less.
Ouachita, which won GAC titles in 2011 and 2014, hosts Arkansas Tech (2-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
Another close call
Six of Arkansas-Monticello's last nine games dating to last season have been decided by seven points or less.
UAM was on the right end of its latest close call, rallying to beat Oklahoma Baptist 31-27 last week at home.
"It was a big for us," Boll Weevils Coach Hud Jackson said. "We've now got a chance to get to 3-3."
UAM (2-3, 2-3) has dropped several close games the last two seasons, including 20-17 to Ouachita Baptist and 21-18 to East Central Oklahoma in 2015 and 59-56 to Northwestern Oklahoma in the 2016 opener.
But UAM beat Southwestern Oklahoma 35-28 in Week 2 and drove 77 yards in nine plays for its game-winning touchdown last week -- an 18-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Cole Sears to junior wide receiver Jalen Tolliver with 3:34 remaining to play.
"We're really close," Jackson said. "It was big to win it that way because of the close games we've lost."
UAM can post consecutive victories for the first time since October 2013 on Saturday at winless Southern Nazarene.
UAM, which beat the Crimson Storm 51-10 last fall, also can match its combined victory total from the last two seasons if they win.
"Everybody has a lot to play for," Jackson said.
Sports on 10/07/2016