Harding's hole: Simmons establishes himself after 0-3 debut

SEARCY -- Paul Simmons won't forget his first three games as head coach of Harding University's football team.

The third game, especially, is one Simmons won't be able to wash away.

The Bisons, full of high expectations going into last season, had blown a 14-point lead in the final minute of a home game against Great American Conference also-ran Southern Nazarene to fall to 0-3.

Players cried, coaches hung their heads, and Simmons went to a knee before addressing his stunned team after that 28-27 defeat.

"I was not down," Simmons said. "I was devastated."

The Bisons, coming off a 13-1 season that included two victories in the NCAA Division II playoffs, weren't prepared to start the season 0-3. Simmons, an 11-year assistant, was overwhelmed by the moment and the situation.

"I was scared to death the Bisons were going to fall apart on my watch," he said.

Simmons, who was succeeding the ultra-successful Ronnie Huckeba, didn't flinch. Neither did the players, but it doesn't mean they weren't second-guessing themselves.

"It's a vivid image," said All-GAC linebacker Sam Blankenship, talking about the aftermath of the Southern Nazarene loss. "Guys crying. I remember thinking, 'Man, is this how the seniors are going to go out?' "

"0-3," center Bryce Bray said. "We thought our goals and dreams were crushed."

"0-3, 0-3, 0-3," defensive end T.J. Winslow said. "It was horrible. It was hard."

Simmons tried to console his players, but he didn't have the answers.

"Men, I know most of the time you get what you deserve," said Winslow, recalling Simmons' postgame speech. "I don't know why this is happening."

It was two days later, with the temperature in the 90s and the humidity in the 50s, when players and coaches saw something different.

"When the kids took the field, they were on fire," Simmons said. "When I watched that practice, I thought, 'We're going to be OK.' "

The players remember the practice, but they also recall how they felt in the locker room before heading to the field.

"That was a practice when none of us felt like practicing," Blankenship said.

"We were confused," Winslow said of the atmosphere before practice. "No one laughing, no one smiling."

Players said some of the seniors got together before hitting the field and decided to suck it up and practice like they were going to win the national championship.

To this day, some of the Bisons aren't sure whether several of the ringleaders were faking their enthusiasm a little bit.

"But you could see it happen like flicking a switch," Winslow said. "It was hot, humid, and we were flying around."

The march from an 0-3 start to 11 victories in a row had begun.

There was a victory at Oklahoma Baptist after being tied at halftime; a wild 56-46 win over the University of Arkansas-Monticello when Boll Weevils receiver Jalen Tolliver caught 5 touchdown passes; and a 31-28 victory over eventual conference champ Ouachita Baptist University.

Then, a stretch of four victories over Oklahoma foes when the Bisons outscored their rivals 162-3.

Still, it didn't look like it would be good enough.

"We thought, maybe, we might get a bowl game," Bray said. "But it was crazy how certain teams had to lose to the right teams, and other teams had to beat the right teams."

A 24-17 victory over Arkansas Tech University in the regular-season finale catapulted the Bisons to No. 7 in the Region 3 poll and a spot, just barely, into the Division II playoffs.

Three road victories followed, but their run hit a speed bump the Monday before the Bisons' semifinal matchup against eventual national champ Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Simmons was informed that starting quarterback Terrence Dingle, one of the keys to the Bisons' charge, had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA for failing a postgame drug test in one of the earlier playoff games.

Dingle's replacement, redshirt freshman Preston Paden, hadn't played a meaningful down of football since his high school days. He was asked to take control of the Bisons' ball-control Flexbone offense, one that averaged more than 35 minutes in possession time.

Harding lost 31-17, but there were no fingers pointing at Paden.

"He didn't flinch," Simmons said of his quarterback, who will be the starter when Harding opens its season Thursday at Henderson State University. "He's a no-flinch kind of guy."

Paden said he was more excited than nervous when told he would start the semifinal playoff game, after spending two years as a sideline spectator.

"It's nothing to get nervous about," said Paden, 5-11, 195, from Burleson, Texas. "I've got a big game under my belt."

Harding has five returning starters on offense -- starting guards Keith and Heath Pledger, Bray, wide receiver Bobby Green and fullback Cole Chancey (252-1,337 rushing, 15 TDs). Chancey led the GAC in rushing as a freshman.

It will be the defense, which struggled early last season with nine new starters, that is expected to keep the Bisons competitive if the offense sputters.

"We've got a chance to be really good on defense," Simmons said.

The Bisons' offense, which averaged 341.9 yards on the ground and less than 50 yards per game passing, is an oddity in this age of spread 'em out and throw it around.

The return of running back Romar Reades from a Week 2 season-ending injury adds experience and production to the backfield. Reades (5-8, 205, Pine Bluff) rushed for 486 yards and 7 touchdowns as a freshman.

"Everyone knows what you're going to get from us," Bray said. "It comes down to how well we execute."

Simmons now knows what to expect when the foundation shakes and you as head football coach.

The support Simmons received from fans, members of his church, the letters he received from former players, the encouragement phoned in from friends in the coaching community, reassured him that maybe the Bisons aren't going to fall apart on his watch.

But he said a fear of failure pushes him to never take anything for granted.

"I do feel a little more prepared," he said, shaking his head when asked what he would have thought about finishing his first season 11-4 after the 0-3 start. "To say it's unbelievable is not right. It's just incredible."

Sports on 08/27/2018