Harding Football vs. Ashland - GAME NOTES

[Seminole Indian]

Harding Bisons (9-3, 8-3) vs. #9 Ashland Eagles (11-1, 9-0)
Nov. 25, 2017 • 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT • Ashland, Ohio • Jack Miller Stadium

Game Story
Harding will make its second straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs round of 16 Saturday. The Bisons, No. 7 seed in Super Region Three, will travel to meet No. 3 seed Ashland, the regular season champion in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Kickoff at Jack Miller Stadium in Ashland, Ohio, will be at noon local time and 11 a.m. Central Time.

Harding is one of only four teams in NCAA Division II to reach the round of 16 in each of the last two seasons. The other three are Indiana (PA), Ferris State, and Texas A&M-Commerce. Only Harding and Ferris State have the chance to play in the national quarterfinal in consecutive seasons.

Harding is playing postseason football for the ninth time in program history. The Bisons played in NAIA bowls in 1972 (Cowboy) and 1976 (San Jacinto Shrine) and in the NAIA playoffs in 1989 and 1992. Harding has played in the NCAA II Playoffs in 2012 and 2014 and reached the national quarterfinals last season. The Bisons also played in the 2013 Live United Texarkana Bowl.

Harding enters the matchup on an nine-game winning streak, tied for the second longest in program history. The streak came after the Bisons opened the season with three consecutive losses.

Harding enters the game as the NCAA Division II leader in rushing yards per game (355. and rushing TD (46). Harding has rushed for more than 300 yards nine times this season and for 200 or more yards in 25 straight games.

The Bisons' defense has allowed only 17.3 points per game in its seven road games this season. In those games, Harding opponents have averaged 109.9 rushing yards and 169.9 passing yards.

Harding has outscored its opponents 112-28 off turnovers this season, including 98-14 in the last nine games.

Harding will be playing its third consecutive road game for the first time since starting the 2012 seasons with three straight road wins.

The Coaches
Harding's Paul Simmons is in his first season as the head coach of the Bisons. He is in his 12th season at Harding and had been Harding's defensive coordinator since 2010. Simmons was a three-time All-American defensive end and linebacker at Harding.

Lee Owens, a 1977 Bluffton graduate, is in his 15th season as head coach of the Eagles. He is 109-45 at Ashland and 149-106 in 23 seasons as a head coach. Owens coached at Akron from 1995-2003 and had a 40-61 record.

Series History
First meeting between Harding and Ashland

Home/Road Records
Harding is 6-1 on the road this season and has won its last six. The Bisons are 12-2 on the road in the last two seasons with four road wins coming against nationally ranked teams. Ashland is 6-0 at home this season and has won 11 straight at home.

Streaks, Trends and Records
Zach Shelley averages 8.8 yards per carry in his career, which is the highest among active players at any level in the NCAA (min. 2,000 yards) -- Bernard McDondle (Colorado St.-Pueblo) is second at 8.4 ... Shelley ranks fourth at Harding in career rushing yards (2,555) and fifth in career rushing TD (22) ... ranks seventh with 3,449 all-purpose yards, 372 behind Santiago Collins (3,821, 2000-03).

Harding has 4,270 rushing yards, second in program history behind only last season's 5,079 yards ... the Bisons have eclipsed 400 points for the fifth consecutive season.

Junior linebacker Sam Blankenship needs eight tackles to tie Said Perez (113, 2000) for the most tackles in a season since the NCAA standardized tackle stats in 2000.

The last Harding player from Ohio to appear in a regular season game was punter Micah Canterbury in 2010. A native of Marysville, Canterbury punted 204 times in 42 games with a 37.3-yard average during his four-year career.

With two points against Ashland, Harding senior Tristan Parsley would become the highest-scoring kicker in program history. Parsley has 242 points. Coy Nance (2000-03) is Harding's scoring leader for kickers with 243 points.

Harding has won the time-of-possession battle in all 12 games and ranks second in Division II at 35:20 per game. The Bisons had the ball 128 minutes more than their opponents. Harding has won TOP in 26 of its last 28 games.

In the last four games, HU has converted 35-of-53 third downs, 66 percent. In the last six games, Harding opponents have converted only 21-of-72 third downs, 29 percent.

Harding freshman Cole Chancey has 988 rushing yards, the most ever by a Bison freshman. With 12 yards, he would become the eighth different Harding player with 1,000 rushing yards in a season. The last was Park Parish, who had 1,157 last season.

Harding was 0-for-3 passing against Arkansas Tech and 0-for-1 passing against Indianapolis, marking the first time in program history that Harding went consecutive games without completing a pass.

A Quick Look at Ashland
Ashland lost its first game of the season and has won 11 straight since ... the 11-game winning streak is tied for the fourth longest active streak in D2 ... Ashland also has an 11-game home winning streak ... the Eagles have allowed 30 points only once in 12 games, in a 34-31 victory over Grand Valley State ... Ashland has thrown only four interceptions all season, but three came last week against Northwest Missouri State ... Ashland has scored on 50 of its 52 redzone trips, including 38 TD ... Ashland opponents have scored on 24 of 28 redzone trips, including 14 TD ... the Eagles average only 3.92 penalties and 40.0 penalty yards per game ... Ashland opponents have blocked five kicks on special teams, including three blocked punts.

Team Leaders (National Rank in parenthesis)
HARDING
Rushing - Cole Chancey: 171 rushes, 988 yards (45th), 9 TD (58th); Grant Kimberlin: 72 rushes, 747 yards, 3 TD; Zach Shelley: 98 rushes, 744 yards, 5 TD; Terrence Dingle: 157 rushes, 638 yards, 18 TD (6th)
Passing - Terrence Dingle: 27-of-65, 545 yards, 4 TD
Receiving - Andrew Dather: 10 receptions, 225 yards, 1 TD
Tackles - Sam Blankenship: 105 tackles (57th); Devyn Comer: 12.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks (98th); V'Onte Williams: 3 INT
Punting - Tristan Parsley - 29 punts, 37.4 avg.
Kicking - Tristan Parsley - 10 of 15 FG, 52 of 53 PAT

ASHLAND
Rushing - Andrew Vaughn: 184 rushes, 1,086 yards (24th), 13 TD (27th)
Passing - Travis Tarnowski: 201-of-338, 2,756 yards (23rd), 29 TD (8th), 4 INT
Receiving - Matthew Wilcox: 37 receptions, 707 yards (80th), 5 TD
Tackles - Clay Shreve: 72 tackles; James Prater: 21.5 TFL (6th), 10.0 sacks (17th)
Punting - Travis Tarnowski: 32 punts, 37.0 avg.
Kicking - Aidan Simenc - 16 of 21 FG, 50 of 52 PAT

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