Harding University wins Division II National Championship

Bisons top Colorado SoM 38-7 to claim first-ever football title

By Jason King

The Searcy Daily Citizen

MCKINNEY, Texas — It was a heroic finish to a historic season as the Harding Bisons completely dominated Colorado School of Mines 38-7 to claim the schools’ first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship Saturday afternoon at McKinney ISD Stadium.

The Orediggers (14-1 final record) scored on their opening drive with the leadership of senior quarterback and Harlon Hill Award finalist John Matocha to take an early 7-0 lead, but it was the first and only time Mines found the end zone as the Bisons (15-0) controlled every aspect of the game from that point forward.

Harding let its record-setting rushing attack do the work as junior fullback Blake Delacruz and sophomore RB Braden Jay ran wild against a Mines defense who came into the game with the third-best rushing defense in all of DII.

Jay scored at the 10:30 mark of the second quarter on a 10yard run off a pitch from quarterback Cole Keylon to give the Bisons their first lead, 14-7, and scored again in similar fashion just before the half to give Harding a 217 lead at the break. Jay then put up his third-consecutive TD run with 12:58 to play in the third quarter when he broke free on a 73-yard touchdown run to put the Bisons in the driver’s seat with a 28-7 lead.

Although Delacruz did not find the end zone, he did set a NCAA DII Championship record with 212 rushing yards on 27 carries. Jay finished with 161 yards on 11 carries and 3 touchdowns. The Bisons finished with 502 rushing yards as Keylon completed 2 of 2 pass attempts for 46 yards, both to senior Roland Wallace.

Senior kicker Grant Ennis made it 31-7 with a 32-yard field goal late in the third, and Keylon called his own number on a 1-yard touchdown run with 11:58 to play. Jhalen Spicer scored first for the Bisons on a 10-yard run at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter to tie the game at 7.

Mines struck first with a 12play, 75 yard drive as Matocha finished it off with a third-down TD pass to Noah Roper at the 9:06 mark to take an early 7-0 lead. The Bisons responded with a sustained drive of their own as they went 75 yards in 9 plays, eating up 5:14 work of clock before Spicer fought his way from the 10-yard line. Spicer finished the deal with help from Mines defender Jackson Zimmerman, who inadvertently spun him into the end zone as he attempted to sling him down.

Harding then showcased the effectiveness of the Flex-Bone offense on its next scoring drive as the Bisons went 74 yards in 17 plays, eating up a massive 10:23 worth of clock. Jay finally converted the marathon drive when he hit the left side off an option pitch from Keylon, barely beating the defense to the corner pylon to give Harding its first lead of the game, 14-7, following Ennis’ extra point.

The Orediggers threatened to tie the game before the half when running back Landon Walker set them up with great field position with a 52-yard run, and Matocha then drove the offense into the red zone before they ran out of downs when Clark Griffin stuffed Walker on fourth and 1.

Harding made the most of the limited time left on the clock as Jay quickly got the Bisons into ‘Diggers territory with a 46-yard run, and scored again a few plays later with a nearly identical play to his first TD run. That gave the Bisons a 21-7 lead at the half, and the first possession of the second half resulted in a 73-yard touchdown from Jay to put Mines in a three-score deficit. Matocha’s amazing career for Mines ended unceremoniously in the final four minutes of the game when Darion Dunlap-Johnson came away with an interception at the

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Bisons’ 4-yard line to kill the only promising drive for the ‘Diggers during the entire second half.

It was one of many key plays for Harding’s defense, led by senior lineman and Defensive Player of the Year Nathaniel Wallace, as they also stopped Matocha and the Mines on fourth and short in HU territory on three separate occasions. Wallace finished his career at Harding with 2 sacks as the Bisons got to Matocha a total of 6 times.

The Bisons also became the only team in college football history to have over 6,000 rushing yards for a season.

“It’s 100 percent guys that love each other, and believe in the brotherhood,” Bisons coach Paul Simmons said.

“They care deeply and put their self behind the needs of everybody else, and just try to honor God. That was really evident today. We honored God with how we battled, and boy, did we battle today.”

Celebrate with the Champs

Harding University invites the community to join them for a special Harding football national championship celebration during the evening of Jan. 9 at Huckeba Field House on Harding University’s campus.

The Harding football team will be present for meet-and-greet and photo opportunities with fans alongside the championship trophy.

A short program will begin at 7 p.m.

Searcy Mayor Mat Faulkner will make a proclamation, followed by remarks from Harding University President Mike Williams, Head Football Coach Paul Simmons and a few football student- athletes. Huckeba Field House is located at 1301 E Park Ave., in Searcy.