SHAWNEE – The first Saturday in Great American Conference presents a steep battle for Oklahoma Baptist (1-0) as they'll travel down to No. 12/13 Harding (1-0) for a prime-time matchup in the Natural State. The contest will kick off at 7 p.m. inside First Security Stadium in Searcy, Ark.
OBU holds an all-time 0-7 record against the Bisons. The two ball clubs met for the first time on September 9, 2015, a contest that went Harding's way 20-19 in overtime.
Live video of Thursday's contest can be found here and fans can listen on the Bison Radio Network with "the voice of the Bison" Todd Miller.
Game Notes
BACK AND BETTER
- Prior to last week, the last time quarterback Aidan Thompson stepped onto the field was against Harding. That game, an October 1 matchup in Searcy a year go, resulted in a 38-23 loss for OBU. Despite the final tally, Thompson made his mark.
- Down 17-3 late in the second quarter of the game, Thompson would complete his first career touchdown pass to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive and narrow the score margin to seven. Later in the third stanza, he orchestrated a nine-play, 79-yard drive to bring the Bison within eight points (24-16) of the then-ranked No. 8/16 Bisons. However, the opposition pulled away, but not before Thompson scampered for a 22-yard score following a 99-yard drive with five minutes remaining. He finished with 246 yards of total offense, including 197 through the air on 21-38 passing and a team-best 49 yards rushing, with two touchdowns. Unfortunately, two interceptions soiled his stat sheet.
- Last week against the Wonder Boys, Thompson didn't have a turnover. In fact, he nearly eclipsed his previous career-best total for offensive yards, accounting for 238 yards of offense. He was even more efficient through the air, completing 16-25 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. He added 39 yards on the ground, including a game-long scurry of 21 yards. Furthermore, he was only sacked once, unlike the four times he hit the ground in his last appearance. That's a credit to an improved offensive line that helped compile 329 yards of offense last Thursday.
THE GUYS UP FRONT
- As mentioned, the OBU offensive line only gave up one sack in the season's first game. That's one less than last year's season opener total against Ouachita Baptist, in which the Bison gave up two. That group went on to allow 37 sacks in 2022, the most in OBU's Division II era. With veterans Jordan Allen, Jake Sitsler, and Yonas Daniel off to a good start, Oklahoma Baptist looks to have that figure in their favor again. However, that feat will not come easy against a defense that produced 8.0 tackles-for-loss and one sack in its season opener. Historically, the Bison have given up 13 sacks against Harding since the teams first met in 2015, an average of nearly two a game.
- The front five will also be called upon in the run game, a department where last year's group found success in 2022 against HU. They paved the way for 132 rushing yards a season ago, the most produced against Harding in program history. The Bison have only gone over 100 yards on the ground against HU two other times; one occurring in the overtime battle in 2015 (122).
THREE'S COMPANY
- Brett Karhu had a career night versus Arkansas Tech, totaling three sacks and seven tackles in last week's season opener. It's only the third time a player has recorded that many sacks in a game since the program joined Division II. During the 2021 season, program great Josh Arnold recorded three at Southwestern Oklahoma State (9/25) while interior lineman Robert Lolofie notched the same total at Southern Nazarene (11/13).
THE NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF RUSH DEFENSE
- If one looked at the box score after last week's 23-21 win over Arkansas Tech, they'd notice a very good defensive stat: 71 yards rushing allowed. That was the total the Bison defense gave up to the visiting Wonder Boys. Since joining the Great American Conference in the 2015 season, that was just the 11th occurrence in 79 contests of the Bison giving up less than 100 yards to an opponent.
NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND
- Early in the second quarter against ATU, Wonder Boys receiver Caleb Tanis appeared open down field near the Bison 37-yard line. The pass from quarterback Hunter Loyd, though, was intercepted by junior safety Brandon Spencer. It was Spencer's first career pick and he returned it 48 yards to the ATU 10. That's the third-longest interception return in OBU's D2 history. During the 2015 campaign, Bryden Pitzer returned a pick 73 yards versus Southeastern while a season later, D'Ante Meeking notched a 60-yard return against Northwestern.
NEWCOMER WATCH
- It was mentioned in last week's notes the additions of transfers Tainique Taylor, a corner, and linebackers Rian Fields, Scooter Baker and Taylor Jacobs. They each had their moments as the Bison defense did a good job limiting ATU in the three-hour, 17-minute game. Along the boundary, Taylor was very good in coverage and tallied four tackles, tied for most among OBU defensive backs. Baker and Jacobs notched four and three tackles, respectively. And for Fields, he seemed to be everywhere. The Fresno State transfer tied for the team lead with seven tackles and also came up with two tackles-for-loss.
A RARE NIGHT
- Freshman kicker Luke Watkins did something against Arkansas Tech that only one other Great American Conference special teamer has accomplished since the 2015 season, when OBU joined the league. Watkins hit a trio of field goals, including the game-winning, 43-yard boot in the fourth, and also pinned three punts inside the 20-yard line. The last and only time a player had those numbers: Sept. 30, 2017. Southeastern Oklahoma State's Joel Carlos went 3-for-3 in field goals and placed three punts inside the 20-yard line against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
SCOUTING THE BISONS
- Harding enters its sixth season under head coach Paul Simmons, who owns a career coaching record of 51-13 (.797). HU was picked to finish second in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll following a 9-2 season in 2022.
- Harding comes off a 53-20 defeat of Southern Nazarene in Bethany last Thursday. The Bisons compiled 322 yards of offense, including 282 yards on the ground and six touchdowns. Harding even added an uncharacteristic-like touchdown, a feat they accomplished just five times in 2022.
- Perhaps the largest takeaway from HU's season opener was its six forced turnovers, a figure they hadn't reached since 2017. Furthermore, the number met half the total amount of turnovers forced in 2022 (12). Oklahoma Baptist didn't commit a turnover last Thursday, so look for the turnover battle to play a pivotal role in this weekend's contest.
- Offensively, Harding's wishbone offense is run by junior running back Blake Delacruz. The 5-foot-8 speedster rushed to four touchdowns and piled up 51 yards on 11 carries against SNU. It was his fourth career game with two or more touchdowns. Quarterback Keylon Cole added 40 yards and a score on the ground, while second-year running back Braden Jay led the team with 63 yards at an average of 15.8 yards per tote. Jay also hauled in the lone receiving touchdown, a 26-yard reception from Cole.
- Defensively, sophomore linebacker Clark Griffin totaled the most stops for Harding in week one, getting in on six tackles. Defensive back Malik Mays added five tackles and one for loss, while junior linebacker Kayden Pierce racked up 2.0 TFLs and four tackles. Horacio Moronta matched Pierce's total amount of tackles behind the line of scrimmage, a part of eight total for the Harding defense.
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