NCAA DIVISION II FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

Reddies, Bisons in 24-team field

Henderson gets bye, home date

Henderson State running back Jarvis Smith (21) outruns Ouachita Baptist safety Aaron Grant for a touchdown during Saturday’s game. Henderson State won 42-7, earning the outright Great American Conference title and its first NCAA Division II playoff berth.
Henderson State running back Jarvis Smith (21) outruns Ouachita Baptist safety Aaron Grant for a touchdown during Saturday’s game. Henderson State won 42-7, earning the outright Great American Conference title and its first NCAA Division II playoff berth.

— Henderson State and Harding capped their regular seasons with blowout victories Saturday night, then readied for Sunday’s unveiling of the NCAA Division II playoff field thinking they had done all they could to ensure positive playoff prospects.

The Reddies (10-0) got what they expected when the field was announced Sunday afternoon - a No. 2 seed in Super Regional 3 that comes with a first-round bye and a second-round home game Nov. 24.

But Harding (9-1) was given a No. 5 seed and will play a first-round game at noon Saturday at Northwest Missouri State in Marville, Mo., a program that boasts 17 playoff appearances and 3 national titles.

Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba said he left First Security Stadium after his team’s 38-7 victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday feeling confident the Bisons would get in the playoffs, and of a match up with Northwest Missouri State, which lost 21-20 in its season-finale to Missouri Western.

But where an eight-member national selection committee would place the game was difficult to gauge.

“I didn’t know what to expect, to be honest with you,” Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba said. “Would we have liked to have been a host? Absolutely. I’d be lying to you if I said we didn’t. But the fact that we’re in was plenty exciting for us.”

Watch parties were held at both schools when the field was unveiled on NCAA.com. Harding gathered in its student center on campus, Henderson State did so in a team meeting room.

It was a similar event the Reddies held two years ago,when they finished the 2010 season 8-2 and with a share of the Gulf South Conference title. But Henderson State was left out of the playoffs that year.

Coach Scott Maxfield said he had no doubt the Reddies would be included after a 42-7 blowout victory of rival Ouachita Baptist on Saturday night. And he really didn’t think there was a possibility they could drop from their No. 2 spot that would force them to play this week instead of next, considering Henderson State’s 10-0 record.

“Anytime you go through the regular season undefeated you need to be one of the [top] two seeds,” Maxfield said. “Seems only fair to do it that way. A lot of times different committees get into play and different formulas are used different things can happen. But we’re happy with where we’re at.”

The Reddies haven’t played a postseason game since the NAIA playoffs in 1985. Now, they await the winner of a match up between No. 3 seed Missouri Western (10-1) and No. 6 seed Minnesota-Duluth (10-1).

Missouri Western’s victory Saturday shook up the Super Regional 3 bracket, which cost Harding a firstround home game.

Missouri Western was ranked fifth in the regional rankings last week, while Northwest Missouri was ranked third. But the Griffons’ 21-20 victory in Maryville, Mo., moved them to the third spot, dropped Northwest Missouri State to No. 4 and pushed Harding to No. 5.

Huckeba cited his team’s soft late-season schedule as a reason his Bisons were dropped by the selection committee, a two-part conglomeration that includes regional representatives making recommendations to the national committee.

Harding’s last three opponents - Arkansas Tech, Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southwestern Oklahoma State - finished with a 12-19 combined record.

“That has an affect on you,” Huckeba said. “We’re excited about the opportunity to go up and play those guys. If you want to know if you’re ready for the Division II playoffs, just play Northwest Missouri.”

As Harding prepares for a first-round game, Henderson State gets a week off.

If the Reddies win at home on Nov. 24, they’ll play top-seed Minnesota-Mankato (11-0), Northwest Missouri State or Harding in a national quarterfinal game.

Maxfield said he isn’t sure how his team, which boasts one of the top offenses in Division II, will fare against regional opponents that don’t meet Great American Conference schools often, but he’s eager to find out.

“I think we’ve got a really good football team,” he said. “On any given day I think we can play with any team in the nation. ... Can’t overlook anything and take care of things on Thanksgiving weekend. That’s what we’ve done all year and that’s what we have to keep on doing.”

NCAA Division II football playoffs First round Seeds and records in parenthesis SUPER REGIONAL 1 (1) Winston-Salem (11-0), bye (2) New Haven (10-0), bye (3) Indiana (Pa.) (10-1) vs. (6) Shepherd (8-2) (4) Shippensburg (10-1) vs. (5) Bloomsburg (10-1) SUPER REGIONAL 2 (1) Valdosta State (8-2), bye (2) Carson-Newman (8-2), bye (3) Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2) vs. (6) Fort Valley State (8-3) (4) W. Alabama (8-3) vs. (5) Miles (8-2)SUPER REGIONAL 3 (1) Minnesota State-Mankato (11-0), bye (2) Henderson State (10-0), bye (3) Missouri Western (10-1) vs. Minnesota-Duluth (10-1) (4) Northwest Missouri State (9-2) vs.

(5) Harding (9-1) SUPER REGIONAL 4 (1) Colorado State-Pueblo (11-0), bye (2) Ashland (11-0), bye (3) Chadron (9-2) vs. (6) West Texas A&M (9-2) (4) Indianapolis (9-2) vs. (5) Midwestern State (9-1)

At a glance HENDERSON STATE (10-0) SEED No. 2 in Super Regional 3 FIRST ROUND Bye SECOND ROUND Will play the winner of No. 3 Missouri Western (10-1) and No. 6 seed Minnesota-Duluth, at noon on Nov. 24 at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia TICKETS $10 adults, $5 children HARDING (9-1) SEED No. 5 in Super Regional 3 FIRST ROUND at Northwest Missouri State (9-2), at noon Saturday in Maryville, Mo.

SECOND ROUND With a victory, Harding would play at No. 1 Minnesota-Mankato (11-0) at noon Nov. 24.

Sports, Pages 15 on 11/12/2012

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