ASHLAND, Ohio -- Harding University head football coach Paul Simmons has been coaching for 25 years.
In all that time, he's never had a team like this one.
On the road for the third week in a row, the Bisons beat the odds again and improved their road record to 7-1 on the season with a 34-24 victory over Ashland University in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs Saturday at Jack Miller Stadium.
Harding started the season 0-3 but has since won 10 in a row.
"I've coached for 25 years now and I've never been more proud than I am today, with the way our guys dealt with adversity today and the way they have all year," Simmons said after the No. 7 seed Bisons knocked off the No. 3 seed Eagles, who carried an 11-game winning streak of their own into the game.
Harding's run-heavy triple option offense threw the Eagle defense off early, and the Bisons finished with 197 yards in the first quarter.
Harding put together a seven-play, 76-yard drive capped off by a Cole Chancey 17-yard run to make it 7-0 just 3:45 into the game.
It would be the start of a big day for the freshman fullback from Commerce, Ga., who finished with 29 carries for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns.
"It's not all me but it's a blessing," Chancey said. "The coaches gave me a chance, and what happens on the field is not because of me. It starts earlier in the week like coach said, just stacking up the little wins during the week."
The Eagles (11-2) answered with a similar drive -- seven plays and 73 yards -- ending with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Travis Tarnowski to Logan Bolin midway through the first quarter.
After that, Harding started clicking on both sides of the ball.
Chancey's 33-yard scoring run put the visitors up 14-7 late in the first quarter. After recovering an onside kick, the Bisons kept the ball for another four minutes and came away with a 22-yard field goal by Tristan Parsley to make it 17-7 with 13:40 to go in the first half.
That would be the lead going into halftime, as the Harding defense kept Tarnowski and the Eagles in check.
Sam Blankenship, who finished with 13 tackles for the Bisons, said the game plan was to stop the run. Harding did just that, holding Ashland to 70 yards on 32 attempts.
"We knew they liked to run the ball, liked to get physical," Blankenship said. "Honestly, that got us excited because we wanted to play a team that would come out and be physical with us."
The Bisons pushed their lead to 24-7 when Chancey scored his third touchdown from a yard out midway through the third quarter. The Eagles scored a touchdown on Luke Ogi's 5-yard run, but Chancey struck again with a 47-yard touchdown sprint to put Harding ahead 31-14 early in the fourth.
Tarnowski led the Eagles on an 11-play, 78-yard drive, finding tight end Michael Schweitzer for a 17-yard score to make it 31-21 with 9:24 to go, and Ashland's Aidan Simenc hit a career-long 48-yard field goal to make it a one-score game with 5:23 remaining.
But the Bisons put together a nine-play drive, converting multiple third downs and getting a 21-yard field goal by Parsley for the insurance score with only 1:26 left.
For the first time in three games, the Bisons completed a pass, as Terrence Dingle was 3-of-5 passing for 126 yards.
"Their offense is tough to prepare for," Ashland Coach Lee Owens said. "They do a good job with it. We knew that it would take a while to catch up with the speed and the execution. You can't simulate that in practice. I'm sure you guys hear that all the time."
Owens also credited Harding's defense with forcing the Eagles to throw the ball 47 times.
"They played really good defense, too," Owens said. "They did a good job of taking our run game away and played our receivers really good in the passing game. They had a great day and deserved to win the football game."
Harding travels to Ferris State, located in Big Rapids, Mich., on Saturday for the Super Regional Three title game.
Sports on 11/26/2017