SEARCY – Senior quarterback Park Parish rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 173 yards and another touchdown to lead No. 5 Harding to a 48-31 victory over No. 20 Central Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs on Saturday at First Security Stadium.
The victory was Harding's first in three NCAA playoff games and gave the Bisons a 12-0 record. Harding also reached the playoffs in 2012 and 2014. Harding, the No. 3 seed in Super Region 3, advances to play No. 2 seed Sioux Falls next Saturday in South Dakota.
Central Missouri, the No. 6 seed in Super Region 3, made its first playoff appearance since 2010 and finished its season 9-3.
Parish scored his first rushing touchdown with 2:09 left in the second quarter to give Harding a 21-17 lead, its first of the game. The score culminated a 12-play, 78-yard drive that took seven minutes.
Harding's defense forced Central Missouri's first punt of the game on its next possession, but a fumbled punt return gave the Mules the ball at Harding's 26. Central Missouri scored two plays later on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Garrett Fugate to Jaylen Zachery, and the Mules led 24-21 with only 42 seconds remaining in the half.
Senior Corey Bassett caught the ensuing kickoff at the Harding 7, cut to the left and outran the Central Missouri coverage for a 93-yard touchdown that gave the Bisons a 28-24 lead at halftime. He became the first Bison ever to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season.
Central Missouri took its last lead early in the second half on Kyle Echols 25-yard touchdown reception from Fugate, but the Mules did not score again.
Harding took the lead for good on Eric Simmons' 18-yard touchdown run with 6:40 left in the third quarter. The big play of the drive came on a 39-yard pass from Parish to Andrew Dather over the middle.
After a Central Missouri 3-and-out, Parish struck again on a 41-yard touchdown run that gave Harding a 41-31 lead with 1:35 left in the third. Parish sealed the victory with an 81-yard touchdown pass to Dather with 10:16 left in the game.
Full Release at HardingSports.com