D2 Playoffs: Lenoir-Rhyne will face best rushing attack in the nation

Lenoir-Rhyne has been fielded football teams since 1907, but the Hickory school will face a first-time opponent in its next game.

The Bears (13-1) will visit Harding University (13-0) from Searcy, Ark., on Saturday as the NCAA Division II tournament reaches the semifinal round. The game will kick off at noon ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+. The winner advances to the D2 championship on Saturday, Dec.16 in McKinney, Texas.

Here’s the tale-of-the-tape plus 10 things to know about the match-up, which features the No. 4 seed from Super Region 2 (Lenoir-Rhyne) and the No. 1 seed from Super Region 3 (Harding). Each team’s game-by-game results can be found at the bottom of this story.

Tale of the Tape

Ten Things To Know (plus a bonus)

1. Harding will be the highest-ranked foe Lenoir-Rhyne has faced this season. The Bisons were ranked No. 3/4 in the final major D2 polls of the season. Lenoir-Rhyne beat No. 4/6 Benedict in the second round by a 35-25 score and topped No. 14 Valdosta State this past Saturday 35-7. The Bears were/are ranked No. 11 in both D2 polls.

2. For several years, Harding has employed a unique “double-slot flexbone offense” which it uses to precision to pile up rushing yardage and points. This season, the Bisons lead Division II (and all divisions) with 402.3 rushing yards per game. They are third in D2 with 608 total points (46.8 per game).

The next closest team in D2 in rushing is Southern Nazarene, which averaged 292.1 yards per contest — and lost to Harding 53-20 in the season opener on Aug. 31.

The premise of the flexbone offense: the quarterback has the option to keep the ball himself, hand to a fullback or pitch to one of an assortment of explosive slot backs. All the sleight of hand and movement mean the defense is often chasing its tail trying to find — or catch — the ball-carrier.

Running back Blake Delacruz leads Harding with 1,149 rushing yards and 19 TDs, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Jay Braden has added 894 yards and eight scores. Meanwhile, quarterback Cole Keylon (549 yards, 13 TDs) and a stable of other running backs — Jhalen Spicer (523 yards, 4 TDs), Andrew Miller (460 yards, 5 TDs) and Chauncey Martin (431 yards, 6 TDs) — give the Bisons a number of viable options in the ground game.

NOTE: Davidson, which uses a shotgun triple option attack, has the top rushing offense in the FCS (308.7 yards per game). Liberty leads the FBS (302.9 yards per game). Springfield heads the D3 list (380.5 yards per game).

3. No team kept Harding under 41 points during the regular season. Grand Valley State was the only team to really put the clamps on Harding’s potent offense this season in Saturday’s quarterfinals. The Lakers shut out the Bisons through most of four quarters and led 6-0 coming down the stretch.

But Harding mounted a 15-play, 73-yard grind-it-out drive that took nearly nine minutes off the fourth-quarter clock. Keylon eventually found paydirt on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 3:52 remaining. The extra point gave Harding a 7-6 lead. The defense then stuffed Grand Valley State twice on fourth down to seal the win.

Harding converted three third-down plays on its game-clinching series. One of the biggest plays came through the air, with Ceylon completing a 20-yard pass to Braden Jay. Another aspect of the flexbone: Just when teams start to overplay the run, an aerial opportunity opens up.

4. Harding combines a stellar defense with its unique and effective offense. The Bisons allow only 232.8 yards per contest, fourth-best in D2 (Lenoir-Rhyne’s ‘D’ is ranked sixth, 241.2 ypg).

Harding has shut out four teams this season and allowed 10 or fewer points in three other games. There was stretch of the season, between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11, when Harding allowed just 37 points total across seven contests.

Defensive end Nathaniel Wallace earned Super Region 3 Defensive Player of the Year honors.

5. Being the top seed in Super Region 3 gave Harding a first-round bye. Both of the Bisons playoff games have been decided by one point. A blocked extra point sealed a 35-34 win over Central Missouri in the second round. Central Missouri’s 34 points represent the most points scored against the Bisons in a game this season. No other team notched more than 20 points.

6. Paul Simmons has been the head coach at Harding since 2017. His teams have only lost 13 games. Under Simmons’ watch, the Bisons have never finished lower than second in the Great American Conference and have never ended the year unranked in the AFCA Top 25. This year represents the highest end-of-season ranking. Simmons’ teams are 6-4 in the playoffs, with an appearance in the Division II semifinals in 2017.

7. Both Harding and Lenoir-Rhyne will be making their second all-time appearance in the D2 semis. The Bears made it to the national championship game in 2013.

8. Yes, you are reading Harding’s nickname correctly in this story. It’s BISONS not Bison (though bison is the preferred plural form).

According to Harding University’s athletics web site, the football team has been going by the nickname “Bisons” since the 1920s. The site notes that several other sports teams used “Bisons” as a nickname during that time period, including what is now the Buffalo Bills (formerly Buffalo Bisons) and the University of Manitoba Bisons in Canada.

“Our nickname was selected many years ago by our student body, so we reserve the right to spell it in a special way,” wrote former sports information director Stan Green.

9. Lenoir-Rhyne isn’t the only football team from Hickory on a hot streak this season. The Hickory High Red Tornadoes improved to 15-0 this past weekend with a one-point win over Dudley in the 3A West Region championship. The team will play for the 3A state title on Friday night in Chapel Hill.

Searcy, Arkansas is enjoying a similar college-high school double run of success (thanks to Kris Ferguson, who does a fantastic job with D2Football.com, for pointing this out). The Harding Academy varsity football team improved to 14-0 on Friday night with a 4A state playoff win over Elkins and will vie for its state prep championship on Friday night, playing at the same time as Hickory High. You can’t make this stuff up.

10. Remember that Saturday’s Lenoir-Rhyne at Harding game will be streamed on ESPN+ and not the NCAA stream (through Hudl) that was used in earlier rounds. ESPN+ does require a subscription.

The other semifinal match-up will pit Colorado School of Mines hosting Kutztown at 3:30 p.m. The final four was reseeded late Saturday night once the field was set. Colorado Mines garnered the No. 1 seed. Harding is No. 2, Lenoir-Rhyne No. 3 and Kutztown No. 4.

To review the complete D2 bracket, click HERE:

BONUS: According to MasseyRatings.com, which uses a computer formula designed to estimate a team’s strength based on past performance, Harding is an 11-point favorite for Saturday’s game. Humbug to that.

Game By Game Results

Eric Lusk Publisher & Editor

Eric Lusk started NC Football News in 2023. He's an old newspaper guy with a fondness for underdogs, redemption stories and the triple-option offense. He's a proud graduate of Jesse O. Sanderson High School and UNC's School of Journalism. He's thankful for God's mercy, family and second chances.

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