The football team at Harding University in Searcy is making the school’s first national championship appearance in any since joining the NCAA in 1997. North central Arkansas will a few area residents with the Bisons in McKinney, Texas, as they meet the Colorado School of Mines in the Division II title game on Saturday.
Three members of Harding’s team have ties to Mountain Home. Former Bomber receiver Brady Barnett is in his first year with the Bisons, and he is redshirting this season. Fellow Mountain Home resident Quinton Brill serves the team as the equipment manager. In addition, redshirt freshman defensive back Luke Martin is from Dickinson, Texas, but his father is Mountain Home seventh grade head coach Tom Martin.
Another area resident that’s been a big part of Harding’s success is sophomore quarterback Cole Keylon. In the Bisons’ 55-14 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne in last week’s semifinals, the former Harrison Goblin had 108 yards on the ground, helping his team break the NCAA Division II record for the most rushing yards in a single season. Harding currently has 5,659 rushing yards, making them 341 yards shy of the 6,000 mark with one game left.
The Bisons have two other athletes representing north central Arkansas. Sophomore wide receiver Darius Brown is a Salem High School alum, and redshirt freshman defensive back Elijah Carlton played his high school ball at Mountain View.
Harding is 14-0 on the season and riding an 18-game winning streak stretching back to last season as they are the first Division II school in Arkansas to advance to the national championship game. The Bisons is facing a Mines team that is also 14-0 and making their second straight appearance in the title game. The Orediggers ended up losing to Ferris State the previous years.
Kickoff at McKinney ISD Stadium is scheduled for noon. Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPNU.
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