Eleven weeks ollirsts, lasts, worsts, bests Nothing was mediocre about the Bisons' 1979 football season. In a manner of speaking it was a superlative year - 11 weeks of firsts and lasts, worsts and bests. In spite of fielding a.,young squad after losing 19 seniors from the 1978 team, the Bisons had one of their best starts in recent years. Their first of two consecutive, early season wins came over Lane College at Jackson, tennessee. Trailing 12-7, the Bisons swept 91 yards in two plays for the winning score with less than four minutes left in the game. From his own nine-yard line, Quarterback David Jones first connected on a 77-yard pass play to Tim Perry, who was dragged down from behind on the Dragon's 14-yard line. On the next play Jones, throwing only his second pass of the game, hit Mack Wallace on a 14-yard pass for the score. The twopoint conversion attempt failed, leaving the score at 13-12 in Harding's favor. 'The win really helped us," said Coach John Prock. "It's especially important for our young - , ones to have th;-:Uccess early." At home the next week, the young Bison herd met success again, defeating Southeast · Oklahoma 13-7. Drawing heavily on an experienced defensive secondary, Harding stifled Savage Quarterback Neil Camp, the NAIA's number one quarterback in 1978, allowing him only five completions in 30 pass attempts. The team was not to bask in the warmth of winning for long, however. What some termed the worst of luck soon turned the best of circumstances into havoc. Injuries began to pile up, and so did the losses . Losing one quarterback in each of their first two games, the Bisons started a freshman quarterback in the season 's third game, a 14-7 doss to NCAA Division II Southwest Missouri State in Springfield. The loss injured more than the team's record, however, as both starting guards were put out of action, thus almost totally stopping an already faltering momentum. As the next week of practice began, starting center Doug Nickerson was sidelined with a knee injury on the first scrimmage play in practice. "We ran only one play and came up with an injury, " stated a frustrated Prock. "We ar~ beginning to be leary of even doing drills." As with many matters of iife, everything grew worse before it got better for Prock's young squad. The Bisons lost their next two games at home, being edged out by Knoxville College 13-9 and soundly set back by Arkansas Tech 26-6. For Tech, whose Kelley Davis outscored Harding with four field goals, the win was , their first in five tries on the year and was the Wonderboys' first win over of Harding since 1972. A much-needed win finally came again against highly-ranked Henderson State in Arkadelphia October 20, Ahead 12-0 as the first quarter ended, the Henderson Reddies , could not generate any more points. Capitalizing on many Henderson errors, (continued on page 118) ;-----. " Harding 13 Lane College 13 Southwest Oklahoma State o Southwest Missouri State 9 Knoxville College 6 Arkansas Tech University ,\11 • 1979 FOOTBALL RESULTS Harding 23 Henderson State University Opponent 12 7 10 13 26 Opponent 12 SO 12 7 University of Arkansas-Monticello 15 Southern Arkansas University 6 Ouachita Baptist University 6 University of Central Arkansas 21 42 . , . " ~ J , ." 117 Football
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