FOOTBALL Battle of the Breaks (can't.) the night with 119 yards rushing on nine car~ ries. The 8i50ns failed late in the game on two drives as a missed and a key fumb le end· ed drives deep i'n Wonder Boys' territory. In all, the Bisons comm itted four turnovers, two of Webb's passes were intercepted as well as one of the still weak Bli ckenstaff's. The final game of the four week stretch saw the Bisons travel to Memphis to take on Southwestern. A freshman came out of the crowd to provide the Bisons the punch they needed for an 18·17 win over the Lynxcats. Tailback Glenn Sega rs chu rned out 92 yards on 15 carries, including the decisive nine yard touchdown and two point conversion with 6:44 remain ing in the game. "G lenn stepped in and did a fantastic job of running the ball for us late in the game:' Prock said of the freshman's performance. Segars accounted for 53 of the 96 yards in the winning drive. Finally home, the Black and Gold hosted AIC opponent Henderson State at Alumn i Field on October 23. The Reddies rested in the ce ll ar of the conference standings but they sti ll managed an 18-9 win to move ahead of Harding. The game could have been tagged "the theft bowl" as Blickenstaff threw five interceptions and Henderson committed four aeri al turnovers. Three of Blickenstaff's turnovers came in the fourth quarter at cruc ial times . The first AIC win in nearly two years came at Monticello as the Bisons overcame UAM, 27-21. Just as Blickenstaff suffered the week before, he gave a sh ining performance against the Boll Weevils. He completed seven of twelve passes for 165 yards and a score. Segars also shined, earning 134 yards on 18 carries, including a 75 yard scori ng jaunt. Homecoming, along with its pomp and circumstances, moved on the Harding campus. Queen Angie Wood and her court ruled on a cold November 6 as Harding and Southern Arkansas faced each other at Alumni Field . SAU put seven quick points on the board as fullback Victor Bishop bulled over from a yard out on the l ast play of the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Harding cut the lead to 7-6 on a McCoy six yard run but his attempt for the two point conversion failed midway through the third quarter. The game ended at that as a 55 yard fie ld goal attempt by Steve Hunter fell short by a yard and a 48 yard attempt went wide left with 12 seconds to go in the game. Perhaps the best performance by the Bisons came November 13 at Arkadelphia against Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers led the AIC with an unblemished 4-0 record and a ninth place ranking among the nation's NAIA schoo ls. With a win, they could clinch at least a tie for the conference championship. 154/Football Although the Bisons lost 14-3, one play could have changed the outcome of the game. On fourth down early in the second quarter, Ouachita's Todd Quick dropped back to punt. The punt sailed to Bruce Baldwin, who took it on the Bison 39 and returned 61 yards for a touchdown. The play was nullified, however, as Harding was called for roughing the punter. The controversy around the play stemmed from the angle the official made the call from, as it was obvious that no Harding man made contact with Quick. However, the play stood and the Bisons couldn't overcome the call. Hunter provided the only points with a 35 yard fie ld goal on the last play of the first half. Four fumbles, three of which occurred in the second half, ended Harding's hopes for a win. One of the fumbles came on a punt return deep in Tiger territory and quickly results in an OBU score. The final game of the 1982 season could be considered a stereotype display of each loss the Bisons suffered: the case of the bad break. Hosting Central Arkansas, a returned interception and a blocked Bison punt were all the Bears needed for a 13-6 victory. The Bear defensive back Rodeny Brown stepped in front of a Blickenstaff pass late in the second quarter and returned it 86 yards for a touchdown . Then, on the first Bison possession of the second half, Bear lester Vann blocked a Blickenstaff punt on the Bison 15 ya rd line. Four plays later, tailback Phil Ca ldwell scored from a yard out. Hunter booted field goa ls of 37 and 35 yards for the Bisons points. At the conclusion of the season, several marks were discovered to be - Chris Dei broken and honors were bestowed upon a number of Harding players. Blickenstaff concluded his caree r as the all-time leading passer at Harding, gaining 3,607 yards through the air in four years. The Boise, Idaho, native broke the mark for passes attempted in a career (618), passes completed in a career (276), career punting average (39.4), season punting average (42.4) and longes t punt (72 yards). Senior defensive back Bruce Baldwin established one AIC mark and three schoo l marks. His 23 ca reer interceptions broke UCA's Monte Coleman'S mark of 22, set back in the mid-seventies. His 11 total thefts in 1982 also set a sc hool record and he tied and mark for interceptions in a game with three. Hunter also added to his school mark for career field goals with 23 three-pointers . Blickenstaff, as punter; Baldwin and Dry, tight ends; Kohlbrands, defensive end; and McCoy, ki ckoff retu rner; were selected to the AII-AIC and AII-NAIA District 17 teams . Blickenstaff, Baldwin, and McCoy led the conference in their respective categories. Baldwin and Kohlbrand were unanimous se lections to the honor squads. "-<v _ John J. Radcliffe
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