llS way during the first half not allowing the Muleriders a point. The second half opened differently for both teams than the way the first half ended. SAU scored 14 unanswered pOints in the third quarter before Mote took the Bisons 53 yards in six plays to tie the game at 14 points a piece. The Harding defense held SAU on the Muleriders next possession. The Bisons got the ball back and behind the potent running attack of fullback Z.C.O. Uhatafe and Glen Segars the team marched 40 yards down the field before Bobby Jones took the ball five yards for a go-ahead Playing together as a team was the key to our successful year. - Stu Varner touchdown. The score was 21-14 Bisons with 11: 17 left in the game. The Homecoming crowd was quickly quieted when the Muleriders marched 54 yards in nine plays to knot the score at 21-2l. Both Harding and SAU took turns at trying to break the deadlock with the Bisons having the last opportunity. With 1:47 left in the game the Bisons got the ball back. Time expired before the Bisons could score. The final score in the 1984 homecoming game was Bisons 21, Muleriders 2l. After the tie with the Muleriders at home, the Bisons had to travel to Arkadelphia to tangle with the Ouachita Baptist University Tigers. The game was a must win for Harding to keep its chances alive for the conference crown. The Tigers roared-out to a 21-0 halftime lead. During the halftime Coach Prock settled his troops down. When the second half began it looked like OBU had forgotten to return to the fie ld. Within a 6:46 time period in the third quarter, the Bisons scored 17 unanswered pOints. Harding was not through, because they still had to play the fourth quarter. The score at the start of the quarter was OBU 21, HU 17 . Things were just as exciting in the final 15 minutes. After an interception of the Tiger quarterback the Bisons missed a golden opportunity to score , but got the ball back in the next posession . Harding's field position was excellent following an OBU punt of 5 yards. Lowery , who entered the game in the second half for the first time since he was injured against Southeast Oklahoma , directed the Bisons 34 ya rds to the goahead touchdown with 11 :25 left in the game. The Harding fans , that made the long trip to Arkadelphia, started to celebrate the Bisons 24-21 Victory over OBU. The only problem was the game was not over. The Tigers moved the ball down the field much like they had the first half and scored the winning touchdown with 2:02 left in the game. The drive totaled 93 yards. Harding had one last chance to score, but were intercepted with 1:46 left in the game. The Tigers were able to keep their 28-24 Victory over the determined Bisons . With the hopes of the Bisons being conference champs dashed the Bisons returned home to face the conference champs, UCA. The Bears had not lost a AIC game in two years. The Bison players proclaimed the UCA game their play-off game. The game did have the makings of a great game. The Bears were ranked 4th and the Bisons were ranked 20th in the NAIA poll going into the game. Bisons scored first. It followed Jones' kick-off return of 59 ya rds. Then , Lowery moved the offense to the Bear 5 yard line before being stopped, but Varner came in to connect on a 22 yard field goal. The first quarter ended Bisons 3, Bears O. This would be the only time the Bisons would lead . UCA scored touchdowns in the second and third quarter to make the score 14 for UCA and 3 for Harding . Neither team generated an offense in the final . quarter and the game ended just as the quarter began with Bears ahead. The Bisons ended their season with an overall record of 5·3· 1 , but in 5th place in the conference with a 2-3- 1 record. Even though the Bisons finished in 5th place, the team had the best record since 1978. There were 15 seniors that were instrumental to the Bisons winning season. Three , Mark Adkison, Jeff Klein and Gordon Roddenberry, were named to the AIIAIC and All NAIA District 17 teams. 11(& Good Form. Stu Varner tries for the extra point in the Homecoming game against Southern Arkansas University. - photo by Public Relations Office . 1984 AIC Football Results University of Central Arkansas Southern Arkansas University Ouachita Baptist University Arkansas Tech University HARDING UNIVERSITY Henderson State University University of Arkansas-Monticello 6-0-0 3-2-1 3-3-0 3-3-0 2-3-1 2-4-0 1-5-0 ATHLETE ADJUSTS The old adage, "making the best of a bad situation," has a special meaning to University senior Todd Hubbert , one of the managers and student coaches of this year's Bison football team . A prepster All-American selection at quarterback at Winfield High School in Alabama , Hubbert had the opportunity and the potential to li ve the dream of almost every redblooded American boy - he was given a scholarship to play college football. Hubbert lived the American dream until he fell victim to an athlete's nightmare . A shoulder injury, suffered during practice in Hubbert's sophomore year, resulted in surgery that abruptly ended his promising career. "It was a hard thing for me to face at first. The fact that I was playing ball and having fun one minute , and the next I was through playing was something I had to adjust to ," Hubbert said. "I felt like someone had taken something away from me that I really loved to do. " Overcoming the unfortunate injury that put an end to his career on the field , Hubbert saw an opportunity to be involved with his Harding University teammates in another way - he became a manager and student coach. "Being a manager and a student coach is a lot of hard work without a lot of recognition , but all the players and coaches have a lot of respect and admiration for them," head coach John Prock said. "My involvement with the team now is mostly keeping stats and just helping out as much as I can," Hubbert said. "It's a good chance for me to stay close to the team, and I find that 1 can relate to the coaches and see from their point of view much better now." "There is a lot expected out -of a team manager; the football players really depend on you for a lot of things. There's a lot of hard work involved, but it's a good feeling to do things for the team," Hubbert said. "Being a part of something you love, like athletics, is what it is all about." t!~ Football 139
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==