Harding gets revenge, beats OBU 24-7

Oct. 3, 2025 -- With a little over eight minutes left in the game and Ouachita Baptist facing a third down and 10, Harding’s head football coach Paul Simmons got into a squat position and emphatically shouted “Go get that win!” several times to his defense, holding on to a three-score lead. He kept himself in that position until the play ended with sophomore Brock Knapton sacking the OBU quarterback behind the line. As soon as the play was over, Simmons walked closer to midfield and raised his fist into the air. Another tough battle between the two teams was over, and this time, the Bisons were back on top.

Harding defeated OBU 24-7, completing a year-long mission to not just retain the Traveling Trophy to Searcy but to send a statement to teams looking to top the Bisons this year.

Simmons said after the game that it’s hard to win against OBU and that the win felt great, and that he was proud of the players for making it happen.

“I’m really proud of the guys,” Simmons said. “They played really, really hard, a lot of toughness.”

Despite the loss to OBU last season, which ended the Bisons’ 25-game winning streak, Harding and Ouachita finished with the same record, which meant a tie at the top of the GAC standings. And while both teams made the DII playoffs, OBU fell in overtime in their only game while Harding advanced to the semifinals.

It was senior quarterback Cole Keylon’s 40th career win in 44 games as a starter. With two of his four career losses occurring against OBU, Keylon said that the game carried extra weight, despite OBU’s slow start to their season.

“This one against Ouachita, it’s always personal,”Keylon said.“It’s always a big game, whether they’re 3-0 or 1-2, it doesn’t matter.”

Harding now leads the all-time series between the two schools 35-27-4, and the game marked the Bisons’ third straight win at home. Keylon said that the fierce competition goes both ways, making each game memorable regardless of the final score.

“We just want to beat these guys so badly, andtheywanttobeatusbadly,”Keylonsaid. “It’s no better feeling than to beat them.”

Keylon said that the Bisons came into the game with a plan to prevent OBU’s defense from taking over, and credited offensive consultant and playcaller Kenny Wheaton for preparing the team for the gritty environment.

“If you give Coach Wheaton a year to prepare after he gets stumped in a game,

and you run it back with the same plan, he’s going to take advantage of that,” Keylon said. “You’re not going to beat us at our own game.”

Harding’s defense flipped the script from last year’s game as well, stopping the Tigers several times in Bison territory and only letting up one scoring drive. Sophomore linebacker Kyle Henry brought in four tackles, and said that he had even more of a reason to want to beat OBU given his past history with the school.

“I was originally committed to OBU, but then I came here and loved it,” Henry said. “Coach Simmons convinced me, and I couldn’t be happier that I chose Harding.”

A key point during the week was to keep every Bison player’s head in the game. Despite the tension growing late in the game, Harding’s discipline led to OBU committing several penalties out of frustration, including a targeting penalty to open the second half and an unnecessary roughness flag that flipped the field for Harding in the fourth quarter. Henry said that that discipline paid off in a big way.

“The main thing we discussed this week in practice was focus,” Henry said. “Eliminating distractions, and doing our jobs.”

Harding is now 4-0 in the season and faces East Central next week at home in a battle between two top teams in the GAC.