New running back core shines in home opener

Sept. 19, 2025 -- The Harding Bisons football team has plenty of new faces this year taking center stage, and it showed in a big way during the team’s home opener win against Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

Following the departure of a few key names in the running back room from last year’s team, there were opportunities for more players to make an immediate impact. Outside of junior Andrew Miller and senior Braden Jay, the rest of the Bison running backs are getting their first real chance at playing time, and it resulted in five different players scoring touchdowns in the 55-0 win, which kept the season theme going after six different players scored in the season opener against Northwestern Oklahoma State on the road.

Leading the team in scoring was junior Josh Strickland Jr., who scored twice on six carries. Strickland spent the past two years with the Bisons in a minimal role, only averaging 22.32 yards a game. But this season, now that he’s been in line for a bigger role, that number has boomed to 51.5 yards per game. Strickland said that when the team is successful in all three phases, it helps him become a better player on the field.

“It’s really not me,” Strickland said. “It’s a whole team effort, from the offensive line to the receivers; it takes everybody.

Strickland credited the offensive line to his success and said that they make his job easier. 

“They will not let your brother down,” Strickland said. “They play for each other and just give it their all.”

Sophomore Bo Simpson set a career high in rushing after ripping off a 15 yard run midway through the fourth quarter. After a year redshirting, Simpson said that it was nice to be out on the field and making a difference with the rest of the team.

“The most exciting part of going out on the field Thursday would have to be knowing who all I am going out there with,” Simpson said. “After getting so close with a lot of these guys, it was finally time to go out and play on the same field as them is an awesome feeling.”

Bisons head coach Paul Simmons said that the beauty of his flexbone offense is that it allows for a lot more players to be involved in a game.

“They can’t take away everything,” Simmons said. “And so we’re just trying to take what they give us, and we don’t have one guy that we hang our hat on.”

Even though the Bulldogs might have had chances to score, the Bisons defense held strong. Through two games, the defense has yet to give up a point, and the #1 scoring offense in DII is currently outscoring opponents 104-7. Simmons said that he was pleased with the performance on both sides of the ball, and he’s seeing steady improvement that will pay dividends as the season goes on.

“We’re getting better,” Simmons said. “Our defense gave up more yards than we wanted to, but certainly the goal is to keep them out of the end zone and they did that.”