With one week left before ballots are finalized here is how our staff sees the race to win the Harlon Hill Trophy. The HH Trophy is given to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division II football.

1. Bernard Scott (Abilene Christian) – held well below his all-purpose running and rushing averages but did score three touchdowns. He had 116 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving. His stock isn’t up or down, but with one week left he will need a more impressive showing against another strong rushing defense to make this the slam-dunk it has seemed.

2. David Knighton (Harding) – had another great week keeping on pace of his nation-leading production in passing and total offense. He was 39-74-0 for 384 yards and 2 TD’s. This is a big jump in his power rating even as his Bisons lost a shootout with Henderson State by 2 points an are now 2-8 on the season.

3. Keith Null (West Texas A&M) – was held substantially off his averages of leading the nation in passing yards per game and being second in total offense and passing. He was 19-26-0 for 261 yards and will face a much tougher defense next week. Yet he did pass for 4 touchdowns and his Buffalos are 9-1 and highly ranked. His stock fell but has potential to rebound.

4. Jerry Seymour (Glenville State) – was above his nation-leading average in rushing and Top 10 average in scoring. He rushed for 244 yards and scored two touchdowns. He now has 2045 yards rushing for the season and his Pioneers are now 7-3 and tied for first place in the WVIAC. With another good showing, he could jump into the group of three invited to Florence for the trophy ceremony.

5. Billy Malone (Abilene Christian) – was held out of the game for the second week in a row due to injury. His chances for this trophy are waning until he can add to his stats. If he is out again next week, he will not be one of the finalists.