Muleriders Shut Down by No. 5 Delta State

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Fifth-ranked Delta State used a smothering defense to hand Southern Arkansas a 21-3 loss Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.

The Statesmen (7-1, 6-0 GSC) held the Muleriders (1-7, 1-5 GSC) to just 106 yards of total offense and limited their vaunted ground game to a total of two yards in the contest. SAU had come in churning out 211 on the ground, 18th-best in Division II. DSU’s defense was allowing only 95 rushing yards to its opponents, ranked 21st in the country.

Both teams actually struggled to move the ball, Delta State accumulating 280 total yards, with 225 of that coming through the air, as Southern Arkansas’ run stoppers were also stingy, surrendering just 55 on the ground.

The Statesmen struck first after cornerback Eric Jackson picked off Mulerider quarterback Ryan McCombie’s pass in the first quarter. DSU then set up shop on the SAU 22 and four plays later, Chad Schroeder ambled in from two yards out at 8:17. Tom Santos’ kick made it a 7-0 game.

Southern Arkansas made its only appearance on the scoreboard in the second, getting a 24-yard field goal from Noe? Cuevas at 12:18 for a 7-3 contest.

After holding Delta State to a four and out on their next series, the Muleriders threatened by moving to the Statesmen’s 19, but a nine-yard sack forced a fourth down pass from quarterback Quintin Porter, but it fell incomplete.

Two possessions later, DSU was back on the board with a six-play, 47-yard drive that took less than a minute, posting a touchdown on Garrett DeWitt’s 18-yard pass to Schroeder with 14 ticks left that made it a 14-3 game at the half.

Delta State threatened again on their first series in the third quarter, but SAU’s defense stiffened and held at their own 13, as neither team otherwise mounted a serious threat through the rest of the frame.

The Statesmen had a chance to extend their margin mid-way in the fourth, but Santos’ 31-yard field goal attempt was wide right. After holding Southern Arkansas to four downs on their next possession, DSU moved 46 yards in 11 plays for their final scoring when DeWitt hit Greg Betterson with a seven-yard touchdown pass at 2:08.

The Muleriders were never a serious threat in the second half, advancing into Delta State territory just once, in the fourth quarter when Travrus Brown returned the kickoff from the Statesmen’s last touchdown back to the DSU 49.

SAU didn’t lose a fumble in the game, dropping one and falling on it, but threw two interceptions, while Delta State coughed up one fumble. The Statesmen were flagged 11 times for 121 yards, while Southern Arkansas was hit for seven for 41 yards.

Trevar Deed had 46 of DSU’s 55 yards on the ground, coming on 14 carries. Mark Johnson finished with 24 yards on 11 totes to lead the Muleriders, but as a team they lost 60 yards in rushing after gaining 62.

DeWitt was 21 of 38 passing for 217 yards, while Porter was 6 of 13 for 66.

SAU has its open date next Saturday, but has a short weekend as they will host Valdosta State on Monday, November 3 at 6 p.m. The game is the rescheduled contest from their September 13 date that was postponed due to the after-effects of Hurricane Ike.

Photos by Aaron Morris