Box Score ADA, Okla. – Southern Arkansas battled bad weather as well as East Central and came away with a 19-0 shutout of the Tigers in a lightning-delayed Great American Conference tussle Saturday at Norris Field.
 
The Muleriders (5-1, 4-1 GAC) earned their second shutout of the year, behind their season-opening 56-0 win at Texas College, a feat achieved for the first time since the 1976 team had two.  It was also SAU's first shutout of a conference opponent since a 48-0 win over Arkansas-Monticello in 2002.
 
The victory also snapped the Tigers (3-4, 1-3 GAC) home win streak of 10 games, dating back to their 2010 season, and avenged Southern Arkansas' 49-6 loss at Norris Field to end the season last year.
 
Thunderstorms with heavy rain and lightning midway through the second quarter delayed the game for an hour and 45 minutes, but the contest was still completed in a little under four hours.  After play resumed and because of the long delay, game officials decided to skip halftime, so the final 2 ½ quarters were played straight through.
 
The ECU defense came into the game ranked second in Division II in sacks, averaging about five a game, and third in pass efficiency defense, but junior quarterback Tyler Sykora (Hot Springs Village) passed for 253 yards and a touchdown, while giving up one interception, and was only sacked once.
 
The Muleriders finished with 477 yards of offense, also picking up 224 on the ground, behind junior running back Mark Johnson's (Longview, Texas) 132 yards, while SAU's defense stifled the East Central offense, limiting them to 123 total yards, including only 45 in the second half.  They had 70 yards through the air and only 53 on the ground.
 
It was a scoreless game before the lightning delay at 2:45 p.m., but when play resumed at 4:30 p.m., Southern Arkansas continued its current drive at its own 23 and seven plays later Johnson found the end zone from five yards out.  Freshman Dillon Fogle's (Camden) PAT was no good though, leaving it 6-0 at 6:44 in the second quarter.  Sykora completed five passes for 67 yards in the drive.  The Muleriders drive came courtesy of senior cornerback Don Unamba's (Hurst, Texas) pass interception, his second of the day.
 
SAU received the ball first to start the second half and put together a 17-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 9:14 of the clock, capped by a five-yard touchdown pass from Sykora to junior running back Aarion Jones (Hallsville, Texas).  Sykora's pass attempt on the two-point conversion was unsuccessful, making it 12-0 at 5:46 in the third.
 
Southern Arkansas closed out the scoring with 43 seconds left in the third quarter on an 18-yard touchdown run from Johnson.
 
The Muleriders overcame four turnovers in the game, three by fumble, by also taking away four from the Tigers, all interceptions.  Unamba's first pick came on ECU's first possession of the second quarter, in the end zone that prevented an East Central touchdown.  Junior free safety Bobby Williams (Bossier City, La.) grabbed one in the first quarter for a 15-yard return, and freshman cornerback Quan Warren (Linden, Texas) snared one for a 48-yard return with under a minute to play.
 
SAU's tackle numbers were low, as they held a monstrous advantage in time of possession, keeping the ball on offense for 40:36 of the game to the Tigers' 19:24.  Linebackers Mark Spaight (North Little Rock) and Malcolm Walker (Daingerfield, Texas), and linemen Brandon Rashad (Longview, Texas) and Brandon Moton (Forrest City) all had four tackles apiece to lead the team, with Rashad getting two for loss, and Moton one.
 
Sykora was extremely efficient in the game, connecting on 21 of 26 passes, while Johnson recorded his 11th 100-plus yard rushing performance of his career and third of the season.  Johnson also moved to second all-time in school history with 26 career rushing touchdowns, just one shy of the school mark of 27 by Torrence Jones (Cotton Valley, La.) from 2001-2004.  Johnson had 30 carries in the game, averaging 4.4 yards per tote.
 
Junior receiver Jack Brown (West Mesquite, Texas) and sophomore receiver Montel Hardman (Rayville, La.) each had six receptions, Brown's for 59 yards and Hardman's for 46, while senior running back Carlos Brown (Pittsburg, Texas) caught four for 105 yards.
 
Spencer Bonds was 6 of 18 passing for 70 yards for ECU, and tossing all four interceptions, and he was also their leading rusher, picking up just 22 yards on six carries.
 
East Central had five players finish with double-figure tackles, led by Amos Cherry's 15.
 
Southern Arkansas returns home next weekend to celebrate Homecoming and Hall of Fame, hosting Southern Nazarene in a 2:30 p.m. kickoff prior to the Homecoming court presentation at 2 p.m.