EL DORADO, Ark. – The Southern Arkansas football team gave the No. 14-ranked Henderson State Reddies everything they could have asked for and more in the sixth-annual Murphy USA Classic on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado as the two teams combined for 96 points with HSU holding on for the 55-41 win.
 
The Reddies (9-1, 8-1 GAC) would strike first in the game as Kevin Rodgers connected with James Jackson for a 62-yard touchdown with 9:19 left in the first quarter. On Henderson's next possession they would attempt a fake punt, but Houston Ray's pass would fall incomplete, giving the Muleriders (4-5, 4-5 GAC) possession at the Henderson 28-yardline. On the very next play, SAU would knot the game at seven all as Si Blackshire would toss a 28-yard TD to Jonathan Weisheit.
 
The Reddies would answer back with consecutive scoring drives to close out the first quarter as they charged ahead, 21-7. On SAU's first drive of the second quarter, Blackshire would pull the Muleriders to within a score as he hooked up with ZIkerious Ware for a 46-yard TD.
 
With 4:40 left in the second quarter, the Reddies would stretch their lead to 10 points as Ray made good on a 30-yard field goal. Just over three minutes later, Henderson would grow their lead out 17 points, 31-14, as Rodgers threw a nine-yard TD pass to Joseph Snapp with 1:33 left in the quarter.
 
In the third quarter, however, the Muleriders would begin their comeback march as they scored 13 unanswered points. The first of those scores was an 11-yard TD pass to Aaron Johnson while the remaining six points during that run came on a pair of 32-yard field goals by Bradford Grems.
 
With the Muleriders now within four points, 31-27, Henderson would give themselves some breathing room as Rodgers launched a 52-yard TD pass to Darius Davis, making it a 38-27 game with 4:06 left in the third quarter.
 
Just under three minutes later, Grems would hit his third field goal of the game as he was good from 22-yards, bringing the Muleriders to with one possession, 38-30.
 
On the ensuing Henderson possession, the Muleriders would force a punt, giving them the first possession of the fourth quarter. On that possession, Blackshire would chuck the ball 65 yards down the field as the big play was a 52-yard pass to Johnson down to the Henderson two-yard line. On the next play, Blackshire would punch it in from there; bringing the Muleriders to within two points, 38-36. SAU would go for the two-point conversion looking to tie the game, and it was successful as Blackshire found Paul Walker-Hall in the back of the end zone.
 
With 12:34 remaining in the game, Henderson would take the lead once more as Ray made good on a 27-yard field goal, making it 41-38 in favor of the Reddies. The Muleriders would match that field goal and tie the game up at 41-all with 9:08 left in the fourth quarter as Grems drilled his fourth field goal, this time from 29 yards out.
 
On Henderson's next possession, the Reddies would march down the field on just four plays before scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a two-yard dive by Ryan McDonald. The Muleriders would assume possession with 8:01 left in the game, but on the second play of that drive, the game would take a significant turn as the Reddies forced and recovered a fumble on a Blackshire scramble.
 
Recovering the ball at the SAU 36-yardline, the Reddies would use seven plays to score and effectively put the game away with 4:39 left as the Muleriders now trailed by 14 points and with no timeouts on their side.
 
On SAU's ensuing possession, the Muleriders would turn the ball over on downs with 3:08 left in the game. A three-yard run by HSU's Rodney Bryson on third-and-1 would seal the game as the Reddies kneeled on the next two plays to bring the fourth quarter clock to 0:00.
 
With the 96 combined points, offense was definitely on display for both teams and the two would combine for 1,194 yards of total offense. 907 of those combined total yards would come through the air as the Reddies threw for 509 yards and the Muleriders for 398.
 
Both starting QBs, Rodgers and Blackshire, would account for all of each team's passing totals. Rodgers would add five TDs and one pick, while Blackshire threw a pair of TDs with no picks.
 
In terms of receiving, five receivers combined would account for over 100 yards each with HSU's Davis leading the way with 173 yards on five catches. SAU's Johnson would be next in line with 152 yards on seven catches.
 
Defensively, the Muleriders would have three players total 10 or more tackles with A.J. Steele leading all tacklers with 15. The leading tackler for HSU was Josh Davis as he ended with 14 stops.
 
The Muleriders will now prepare for their final game of the 2014 season as they will take on rival Arkansas-Monticello in the third-annual Battle of the Timberlands game. This year's affair is being held at Cotton Boll Stadium in Monticello.