MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Senior quarterback Si Blackshire set a new Southern Arkansas football single-game record for touchdowns thrown in a game as he tossed six in SAU's 62-21 blowout win over Northwestern Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon at Wilkins Stadium.
 
The previous mark of five TD passes was held by SAU's starting quarterback from a year ago, Tyler Sykora. On Saturday, Blackshire racked up five of his eventual six TD passes in the first half alone as he helped stake the Muleriders (2-2, 2-2 GAC) to a comfortable 42-21 lead at the break.
 
Over half of those 42 first-half points by SAU would come in the first quarter alone as the Muleriders' touchdown barrage started on their first drive of the game. On that drive, the Muleriders would need just two plays to cover 50 yards and find the endzone as Blackshire capped the drive by hooking up with a wide open Paul Walker-Hall from eight-yards out for the Muleriders' first score of the game.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, freshman kicker Bradford Grems lofted his kick short, catching the Rangers (1-3, 1-3 GAC) off guard and an opportunistic SAU special teams unit came away with the unconventional on-side kick recovery at the NWOSU 35-yardline. After a false start on the first play moved the ball back to the NWOSU 40-yardline, starting running back Deion Williams found the edge and broke free for a 40-yard TD rush, making it a quick 14-0 lead for the Muleriders.
 
The Rangers would respond on their next drive with a methodical 13-play, 78-yard scoring drive, which chewed up 6:05 off the clock, to make it a 14-7 SAU lead. The Muleriders would not waste much time to answer that score and go back up by two scores as on the third play of their ensuing drive, Zikerious Ware took a shovel pass from Blackshire on a wide receiver sweep 79 yards to the house.
 
The back-and-forth scoring in the first quarter continued after Ware's electric TD as Northwestern broke a pair of long runs as they scored their second TD of the game. The PAT would be no good, however, giving SAU an eight-point lead, 21-13.
 
SAU would find the endzone once more before the end of the first quarter as true freshman wide out Sidney Moore caught a 26-yard pass for a touchdown from Blackshire. The TD catch is the first in the collegiate career of Moore.
 
SAU's scoring results in the second quarter were nearly identical to that of the first quarter as both Walker-Hall and Ware caught TD passes. Walker-Hall's was another wide open strike, this time from 15 yards out, and Ware's was another shovel pass on a sweep that he took to the house, this time from 30 yards out.
 
After winning the toss and deferring to the second half, SAU had the first possession in the third quarter and it wouldn't take long for Blackshire to secure the record he and Moore connected once again, this time for a 46-yard TD with 14:19 left in the quarter.
 
The Muleriders would go on to score two more touchdowns in the game, both on the ground, as they eventually ran their point total to 62. Those 62 points scored are the fourth-most in a game against a collegiate opponent in SAU football history.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, the Muleriders would settle in a major way in the second half after Northwestern moved the ball fairly well in the first half, particularly on the ground, while putting up 21 points. In that second half, however, the Mulerider defense was suffocating, allowing an impressive -1 yards of total offense on 21 Northwestern plays.
 
Leading the defensive charge for the Muleriders on the afternoon was Nolan Duncan as he had a team-high seven tackles. 3.5 of those tackles came for lost yardage as Duncan was a force on the defensive line.
 
The Muleriders will look to continue that type of stout defensive play from Duncan and others next Saturday as they hit the road to take on Harding and their triple-option running attack. The marquee matchup, which was nationally televised last year, will have a 6 p.m. kickoff a First Security Stadium in Searcy.