Southern Arkansas MULERIDERS (0-0, 0-0 GAC) vs. Southeastern Oklahoma State SAVAGE STORM (0-0, 0-0 GAC) Saturday, Sept. 6 @ 6 p.m. Magnolia, Ark. (Wilkins Stadium) LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO (SAU Feed) SAU GAME NOTES | GAC WEEKLY FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK | SE GAME NOTES

 

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About Southeastern Oklahoma

SCHEDULE
Southeastern Oklahoma and Southern Arkansas are opening their respective seasons against one another for the second straight year. This game is also the first Great American Conference game for both teams and marks the third straight year they have been each other's first GAC opponent. Last year, Southeastern had a full 11-game slate and went 2-9 (2-8 GAC) with their wins coming against SAU and Southern Nazarene. This year, the Savage Storm have an 11-game schedule once more with their lone non-conference game coming against Bacon College on October 4.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Last season, the Southeastern offense averaged 445.0 yards of total offense per game and featured one of the GAC's best running backs in eventual Freshman of the Year reciepient DevIon Wortham. Returning for his sophomore season, Wortham rushed for 1,119 yards and found the endzone 12 times in 2013. Wortham's breakout game came against SAU in the season-opener as he rushed for 220 yards and three scores. Running the offense in 2014 for SE figures to be a new face in junior transfer Ryan Polite. Polite, listed as the starter in the initial two-deep, enjoyed a heralded career at Trinity Valley CC where he was named an All-American in NJCAA last season after leading his conference and finishing second in the nation in passing yards. Additionally, Polite led his conference and finished third in the nation in passing touchdowns. Polite is set to take over for Nick Sioson, who will remain the backup while moving to tight end. In terms of receiving, SE returns the services of 1,000-yard receiver Anthony
Foster. An All-GAC Second-Team wide receiver last year, Foster was one of only two wideouts in the league to finish with over 1,000 yards on the season.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Savage Storm are moving to 3-4 scheme in 2014 after finishing 9th in the GAC in scoring defense (35.5 ppg) and total defense (449.1 ypg) in 2013. The change in defensive scheme will be implemented by first-year defensive coordinator Charles Burks. Burks will be tasked with having to fill half of the starting positions on the
Southeastern defense after losing 6 starters from a year ago. Last year, the Savage Storm were led defensively by defensive backs Greg Jackson and Chad Tucker. Jackson
and Tucker were the top two tacklers on the team with 63 and 61 stops, respectively. Last year, exiting senior Coby Ragsdale led the team in tackles for lost yardage with 11.0. Ragsdale also led the team in sacks as he totaled 2.5 on the year.
 

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Kick-off 2014: Riding for Brandon
The Southern Arkansas football team enters the 2014 with heavy hearts in the wake of the tragic death of senior wide receiver Brandon Hobdy just two weeks before this season-opener. While the circumstances are difficult, the Muleriders have gained a solitary focus for the entirety of the 2014 season; Riding for Brandon.

As the team looks to honor the memory of one of their own, the Muleriders are also looking to continue to build upon the winning successes over the past two seasons, in which, they recorded winning campaigns. 

Entering 2014, the Muleriders are tabbed to finish fifth in the Great American Conference, and they are also forced to replace nearly 65% of the team's offensive production from last year. Despite all the new faces that will be on the field, the Muleriders figure to be a top contender in the GAC by season's end.

Muleriders Picked 5th in GAC
The Southern Arkansas football team is coming off of consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003 after posting an 8-3 record in 2013 and a 6-4 mark in 2014. Despite that recent run of success, the Muleriders were picked by the head football coaches of the Great American Conference to finish 5th in the league by year's end.
Last year, the Muleriders entered the season with high expectations as they were tabbed to finish second in the GAC before ultimatelty finishing the season in a tie for fourth-place.

New Year, Pleanty of New Faces
The 2014 SAU football team is one that will feature several new faces in crucial positions on the field as the Muleriders lost a host of household names due to graduation. Most notably, the Muleriders enter the 2014 season having to fill starting positions at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and linebacker. All of those vacated positions in 2014 were held by All-GAC performers in 2013.

Perinnially-Potent Offense
Under the direction of head coach Bill Keopple and and offensive coordinator Landon Keopple, the offense of the SAU football team has risen to be among the national leaders
perinnially. In the last four seasons, the Muleriders have averaged 33.2 points per game, 437.9 yards of total offense per game, 282.2 passing yards per game, and 155.7 rushing yards per game.

Recharging the Offense
Despite the incredible success the Muleriders have enjoyed on the offensive side of the ball the past few seasons, this year, the Muleriders are forced to replace over 75% of their offensive production from last year.

Si's Our Guy
The long road to becoming the Muleriders' starting quarterback has come to an end for senior Si Blackshire. Blackshire, a native of Carthage, Texas, has been in the SAU football program for the past two seasons, redshirting his first year and serving as the backup QB most recently. An athletic quarterback with a strong arm, Blackshire figures
to pick right up in the high-octane offensive system of SAU while also adding dimensions not seen at the QB position at SAU in recent years.

Season-Openers Under Keopple
Head coach Bill Keopple enters into his sixth season at SAU. With Keopple at the helm, the Muleriders have built their program up in the past few years, but SAU has not enjoyed much success in their season-openers as they are just 1-4 overall. The lone win thus far in the Keopple-era came in 2012 as the Muleriders shutout Texas College on the road, 56-0.

Day and Night
Last year the Muleriders played half of their games during the day and half of their games at night. In day games, the Muleriders were an impressive 4-1, but were 2-3 in night games. 

Stuff the Rush
One of the keys to success for the Muleriders last season was their ability to stop the rush. Only three times did SAU allow a team to go over 200 yards rushing and in those games, the Muleriders were 0-3. In games in which they held their opponent to under 200 yards rushing, the Muleriders were 6-1.

Four Score(s) and Five Wins Later
Out of their six wins last year, the Muleriders scored 30 or more points five times. When they didn't score at least 30 points, the Muleriders were 1-3.

Give Me A Break
In 10 games last season, the Muleriders carried a lead into halftime five times. Their record when leading at the half was 4-1. When SAU trailed or was tied at the half, the Muleriders were 2-3 with both of those wins coming from behind as they were trailing at the half.

Ball Control
In 2013, the Southern Arkansas football team held the ball on offense for an average of 29:41 per game. Their opponents held possession for an average of 30:19. Despite the slight disadvantage in T.O.P., the Muleriders were 4-2 in games in which they possessed the ball longer than their opponent.