Editor's Note: In honor of the 20^th Anniversary of the 1997 Mulerider Football Team capturing the Gulf South Conference Championship, the Southern Arkansas Sports Information Department will, on a weekly basis, recreate the 1997 season through brief game recaps and box scores.

MONTICELLO, Ark. (Nov. 1, 1997) – Sophomore kicker Garron Spickard (Bauxite, Ark.) connected on a 25-yard field goal try with eight seconds remaining to cap a ten-point, fourth-quarter rally as Southern Arkansas (7-1, 5-1 GSC) topped Arkansas-Monticello (0-8, 0-6 GSC) 20-17 in Gulf South Conference action on Saturday afternoon inside Willis "Convoy" Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.
 
The victory over Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday was the first for Southern Arkansas since a 12-6 win over the Boll Weevils in 1991 and snapped a five-game winless streak against UAM.
 
Spickard, who has converted ten field goal opportunities into points this season, was successful on two of his three attempts in the win including a 30-yard make in the second quarter and the aforementioned game-winner from 25 yards out before the final horn. His first-quarter attempt from 23 yards away that would have given Southern Arkansas a 10-0 lead was blocked.
 
The Mulerider defense continued its dominant play as it collected 16 tackles for loss resulting in 81 lost yards, including eight sacks from five different players. UAM managed just nine yards rushing on 28 attempts, while completing 25 passes for 296 yards. Sophomore defensive back Eddie Bratton, Jr. picked off a pair of Boll Weevil passes in the first half halting two UAM drives as Southern Arkansas allowed just three points to Arkansas-Monticello in the first two quarters of play.
 
For the first time this season, the Southern Arkansas offense out-passed its running game as the Muleriders tallied a season-high 196 yards through the air on 11-of-23 passing, while rushing 43 times for 171 yards. Hindering the ground game for SAU on Saturday was four lost fumbles.
 
Southern Arkansas was responsible for the game's first touchdown and only points of the first quarter as sophomore quarterback Adam Pendergrass (Van Buren, Ark.) found senior split end Jermaine Gales (Rialto, Calif.) on a ten-yard scoring strike that was set up two plays earlier when Pendergrass connected with sophomore split end Drew Cone for 15 yards to put the Muleriders in the redzone.
 
Midway through the second quarter, Arkansas-Monticello capped a 72-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-3. Just over five minutes later, at the 2:27 mark of the first half, the Muleriders answered as Spickard hit the first of his two kicks to give SAU a 10-3 lead at the intermission.
 
The third quarter would belong to the Boll Weevils as UAM turned a pair of Mulerider fumbles into two touchdown-scoring drives to take a 17-10 lead into the fourth quarter. All 17 of UAM's points came off of SAU turnovers, while both UAM touchdown drives started inside the Mulerider 40-yard line.  
 
In the final quarter, a Pendergrass-to-Cone touchdown from 13 yards out capped a quick five play, 37-yard drive that took just over two minutes off the clock and tied the game at 17 with 10:36 remaining in the game.
 
The eighth and final sack by the Muleriders on Saturday couldn't have come at a better time as UAM faced a 3^rd and 10 from its own 32 yard line before sophomore linebacker Josh Rankin (Mauriceville, Texas) wrapped up UAM's Kevin McCarn for a nine-yard loss prompting a punt by the Weevils. Rankin finished with a game-high 11 tackles, including seven unassisted.
 
The final two UAM drives of the game resulted in negative one yard on six plays as the Mulerider defense buckled up down the stretch.
 
With 1:01 to play, Pendergrass delivered and marched the Muleriders down the field quickly as he completed three passes with two going to Cone for a combined 45 yards. After redshirt freshman halfback Kevin Little (Shreveport, La.) carried for four yards, the Muleriders and Boll Weevils each called a timeout with 11 seconds to play with the latter's proving to be unsuccessful with Spickard drilling the attempt as the Muleriders survived on the road.
 
The Muleriders totaled 367 yards on 66 plays and received 95 yards in non-offensive returns on Saturday, including 48 yards on two kickoff returns by junior defensive back Troy Mumphrey (Kilgore, Texas).
 
Pendergrass finished 10-of-22 passing for 184 yards with seven of those completions tallying 139 yards going to Cone. Gales finished with a pair of catches for 22 yards and a score, while Little hauled in one pass for 32 yards which set up the game-tying score from Pendergrass to Cone in the third quarter.
 
Freshman quarterback Jamie Yates (Van Buren, Ark.) completed one pass for a dozen yards, while also leading the team in rushing with 51 yards on nine carries. Junior fullback Jason Smelser (Monroe, La.) added 36 yards on the ground on eight carries, while senior halfback Kendrick Law (Shreveport, La.) and Little combined for 57 yards on 14 attempts.
 
Defensively, nine additional Muleriders joined Rankin with four or more stops, with senior Linebacker Fred Perry (Fort Smith, Ark.) and freshman defensive lineman Matt Turner (Ruston, La.) leading the charge with four tackles for loss each with both players recording a pair of sacks. Junior defensive lineman Mel Polk (Broken Bow, Okla.) added three tackles for loss including two sacks.
 
Southern Arkansas remained on the road the following Saturday for a 2 p.m. matchup with Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.