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.

MAGNOLIA, Ark. (Sept. 13, 1997) – Sophomore place kicker Garron Spickard (Bauxite, Ark.) tied a school record with three successful field goal attempts and junior defensive back Lucas Melott (Irving, Texas) highlighted the Mulerider defense's dominance by picking off a pair of North Alabama passes, as Southern Arkansas improved to 2-0 on the season after arguably the greatest win in program history with a 16-7 victory over the nationally-prominent Lions in the Gulf South Conference opener on Saturday night at Wilkins Stadium.
 
The Mulerider defense forced five turnovers in the win as they totaled three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries, while holding the UNA offense to just seven points and 240 total yards.
 
Southern Arkansas cashed in on the first Lion turnover of the night after a red zone fumble forced by senior linebacker Fred Perry (Fort Smith, Ark.) was recovered by sophomore defensive back Chase Brossett (Irving, Texas) which halted a seven-play, 68-yard drive by North Alabama.
 
SAU took advantage and engineered an 82-yard drive that took just ten plays and concluded with redshirt freshman halfback Kevin Little (Shreveport, La.) punching in the game's first points, and Southern Arkansas' only touchdown of the night, from two yards out to give the Muleriders the first-quarter lead. The first of Spickard's ten points put SAU on top 7-0 with 7:27 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
With a 7-0 lead, the Mulerider defense locked in and forced their second turnover in as many UNA drives as junior defensive back Troy Mumphrey (Kilgore, Texas) stepped in front of a Lion pass attempt and returned it 12 yards into UNA territory. Following the aforementioned pick by Mumphrey, the UNA offense would remain unsuccessful as Southern Arkansas allowed just 28 yards on 13 plays during the remainder of the first half, which included three three-and-outs. The Lions managed just two second-quarter drives totaling 16 yards in 2:52.
 
The Mulerider offense again found the scoreboard early in the second quarter as Spickard connected from 40 yards out to cap a seven-play drive that covered 63 yards in just under three minutes to push the Southern Arkansas lead to 10-0 with 13:23 remaining in the first half. The ensuing Mulerider drive would not produce points but it would eat up over 8:30 as 14 plays covered 54 yards, before a 31-yard punt by Spickard backed UNA up to their own 13-yard line.
 
A quick three-and-out forced by the Muleriders set the stage for Spickard once again as the sophomore nailed a 31-yard field goal attempt with three ticks left in the second quarter putting Southern Arkansas up 13-0 and placing the final touch on a dominant first half.
 
Coming out of the intermission, the North Alabama offense would endure yet another three-and-out before finding the end zone for their only score of the night with 2:38 to play in the third quarter as a 68-yard drive was topped off with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Clay Styles to James Moore.
 
North Alabama would find itself with a chance to take the lead as the fourth quarter started, but Southern Arkansas would call on their defense once again as Perry forced his second fumble of the game which was recovered by junior defensive back Adrian Tamplin (Henderson, Texas) and shuttered the Lion drive on the Mulerider 30-yard line with 11:56 remaining in the game.
 
Spickard's career night was capped off at the 5:40 mark of the fourth quarter as he was true on a 41-yard attempt to put Southern Arkansas out front by two possessions, 16-7. Before the final horn sounded, the Lion offense would maneuver inside the SAU 40 on their final two drives, but it was Melott who delivered the final judgement as he picked off two passes, his first with 2:26 to play and his second with 19 seconds remaining, to seal the win.
 
The Mulerider offense was again efficient as it held the football for over 35 minutes on Saturday night and racked up 19 first downs, while rushing for 286 yards on 62 carries. Senior halfback Kendrick Law (Shreveport, La.) was the leading rusher for SAU after averaging 7.9 yards per carry in ten attempts, while junior fullback Jason Smelser (Monroe, La.) added 73 yards rushing on a team-high 19 carries. Little finished with 63 yards on the ground and the lone score.
 
Sophomore quarterback Adam Pendergrass (Van Buren, Ark.) tallied 137 all-purpose yards with 68 yards rushing and 49 yards through the air on three completions. Pendergrass' first completion found senior split end Jermaine Gales (Rialto, Calif.) and led to the SAU touchdown, while his second completion found classmate wide out Drew Cone (Van Buren, Ark.) to set up Spickard's third field goal make of the night.
 
Defensively, Brossett led with nine tackles and senior linebacker Anthony Hullaby (Ringgold, La.) added nine tackles as well as eight Muleriders recorded four or more stops. The Muleriders recorded seven tackles for loss led by sophomore defensive end Kendall Hill's pair. Perry registered eight tackles and also set the career program record for punt return yardage at 436 total yards after three returns for 32 yards on Saturday evening.
 
At 2-0, the 1997 Muleriders then turned their attention to Week 3 for a matchup against the University of Central Arkansas on the road in Conway.