By: Jacob Pumphrey
Editor's Note: In honor of the 20th 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.
CONWAY, Ark. (Sept. 20, 1997) – Southern Arkansas lost two fumbles and managed to convert just two of twelve third-down attempts as Central Arkansas slipped by the Muleriders, 20-13, and handed SAU its first loss of the season in Gulf South Conference action on Saturday night at McConnell Stadium in Conway, Arkansas.
The Bears entered the game ranked ninth in the South Region despite losing the first two games of the season. Defensively, UCA (2-1, 1-1 GSC) succeeded to hold Southern Arkansas to just 155 yards on the ground, while the Bear offense ran 13 more plays, recorded zero turnovers, and held the ball for 4:10 longer than SAU.
The Muleriders (2-1, 1-1 GSC) rushed 41 times, passed a season-high 18 times and were forced to punt eight times on Saturday night.
After a scoreless first quarter, Central Arkansas scored first as Michael Mayeux connected on a 47-yard field goal attempt with 12:04 remaining in the first half. That kick would serve as the only points between the sides through the first two quarters.
Following the intermission, Southern Arkansas evened the score at 3-all as sophomore Garron Spickard (Bauxite, Ark.) capped a five-play, 44-yard drive with a 39-yard kick at the 12:23 mark of the third quarter.
UCA would distance themselves in later in the quarter following the Spickard kick as they built a 17-3 lead behind a pair of drives that combined for 91 yards on five plays in just 1:49.
The Muleriders would find the end zone for the only time on Saturday early in the fourth quarter as sophomore Adam Pendergrass (Van Buren, Ark.) stamped a seven-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 2:56 with a two-yard run to paydirt that brought Southern Arkansas to within a one-possession deficit with 13:20 to play in the game.
Central Arkansas answered late in the fourth quarter as a twelve-play, 68-yard drive resulted in Mayeux finding the uprights from 20-yards out to push the Bear lead back to 10, 20-10 with just under three and a half minutes to play. SAU quickly got into scoring range and called on Spickard once more as he nailed a 41-yard field goal to cut the deficit back to seven points, 20-13, with 2:17 left.
Southern Arkansas would be unable to tie the score late as they fell on the road in their first defeat of the season.
The aforementioned 155 yards rushing came via a large chunk from junior fullback Jason Smelser (Monroe, La.) who tallied 86 yards on 12 carries. Redshirt freshman Kevin Little (Shreveport, La.) netted 23 yards on seven carries, while senior Kendrick Law (Shreveport, La.) rushed six times for 21 yards.
Pendergrass finished with 20 yards rushing on 15 attempts with the lone touchdown. Through the air, the sophomore tossed 18 times with eight completions and 144 yards with a long of 35 yards to classmate Drew Cone. Cone caught three passes for a team-high 83 yards, while senior Jermaine Gales (Rialto, Calif.) also added three catches for 36 yards, with Law and Little each catching a pass from Pendergrass.
Defensively, Southern Arkansas was led by a trio of tacklers that recorded at least ten stops. Sophomore Chase Brossett (Irving, Texas) led all players with 13 tackles, including one for a loss. Seniors Fred Perry (Fort Smith, Ark.) and Anthony Hullaby (Ringgold, La.) each added a dozen tackles and combined for three tackles for loss with Perry adding two. Sophomores Robert Fox (Irving, Texas) and Josh Rankin (Mauriceville, Texas) chipped in with a combined 16 stops.
The Muleriders tallied nine tackles for loss and added six pass breakups.
Southern Arkansas faced a bye week the following Saturday, but returned to action the following weekend on the road in Cleveland, Mississippi, against Delta State.
