By: 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.
CLEVELAND, Miss. (Oct. 4, 1997) – Following a Week 4 open date, Southern Arkansas began play in Week 5 and looked well rested as the Muleriders, behind several solid performances in all three phases of the game, toppled Gulf South Conference Preseason Favorite Delta State, 24-6, on Saturday night at Travis Parker Field in Cleveland, Mississippi, to improve to 3-1 on the season.
Southern Arkansas (3-1, 2-1 GSC) managed just 200 yards offensively in 53 plays, but it was a pair of late touchdown passes in the fourth quarter that distanced the Muleriders from Delta State (0-4, 0-3 GSC) in a contest that had been dictated by the kicking game through the first three quarters of play.
The Muleriders struck first early in the second quarter after both sides went scoreless through the opening 15 minutes of play. With 13:30 remaining in the first half, junior defensive back Lucas Melott (Irving, Texas) returned a blocked punt 30 yards to pay dirt for the game's first points and only score of the first half.
After the intermission, the Statesmen ended an 11-play, 77-yard drive that clocked 5:13 with a 19 yard field goal from Trey Agner at the 9:48 mark of the third quarter. Just over three and a half minutes later, sophomore kicker Garron Spickard (Bauxite, Ark.) connected from a season-long 45 yards out to push the Mulerider lead back to seven, 10-3, with 6:25 left to play in the third quarter.
The successful make from Spickard was his seventh field goal of the season and fifth make from 40 or more yards away.
Less than 75 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Mulerider defense recorded arguably their biggest stop of the season as they forced DSU to attempt a 24 yard field goal attempt after the Statesmen began the drive on the SAU 10. Agner's second kick was good as Delta State cut the deficit to four, 10-6, with 13:46 to play. It was the second time in the second time in the second half that Delta State would have to settle for a field goal despite having the football inside the Mulerider seven yard line.
As close as the GSC affair had been through three quarters, the Mulerider offense did its part to pull away from DSU in the final quarter of action.
Following the second make from Agner, Southern Arkansas answered quickly on the ensuing drive as sophomore quarterback Adam Pendergrass (Van Buren, Ark.) found classmate split end Drew Cone (Van Buren, Ark.) for an 82 yard touchdown pass on a drive that lasted just 26 seconds and increased the Mulerider lead to two possessions, 17-6, at the 13:22 mark of the fourth quarter.
Leading up to the Pendergrass-to-Cone connection, the SAU offense had managed just 66 yards through three quarters before the aforementioned 82-yard scoring strike.
The exclamation mark on the road victory came with just under nine minutes to play as Pendergrass again found Cone; this time from six yards out to cap a seven play, 52 yard drive and put the Muleriders on top 24-6.
SAU rushed 44 times for 101 yards, while Pendergrass completed three passes, all to Cone, for 99 yards. Senior halfback Kendrick Law (Shreveport, La.) carried ten times for a team-high 60 yards, while redshirt freshman halfback Kevin Little (Shreveport, La.) carried a team-high 12 times for 30 yards.
Defensively, Melott and senior linebacker Anthony Hullaby (Ringgold, La.) collected ten tackles each, while ten other Muleriders recorded three or more stops. Delta State threw 31 times and the SAU secondary accounted for eight pass breakups with three coming from sophomore defensive back Chase Brossett (Irving, Texas) and two more coming from Melott.
Senior linebacker Fred Perry (Fort Smith, Ark.) recovered a fumble and sophomore defensive back Robert Fox (Irving, Texas) picked off a Statesman pass.
Big returns helped a struggling SAU offense with field position as Melott posted a 39 yard punt return, while junior defensive back Troy Mumphrey (Kilgore, Texas) returned a kickoff 54 yards into Statesmen territory.
Southern Arkansas returned home to Wilkins Stadium for a Week 6 matchup with Arkansas Tech.
