MAGNOLIA, Ark. - It has been a long time since the Muleriders had the opportunity to play in front of their home crowd. In fact, it has been a long 663 days. But it ends on Saturday, September 11 as Southern Arkansas welcomes in Southwestern Oklahoma State in a Week 2 tilt scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff on a night that will feature multiple moments of remembrance for the lives lost and heroic actions taken on that tragic day two decades ago. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

>>> The Mike McCarty Era began impressively considering it was the program's first action in 633 days; the second-longest in program history. The Muleriders topped Northwestern Oklahoma State 32-13 in the season opener behind a balanced attack offensively and a defense that matched the single-game program record for sacks with eight and held the Rangers to just 68 yards on the ground.

>>> It has been a long 663 days between home football games for Southern Arkansas and the program enters its Week 2 matchup in Magnolia having won its last eight home openers.

>>> Southern Arkansas owns a 34-7 record at home and has enjoyed four unbeaten seasons at Wilkins Stadium since joining the Great American Conference as a charter member in 2011. Since 2015, the Muleriders have won 21 of their 23 home games and have not lost at home to an Oklahoma school during that span, including a 5-0 mark vs. SWOSU in Magnolia.

>>> Southwestern Oklahoma dropped its season opener at home to Henderson State 31-13. The Bulldogs totaled 348 total yards of offense, but with just 79 of those yards coming on the ground. SWOSU threw 39 times totaling nearly 270 yards last Thursday night against the Reddies, but was intercepted three times in the loss.

>>> Senior quarterback Hayden Mallory enjoyed a nice start to his final season in Magnolia as he went 21-of-30 for 255 yards and three touchdowns last week in Alva.

>>> Freshman Jariq Scales tallied 168 yards on 32 carries with a touchdown in his collegiate debut, while redshirt junior Micah Small hauled in two of Mallory's three touchdowns as he finished with eight catches for 97 yards. Sophomore Dekendrick Bender caught four passes for an explosive 91 yards and a touchdown.

>>> Redshirt junior Prince Udenze led the team with six tackles in the opener. He recorded a team-leading 3.5 tackles for loss with a half sack. Redshirt sophomore Tarrion Thompson and freshman Dawson Scott, who made his collegiate debut, each recorded two sacks in the win with Scott forcing a fumble as well. Six players were responsible for running up the record-setting sack total.

>>> SWOSU's Tanner Griffin threw 39 times against HSU in the opener completing 23 for 269 yards and a touchdown. He targeted 11 receivers with nine catching at least one pass. Justin Bailey caught four balls for 81 yards.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS BY THE NUMBERS
22 - The number of consecutive home wins for Southern Arkansas against Oklahoma schools since joining the GAC as a charter member in 2011. The Muleriders are 22-1 against Sooner State foes in Magnolia during that time span. The lone loss was to Southeastern Oklahoma State 24-21 on September 17, 2011; the first out-of-state GAC opponent to pay in Magnolia.
8 - The number of sacks recorded by the SAU defense last week at Northwestern Oklahoma. It matched the single-game record and was the just the fourth time in the program's DII Era that the unit registered at least seven sacks in a game. The Muleriders recorded eight against SWOSU in 2017, seven at UAM in 1998 and seven against NWOSU in 1997.
2.3 - The average yards per rush allowed by the Mulerider defense in last week's win at NWOSU. The Rangers rushed 30 times and did not find the endzone on the ground. It marks the 24th time since the start of the 2011 season that the Muleriders have kept an opponent under 70 yards rushing.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS VS. SWOSU
>>> Those in attendance on Family Day 2012 witnessed a "barn burner." To our knowledge, no actual barns were burned in Columbia County that night, but by the time the smoke cleared at Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field, the Muleriders had overcame two different 14-point deficits, including one after the first quarter of play and the other with just under ten and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter. Trailing 28-14 after throwing a pick-six, the Muleriders went to work on both sides of the football as the defense allowed only two field goals the remainder of the game, while forcing three turnovers including an interception to complete the comeback with less than 90 seconds remaining. Offensively, Tyler Sykora connected twice with Rafael Thomas for touchdowns on back-to-back third-quarter drives that totaled a combined 157 yards. With 5:10 to play, Sykora found Carlos Brown for a nine-yard score to give SAU its only lead of the game which preceded the aforementioned interception by Nick Davis.