MAGNOLIA, Ark. – There's no place like home. On Saturday night in Magnolia, Southern Arkansas returned to the friendly confines of Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field for its first action in 663 days and the SAU faithful did not leave disappointed. The Muleriders used a 21-point fourth quarter to come from behind and beat Southwestern Oklahoma State 42-27 in Great American Conference Week 2 action. The victory improved the Muleriders' home winning streak against Sooner State foes to an impressive 23 games.
 
Southern Arkansas (2-0, 2-0 GAC) used several big plays in the final 15 minutes to push past the pesky Bulldogs (0-2, 0-2 GAC) which tallied over 500 yards of total offense, but were held scoreless in the fourth quarter after carrying six-point leads following the second and third stanzas. In the fourth quarter, the Mulerider defense held SWOSU to just 95 total yards on 21 plays with the visitor's four drives ending in two punts, a critical game-changing interception and the end of the contest.
 
One week after forcing Northwestern Oklahoma State to just 68 yards at 2.3 yards per carry, Southern Arkansas' front seven saddled back up and held SWOSU to just 68 yards at 3.0 yards per carry.
 
The Muleriders opened up scoring with senior Hayden Mallory hitting pay dirt on the ground from two yards out for his first career rushing touchdown which ended a two-play drive that started after freshman Rayvon Ingram picked off a Bulldog pass on SWOSU's second drive of the game.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma accounted for the next two scores to take a 13-7 lead. With 4:54 to play before the intermission, Mallory connected with classmate Desmond Jones on a shallow out route for a five-yard score and a brief Mulerider lead. The Bulldogs answered with a three-play, 65-yard drive which gave SWOSU a 20-14 lead through two quarters.
 
Southern Arkansas would allow only seven more points in the final thirty minutes of play, but on the offensive side of the football Mallory locked in on redshirt junior Micah Small and the results were huge.
 
Touchdown tosses two, three and four from Mallory all found Small as the first one, which came at the 8:59 mark of the third quarter put Southern Arkansas up 21-20, while the second one answered the lone Bulldog points of the second half to give the Muleriders a 28-27 lead with 14:55 to play. The final scoring toss saw Mallory connect with Small from 38-yards out as the lead increased to 35-27.
 
In the final 75 seconds, freshman running back Jariq Scales, who topped the century mark for the second-straight week, scored on a ten-yard carry which capped a short scoring drive set up by a game-sealing interception from linebacker Gavin Roe. Roe stepped in front of a SWOSU pass midway through the fourth quarter and left debris in his wake as the return showcased the freshman's athleticism and ended with him delivering a powerful blow along the Mulerider sideline.
 
Roe led the defensive effort with a career-high ten tackles and the aforementioned interception; the first of his career. Five other players recorded at least five tackles and one week after recording eight sacks as a team, Southern Arkansas recorded four more led by 1.5 from senior Demoni Boyd who blocked an extra point attempt in the first quarter.
 
Small hauled in four passes for 70 yards and three scores. Sophomore Dekendrick Bender led the team with six catches for 55 yards and freshman MJ Loggins caught five passes for 47 yards. Mallory finished 25-of-35 for 266 yards and four touchdowns with a rushing score.
 
Southern Arkansas remains home for a Week 3 matchup with Harding as the Bisons' rushing attack and the Muleriders' run defense highlight the meeting on Saturday, September 18. It's Family Day in Magnolia with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.