MONTICELLO, Ark. – Seventy-two years ago following Magnolia A&M's 24-17 defeat of Arkansas A&M on Thanksgiving Day 1950 which avenged a 12-point home loss a year earlier, Dean Graham described his feelings of the victory in the faculty bulletin. Those six words ring true over seven decades later following the 97th meeting between the longtime bitter rivals.
 
"Sweet Vengeance — Our Cup Runneth Over."
 
First-year head coach Brad Smiley's Muleriders handled business on Saturday afternoon at Willis "Convoy" Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium as Southern Arkansas used a 13-point fourth quarter to enact much needed revenge on Arkansas-Monticello in a 20-7 decision in a chilly Great American Conference season finale.
 
Deadlocked at seven entering the final 15 minutes of play, Southern Arkansas, as it had proven to do much of the '22 campaign, relied on the legs of its dominant rushing attack to put the game away.
 
With 11:17 remaining, the Muleriders embarked on a 13-play, 90-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock and ended with junior quarterback OB Jones scoring from 20-yards out on a tackle-breaking rush to give the Muleriders a 13-7 lead at the 6:04 mark of the fourth.
 
The rush by Jones was one of 19 attempts by the dual threat that totaled 114 yards and led the SAU ground game which accumulated 287 total yards in the win.
 
If Jones' scoring scamper was the dagger, sophomore Kadyn Roach's 26-yard dash for six was the final nail. Roach's run capped a quick three-play drive, which included a 21-yard run by the running back on the first play, that covered 44 yards and took less than 90 seconds following an interception by freshman Xavier Branch that was returned 34 yards into UAM territory at the Weevil 44.
 
Southern Arkansas opened up scoring with a one-yard plunge by redshirt sophomore Jariq Scales which concluded a ten-play march over 84 yards in 3:47 to give the visitors an early lead. Scales rushed 20 times for 88 yards as he eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season to become just the second running back (Mark Johnson; 2011, 2012) in program history to record two 1,000-yard rushing campaigns.
 
The first half witnessed a combined three punts, two turnovers on downs, one of which was a goal line stand by the Muleriders, an SAU fumble, and a missed UAM field goal as both teams franticly tried to grab the momentum in the opening 30 minutes. The goal line stand kept the Muleriders 7-0 lead intact, while the fumble led to the Weevils' lone touchdown as Edwin Kleinpeter found Jordan Mansfield from 28 yards out to tie the game at a touchdown apiece with 1:35 remaining before the intermission.
 
Defensively, the Muleriders recorded 8.0 TFL with six counting as sacks. Dawson Scott registered a pair of sacks and five other Muleriders added at least a half sack. Junior linebacker Jacob Berry logged 13 tackles, including ten solo stops, to become the first player since Keenan Washington in 2004 to reach the century mark in tackles. Senior JD Abrams followed with seven solo tackles, two TFL and a sack while junior Saul Williams added six stops, one TFL and two pass breakups.
 
Southern Arkansas became the first team since 2002 with 30 rushing touchdowns in a single season and just the third ever in program history. The Muleriders' 5,339 total yards make the 2022 offense just the third to eclipse 5,300 in a single season.
 
Jones finished 15-of-20 for 145 yards to go along with his aforementioned 114 rushing yards as he became the first 2000-yard passer and 700-yard rusher in a single season in program history. Sophomore wide receiver Cole Williams had a big day as he hauled in seven passes for 66 yards. Williams concludes his second season in Magnolia as the team leader in catches (35), receiving yards (419), touchdowns (3) and receiving yards per game (38.09).
 
With two extra points in Saturday's win, grad placekicker Austin Wilkerson becomes the first player in program history to reach 300 points scored in a career.

The Muleriders finish the 2022 season at 5-6 overall and head into the offseason on a high note as SAU reclaims the Battle of the Timberlands Trophy which will reside in Magnolia for the eighth time since 2012.