MAGNOLIA, Ark. – On Thursday the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association released their all-region honorees for the 2022 football season. Redshirt sophomore running back Jariq Scales was named to the All- Super Region 3 Second-Team. The Osceola, Arkansas native adds the accolade to his already impressive list that followed the 2022 season. Scales was recently named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic-All District Football Team after being recognized as an All-Great American Conference First Team Performer.
Scales, who set the program record for single season rushing yards last fall, became just the second player (Mark Johnson; 2011, 2012) in program history to record consecutive seasons of 1000-plus rushing yards as he posted 1,043 yards (4th GAC) at 5.8 yards per carry (11th) on 179 carries (3rd). The playmaking back eclipsed 125 yards on the ground four times, while in three of those performances he ran north of 150 yards with two games at 170+ total rushing yards. He scored 12 rushing touchdowns this fall which are tied for the fourth most in a single season.
As a receiver, Scales hauled in the third-most passes (26) on the team for 262 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In 11 games, he totaled 1,305 yards on 205 touches to average 118.6 all-purpose yards per game which ranked fifth in the GAC behind four fellow first-team selections. His 84 total points were the sixth-most in the regular season.
Scales' marks in rushing yards per carry, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, total points scored and total touchdowns all ranked in the top 30 nationally in DII.
At the conclusion of the regular season, Scales ranks, among active career players in Division II, fourth in rushes per game (18.9), fifth in all-purpose plays per game (20.5), fifth in rushing yards per game (114.5), and ninth in all-purpose yards per game (129.6).
With his sophomore season output, Scales enters his junior season with 2,518 career rushing yards which are the fifth-most all-time in program history. His 21 career rushing touchdowns rank tied for the seventh most in a single career. His 144 career points scored rank just outside the program's career top 10 as do his 2,853 all-purpose yards.
