MAGNOLIA, Ark. – In the first Magnolia meeting between the longtime Natural State foes since 2012, Southern Arkansas rode a solid passing attack and several timely defensive stands to knock off previously-unbeaten #24 Henderson State 28-24 in Great American Conference action in front of a rambunctious Family Day crowd inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field. The win is the first for the Muleriders against the Reddies in Magnolia since 2005 and it evens the '22 record at 2-2, while HSU suffers its first defeat to move to 3-1 on the season.
It was a back-and-forth affair worth the price of admission on Saturday night in Columbia County. The Muleriders passed for 308 yards on 34 attempts with 26 completions and four touchdowns. Southern Arkansas overcame two interceptions, both of which were thrown inside the Henderson State ten-yard line, and also withstood a Reddie passing attack that accumulated 331 yards through the air on 23-of-34 passing with 14.4 yards per completion and three touchdowns.
Southern Arkansas was outgained offensively by 108 yards in two less plays, but the difference for the Muleriders came on third-down as the host converted eight of its 13 opportunities, while the SAU defense allowed just three conversions in ten Reddie attempts. The Mulerider offensive line allowed just two sacks against a Henderson State pass rush that had recorded a program record 16 sacks through three games entering the Week 4 affair.
Junior quarterback
OB Jones' athleticism allowed for the dual-threat signal caller to escape several close calls from that aforementioned pass rush. He finished 23-of-30 for 252 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Redshirt freshman
Judd Barton completed three of his four pass attempts for 56 yards with 25 of those coming on a nice third down scoring strike to sophomore
Seth Johnson with 1:45 remaining in the first half to put the Muleriders up 21-9.
The high-powered HSU offensive struck first on Saturday night as Andrew Edwards connected with Mike Benning on a 66-yard toss down the Mulerider sideline for the game's first score and a 6-0 lead following a missed extra point. Southern Arkansas responded as Jones found redshirt sophomore running back
Jariq Scales on a five-yard toss out of the backfield to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive to take a 7-6 lead after an
Austin Wilkerson extra point.
The Reddies took a 9-7 lead into the second quarter, but a pair of scoring drives by the Muleriders led to a 21-9 lead late in the first half. Prior to the Barton to Johnson hook up, Jones found redshirt junior
Kamden Perry from six yards out to put the finishing touches on an 89-yard drive that took a dozen plays and nearly six minutes off of the clock.
What looked to be a two-possession lead for the Muleriders heading into the intermission was quickly put aside as HSU needed just three plays and 26 seconds to pull within five at the break. A scoreless third quarter for both teams gave way to an early six points for Henderson State in the fourth quarter as Edwards found Xavier Malone for the second time for a score which ended a 92-yard drive over 11 plays.
Trailing 24-21 with 13 minutes remaining in the contest, Southern Arkansas was forced to punt, but a knuckling boot off the leg of redshirt sophomore
Andrew Schreiner was mishandled and muffed which led to a Mulerider recovery by sophomore
Cole Williams and a drive start at the Henderson State 38 yard line. SAU used an HSU pass interference call to move inside the redzone, an eight-yard completion on third and five from Jones to Perry and a four yard lob by Jones on third and goal to sophomore
Blake May which gave the Muleriders the last lead of the night at 28-24.
The Mulerider defense stood tall on the Reddies' final two drives of the game by first overcoming a 22-yard completion on HSU's first play after SAU took its lead on an HSU drive that would end four plays later. On HSU's final offensive possession of the night, Southern Arkansas turned away the Reddies with the latter driving and just outside the redzone as a fourth-down pass from Edwards to Malone was just behind the intended receiver which was blanketed nicely by the SAU secondary.
Scales was the Muleriders' leading rusher with just 32 yards on a dozen carries as well as its leading receiver as he caught a career-high seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown to finish over the century mark in all-purpose yards. Perry hauled in six passes for 51 yards and Johnson added a second catch to give him 39 total yards. Seven other receivers caught a pass. Williams recorded five catches.
Junior
Jacob Berry recorded nine tackles, redshirt junior
Del Kristoffer Wade added seven stops and true freshman
Camden Foster produced six tackles. Redshirt freshman
Hunter Hewitt collected 1.5 of SAU's two sacks on the night.
Southern Arkansas' win over a ranked Reddie squad is the Muleriders first against a ranked opponent at home since a dominant 49-19 win over #25 Southeastern Oklahoma State on October 21, 2017.
For HSU, Edwards tossed for 331 yards on 23 completions. Malone caught seven passes for 117 yards and two scores. Tim Jennings recorded seven tackles, while Andrew Croker and Jakob Neel each produced six stops.
Southern Arkansas remains at home for a Week 5 matchup against East Central. The Muleriders welcome in the Tigers (2-2, 2-2 GAC) for the 107
th Homecoming game. Kickoff from Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Live coverage links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
