ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - (RV) Southern Arkansas trailed by two possessions twice in Saturday's Great American Conference road clash against #18 Henderson State, but on the back of several timely big plays offensively and a defensive unit that allowed just two second-half field goals, the Muleriders wrangled the Reddies 35-34 in front of the latter's homecoming from Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at GeoSurfaces Field. SAU improved to 6-1 on the season and earned its first win over HSU in Arkadelphia since 2004.
 
The sixth and final play of what would be a 68-yard scoring drive executed in under two minutes by the Muleriders is what most in attendance will remember about the affair. Rightfully so. On 2nd and 7 from the HSU31, senior quarterback OB Jones bounced away from pressure, moved to his right and fired a pass on the run into the endzone for junior wide receiver Kamden Perry. The contested toss was knocked into the air and Perry lunged over his defender and toward the sideline to haul in the game-tying score which was confirmed by replay. The fifth of redshirt freshman Hayden Nitz's extra points gave the Muleriders a one-point lead with 4:18 to play.
 
The scoring grab followed a 47-yard field goal from the Reddies' Kolby King, his second of the half, which had increased the Henderson State lead to six at 34-28 with 6:18 remaining.
 
Trailing by one, Henderson State began to march down the field completing passes of 19 and 24 yards on consecutive plays to Chris Hatzis. Following a Mulerider timeout, SAU forced a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage, before a fourth-down pass attempt from the Reddies' Andrew Edwards fell incomplete.
 
The Muleriders opened the contest with a little trickeration as junior running back Jariq Scales took a swing pass from Jones and then tossed down field to DJ Wagoner for a 53-yard pitch-and-catch that set SAU up inside the redzone after the game's opening play from scrimmage. Scales scored four plays later to give SAU a 7-0 lead. Henderson State answered midway through the first quarter with a touchdown drive and then added two more scores to run up 21 unanswered points and grab a 14-point advantage with just under 14 minutes before the intermission.
 
SAU mishandled the ensuing kickoff which led to a drive start at their own two-yard line. However, that wouldn't phase the offense as the Muleriders used a dozen plays in nearly 5:30 of game time to traverse 98 yards to pull within seven points of the host's lead. Scales carried for 24 of those yards which included a single yard on fourth and one from the SAU11 and the final 11 of the drive to register his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon and seventh of the season. Sophomore Judd Barton completed a pair of passes on the drive, but his biggest contribution came with his legs as he totaled 65 yards rushing of which a 55-yard scamper set the Muleriders up at the HSU15.

The Muleriders turned to their defense on the following Henderson State drive as the sixth play, a 2nd and 10 pass from Edwards at the HSU 43, was broken up by junior Melvin Smith Jr. and into the arms of junior Gavin Roe who returned the interception down inside the HSU25 where SAU used a pair of three-yard runs from junior Kadyn Roach and an 18-yard sprint from Jones to tie the game at 21 following Nitz's extra point.
 
HSU would respond with a touchdown in the final minute of the first half to carry a 28-21 lead into the break.
 
In the second half, the Mulerider defense delivered another outstanding effort over a game's final two quarters. SAU limited HSU to five second-half drives that resulted in two field goals, two punts and a turnover-on-downs that ended the Reddies' chance. Following King's first successful FG which put HSU up 31-21, SAU responded immediately as the second play of the following drive saw Jones carry to his right, find the corner, and speed to paydirt from 80-yards out to quickly bring the deficit back to just three at 31-28. The rushing score was the third-longest by a Mulerider since 2000 and the longest by an SAU quarterback this century.
 
HSU ran 35 plays in the second half and totaled 191 yards. Both drives that saw three points hit the board included big third-down stops from the Mulerider defense with Roe recording a tackle-for-loss on the first drive, while redshirt freshman Taurean Crawford and junior Elvin Calhoun combined for a sack to force the second attempt. That takedown of the quarterback followed a second down sack of Edwards by junior Dawson Scott and sophomore Hunter Hewitt as the Muleriders pressured the HSU passing attack throughout the second half.
 
The nation's second-highest rushing offense delivered with 247 yards on the ground at six yards per carry on 41 attempts with four touchdowns. HSU ran six more plays than the Muleriders and gained 72 more yards behind nearly eight and half more minutes with the football.
 
Jones completed nine passes for 132 yards and the game-winner to Perry. Barton completed two passes and Scales completed his first pass as a Mulerider. Jones led the rushing attack with 112 yards on 13 carries and two scores. Scales followed with 70 yards on 19 attempts with two scores. Perry hauled in four passes for 63 yards and the big touchdown. Wagoner caught the pass from Scales for 53 and the latter caught two passes for 37 yards.
 
With his game-opening completion coupled with his rushing and receiving efforts as well as a 16-yard kickoff return midway through the third quarter, Scales became the first Mulerider in the program's Modern Era to record a completion, a rush, a reception and a kick return in the same game.
 
Junior Zay Woods led with seven tackles and seven other Muleriders recorded at least five stops. Smith Jr. delivered two pass breakups. SAU delivered 8.0 tackles for loss with Scott and Hewitt each recording 1.5. Crawford recorded a sack as SAU totaled 3.0.
 
All eyes turn to El Dorado and the 14th Murphy USA Classic from Memorial Stadium. The Muleriders are set for their 12th appearance all-time and ninth-consecutive with Saturday's matchup with unbeaten No. 6/7 Harding (7-0, 7-0 GAC) the second meeting between the two foes in Union County. Harding claimed the 2012 matchup, the fourth-playing of the classic, with a field goal as time expired to win 23-20. The all-time series leans in favor of the Bisons 30-27-1. HU has won the previous three matchups. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.