MAGNOLIA, Ark. - 291 days is a long time. When those 291 days separate seasons of Mulerider Football, that time is excruciatingly long. Mulerider Country... that wait is over. Southern Arkansas, under second-year head coach Brad Smiley, returns to the gridiron on Thursday amid a ton of excitement to commence the program's 105th season of football. Up first for the Muleriders, who are receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 and were picked fourth in the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, is longtime Sooner State foe Southeastern Oklahoma, the league's No. 5 pick in the preseason rankings. Kickoff from Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

Week 1 Matchup
>>> The 291-day wait between the time Brad Smiley's Muleriders walked off the field victorious against Arkansas-Monticello in the '22 season finale and Thursday night's 6 p.m. kickoff of the 105th season of Mulerider Football is finally over. 
>>> The Week 1 tilt between Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma is the Great American Conference's only matchup between teams in the top five of the preseason coaches poll. The Muleriders were picked fourth, the program's highest preseason nod since 2019, while the Savage Storm were just a single point back of SAU in fifth place. 
>>> SAU opens its season at home in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014 and 2015. 
>>> It will be just the third time since 2011 and first since 2018 that SAU will play in August and it marks the second matchup all-time with SOSU in the eighth month of the year (1999). Since 1995, the Muleriders are 5-3 in the month of August and own a 11-11 record on Thursday.
>>> The Muleriders and the Savage Storm meet for the 47th time in a series that dates back to 1952. SAU holds a tight 23-20-3 record over SOSU, but the Savage Storm have won the previous two meetings. Of the six Oklahoma schools in the league, SAU's series with SOSU is the oldest. 
>>> Since becoming an NCAA member in 1996, SAU is 17-9 in season openers with an 9-4 mark in season-opening home games. In 11 GAC seasons, the Muleriders are 8-3 in season openers having won seven of their previous eight.
>>> SAU is 36-13 inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field since 2011. Against league opposition from the Sooner State, SAU is 24-5 at home against such foes in that same span. The Muleriders won 23 consecutive games against Oklahoma opponents from 2012 to 2021.

Last Season...
>>> was the first for Brad Smiley who was named the 21st head coach in program history on December 3, 2021.
>>> saw the Muleriders win five games in a season for the ninth time as a Great American Conference member, for the 18th time since the 1995 campaign; the program's first as an NCAA institution, and for the 57th time since 1911; the program's first year on the gridiron.
>>> ended with Southern Arkansas avenging a blowout loss at home to Arkansas-Monticello to end the 2021 season by beating the Weevils 20-7 to reclaim the Battle of the Timberlands trophy for the eighth time since 2012. 
>>> saw the Muleriders became the first SAU team since 2002 with 30 rushing touchdowns in a single season and just the third ever to do it in program history. 
>>> resulted in the Muleriders becoming just the third team in program history to eclipse 5,300 yards in a single season.
>>> saw six Muleriders earn All-GAC honors of which half return for the 2023 season: all-league first teamer Jariq Scales and honorable mention selections Jacob Berry and Thomas Bowman. Scales earned all-region plaudits from the D2CCA and a second-straight honorable mention All-America nod by Don Hansen.
>>> saw five Muleriders honored as CSC Academic All-District performers with Scales and former placekicker Austin Wilkerson being named Academic All-Americans.

Schedule Quick Hits
>>> The 11-game regular season slate under second-year head football coach Brad Smiley includes five home games inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field as well as the program's annual trip east to El Dorado to make its 12th appearance all-time and ninth-consecutive in the Murphy USA Classic.
>>> Since 2012, the Muleriders are 35-10 at home inside Wilkins Stadium with unbeaten home schedules in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018. From October 10, 2015 through September 14, 2019, the Muleriders won 17-consecutive home games which stood as the longest active streak in DII. Additionally, SAU has made four trips to the postseason playing in bowl games in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
>>> Year one under Brad Smiley saw the Muleriders post a 5-6 record overall highlighted by winning the program's eighth GAC season opener, tenth straight home opener, and notching a single-game program record for points scored in a season opener with 62. SAU knocked off a ranked Henderson State squad on Family Day in Week 4, won high-scoring affairs in Russellville and Shawnee and took back the Battle of the Timberlands hardware in the regular season finale.

Notables: Southern Arkansas
>>> The excitement is high, but quite possibly not as high as the expectations surrounding the Muleriders in year two under Brad Smiley. 
>>> The GAC's top offense from a year ago, which ranked fourth in rushing (257.5), passing (227.8) and scoring (34.3), needed to replace just two offensive linemen on a unit that averaged over 485 yards per game. 
>>> Jariq Scales headlines the top playmakers that return for Smiley in year two. The Arkansan is eyeing several top spots in the program record books entering year three in the backfield. 
>>> Senior QB OB Jones is back to orchestrate the offense after producing the first 2,000-yard passing and 700-yard rushing season in program history. Fellow signal caller Judd Barton returns after seeing meaningful action in all 11 games.
>>> All-GAC junior offensive lineman Thomas Bowman shifts from center to left guard as sophomore Zach Thompson will handle the snapping duties this fall.
>>> The Mulerider defense benefits from the return of all-league linebacker Jacob Berry. Berry will be unavailable on Thursday night, but is expected to impact soon.
>>> Trench playmaking sophomores Hunter Hewitt (END) and Nathan Earle (NOSE) and juniors Elvin Calhoun (TACKLE) and Dawson Scott (END) will command the defensive front on Thursday. Those four will help anchor a depth-heavy defensive line.
>>> Melvin Smith Jr. (CB) and Zay Woods (CB) return in the secondary as does Gavin Roe (WILL) at the second level. Roe recorded 54 stops last fall. Smith Jr. led the team with six breakups and Woods recorded 31 tackles. 
>>> Redshirt freshman Hayden Nitz takes over as the team's placekicker following the departure of the program's all-time leading scorer in Austin Wilkerson.

Southern Arkansas By The Numbers
100- The number of players highlighted on D2Football.com's Elite 100 list. All-purpose playmaker Jariq Scales was selected to the Elite 100 group and for good reason. The two-time All-GAC selection with a first team nod last fall is coming off of consecutive 1,000-yard rushing campaigns; only the second Mulerider in program history to do so. Scales enters the 2023 season inside the top 10 of four Division II active career leader categories: rushes per game (18.91; 4th), rushing yards per game (114.5; 5th), all-purpose plays per game (20.59; 5th) and all-purpose yards per game (129.68; 10th).
58- The number of letterman that return for year two under head coach Brad Smiley. Within that near five dozen returning letterman are 18 of 22 starters from a season ago. SAU welcomes back the services of 9 players from last season's explosive offensive unit, while nine of the team's 11 defenders are back for 2023. In December's early signing period, the Muleriders inked 10 transfer players, with nearly all set to impact in Week 1 and followed that up with 18 more signees on National Signing Day. 
3- The Muleriders' national ranking in total offense after leading the Great American Conference with 485.6 yards per game in 11 contests last fall. That high-powered output ranked 26th in all of NCAA Football (FBS, FCS, DII, DII) in 2022. That effort was charged by Division II's sixth-best rushing attack which averaged 257.8 yards per game on the ground. Additionally, SAU ranked sixth in third-down conversion (49.4%) and 20th in first downs (263).
2- The number of votes received by Southern Arkansas in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. The recognition was the first for the program by the coaches association since earning four points in the October 28, 2019 poll. It is the Muleriders' first national preseason nod since receiving 14 points to start the 2019 season. SAU is one of four teams from the GAC to appear in the season's first rankings joining #4 Ouachita, #14 Harding and (RV) Henderson State.

Notables: Southeastern Oklahoma
>>> Bo Atterberry returns to the Savage Storm sideline for his second stint in Durant. He won 33 games for Southeastern Oklahoma from 2014 to 2018.
>>> Last season, SOSU finished 6-6 with a loss to Emporia State in the Farmers Bank & Trust Live United Bowl. The Savage Storm entered November at 6-3, but dropped their final three games to finish in fifth place in the conference standings. 
>>> Senior Bryce Fields takes over at quarterback and grabs the reigns of an offense that ranked ninth in DII in passing last season and finished inside the top 25 in scoring. 
>>> Fields will have one of the nation's top targets to connect with in Marquis Gray. Last fall, Gray recorded the fifth-most receiving touchdowns in the country with 17, while his 1,463 yards receiving ranked fourth nationally. He averaged over 120 yards receiving per game and was good for north of six receptions and eight points per game in 2022. 
>>> RB Nate Omayebu transfers in from Angelo State. He rushed for 2,618 yards on 505 attempts with 19 touchdowns for the Rams from 2019 to 2022. Omayebu also has 41 career catches for 403 yards and five touchdowns. 
>>> The Savage Storm defense will look to replace Maalik Hall who led the team with 77 total tackles last fall as well as 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Hall joined the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent this past offseason, but was waived in early August. 
>>> LB Cam Tate is the unit's top returning tackler after recording 76.0 stops last fall. Tate registered 10.0 tackles for loss with four sacks, four QB hurries and two forced fumbles. 
>>> Jackson Nalley returns as SOSU's punter (29-34.79avg-52long-8TB) and will also serve as the team's placekicker. 

Memorable Moments in the Series
'19- In the 2019 edition of a series that first began 71 years ago, the Muleriders won its 12th-consecutive homecoming game behind a defensive effort that held SOSU to negative three yards rushing. Head Coach Bill Keopple notched his program-record 63rd career victory and quarterback Hayden Mallory was an efficient 11-for-14 for 311 yards and four touchdowns.
'14- One of the wildest finishes in the series happened in the season opener in 2014. Plagued by a lightning delay that pushed the 6 p.m. kickoff to 7:57, the game was again halted for 51 minutes due to weather late in the second quarter. Those that stayed were rewarded. The Muleriders recovered a fumble down 29-23 with 1:31 to play and the drive ended with Si Blackshire finding Aaron Johnson in the back corner of the southwest endzone for the tying six, while Dylan Nowak's XP sent the home sidelines into a frenzy. 
'99- The first meeting since both teams made the move from NAIA to NCAA DII. SAU ran 18 fewer plays, held the ball for nine and half minutes less, but used a pair of 40+ FGs from future SAU Sports HOF Jason Williams including a 49-yarder with under a minute to play in the first quarter and two Tim Barrington-to-Drew Cone 30+ yard TD passes; both of which took place in the final five minutes of the game to overcome a 27-20 deficit early in the fourth quarter. A forced fumble by Marcoles Board was recovered by Emmanuel Okwuonu to close the door on the Savage Storm in the game's final moments. 
'76- A contest that may have been short on points was not short on fireworks; at least for one big explosion with under four minutes to play in the third quarter. Tommy Dashiel took the ensuing kickoff following an SAU interception that set up SOSU's first scoring drive and blitzed 91 yards to paydirt to tie the game at 6-6. 2023 Dragon Football WOH inductee Terry Crumpler's point-after-attempt put SAU up by the final score of 7-6 in the rain-soaked affair in the Sooner State. The Week 2 matchup was the Muleriders' seventh win over SOSU in the previous eight meetings. 
'52- Twenty years before Rip Powell's Muleriders claimed a share of the AIC title, the 1952 squad won the conference title with a 10-1 overall record which included a 27-14 Week 8 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant. It was the first matchup between the two programs and it marked the first of a 3-0-1 series start for Southern State College against Southeastern State College.

Most Recent Matchup | Oct. 8, 2022
Southern Arkansas scored 22 points in the final 2:49 of action of the Week 6 matchup, but the late scoring surge fell just short as Southeastern Oklahoma managed to hold off the Muleriders for a 35-32 victory in Durant. The Muleriders trailed by just a touchdown at the half, but fell behind 28-7 entering the fourth quarter of play. Grad placekicker Austin Wilkerson connected on his 42nd career field goal with a 29-yard make at the 8:12 mark to cut into the three-touchdown deficit at 28-10. Southeastern Oklahoma responded with 2:51 to play as Deundre Wheeler scored his third rushing touchdown of the afternoon to push SOSU out front 35-10. OB Jones responded with touchdown passes of 48, 56 and 18 yards over the final 137 seconds to close the gap as the Muleriders scored on the final play. The contest featured two of the top chain-moving teams in the country as SOSU entered as the nation's leader in first downs with 125, while SAU ranked 15th in the country in the category with 116. Both teams ranked inside the top 21 nationally in third-down conversion rate.

New Faces, Impactful Places
Southern Arkansas added several new pieces in all three phases of the game this past offseason. Twenty-eight new players joined Brad Smiley's program across the early signing period in December and February's National Signing Day. Below are a few of those new faces that will be impacting in week 1 as all 16 Players listed below are among Southern Arkansas' Offensive and Defensive Two Deep entering the season opener.
Denotes Week 1 Starter

WR DJ Wagoner | 6-2, 190 | GRAD | Mississippi Valley State
DB Javian Gathright | 6-1, 190 | JR | Mississippi Delta CC
DB Hosea Singleton | 6-1, 210 | JR | Pearl River CC
DB Deonta Barnes | 5-11, 190 | JR | Northeast Mississippi JC
LB DK Henderson | 5-10, 210 | GRAD | Arkansas-Monticello
OL Dylan Crippen | 6-5, 285 | SO | Tyler JC
WR Jakarion Lockett | 6-0, 170 | R-SO | Coahoma CC
DB Teris Consonery | 5-10, 200 | JR | Rochester Community and Technical College
DB Jaylon Blackston | 6-1, 180 | R-FR | Hutchinson CC
DB DaKeldrick Thomas Jr. | 5-11, 185 | FR | Mansfield HS (Louisiana)
LB Phillip Joest | 6-0, 205 | R-FR | Sam Houston State
LB Steven Adair | 5-10, 215 | GRAD | Central Arkansas
OL Cole Jeansonne | 5-10, 260 | SO | Northwestern State
OL Bennett Castleberry | 6-2, 310 | SO | Blinn College
OL Conner Hagerty | 6-4, 265 | FR | Marshall HS (Texas)
PR/KOR | Johnny Woods | 5-8, 155 | FR | Wossman HS (Louisiana)

"Eight Seven Oh"
As voted on by their teammates in the spring, junior wide receiver Cole Williams (Murchison, Texas) was named Mulerider Football's Ultimate Teammate and was bestowed the #0 to wear during the 2023 season. Junior defensive lineman Elvin Calhoun (Defense #8) and junior tight end Matthew Whitten (Offense #7) followed in voting and will don the #8 and #7, respectively, to fill out the program's first player-voted 8-7-0, a nod to the area code of southwest Arkansas, as the best representatives of the program's core values.