ADA, Okla. – With the Great American Conference stage all to themselves on Thursday night in the Sooner State, Southern Arkansas and East Central produced a Week 2 matchup for the ages. By the time the smoke cleared from the last cannon shot of the night, it was the Muleriders that erased a 17-0 halftime deficit, used two touchdowns in the final seventy-five seconds of regulation which were sandwiched between a recovered onside kick, forced overtime and never flinched en route to a 24-17 win in the extra action.
The victory gives SAU its seventh 2-0 start in a dozen Great American Conference seasons. The overtime win is the first for Southern Arkansas as a GAC member and its first since a 30-27 homecoming triumph over West Alabama on October 30, 2010. Additionally, the 17-point halftime deficit is the largest such deficit overcome by the Muleriders in the program's NCAA Era with the previous best standing at 15 points in a 29-24 come-from-behind win against West Georgia on Family Day 1999 (Sept. 25).
With a feel-like temperature north of 100 degrees at kickoff, it wasn't until the final quarter that the action on the gridiron really began to heat up. Down 17-3 entering the fourth quarter, the Muleriders turned away the host by forcing a miss on a left hash field goal attempt from 18 yards out on ECU's first drive of the final quarter. The two squads traded punts before a twelve-play drive by Southern Arkansas ended with an endzone interception with under 3:25 to play.
Southern Arkansas' defense, which allowed just 82 yards of total offense and forced three punts and the aforementioned missed FGA to the Tigers in the second half and overtime period combined, gave its offense the football back after a three-and-out with 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Muleriders went to work. Senior quarterback and the league's reigning offensive player of the week
OB Jones completed a pair of passes (7, 17) to junior
Cole Williams, gained seven yards on a third-down rush to move the chains and then found fellow Tatum, Texas native in sophomore
Kendall Williams over the middle and the latter did the rest racing 38 yards to pay dirt with a Tiger draped over his back as he crossed the stripe to cut into the lead. Redshirt freshman
Hayden Nitz, who put the Muleriders on the board with a 23-yard make at the 9:05 mark of the third quarter, knocked in the extra point as SAU pulled to within a touchdown of the Tigers at 17-10 with 71 seconds remaining.
Needing an onside kick recovery, junior
Andrew Schreiner delivered as did his repossession unit who jumped on the live football at the Mulerider 47 to set up the offense with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Jones completed a pair of passes on the game-tying drive. He again found C. Williams for 13 yards on the first play and on the very next snap placed a pass down the ECU sidelines for junior
Seth Johnson who made an impressive grab in traffic for a 30-yard reception and a first down. On third-and-seven, Jones carried for eight yards and a first down out of bounds at the ECU 4 and on the next play he bounced in for six with 23 seconds remaining.
Nitz's extra point tied the contest and Tigers recorded a pair of rushes to send the game to overtime.
In the extra period, the first for Southern Arkansas since Week 7 of the 2016 season, the Muleriders needed just two plays to take its first lead of the contest. Jones found junior
Matthew Whitten for 23 yards down to the ECU 2 which preceded the former's fifth rushing score of the season to put SAU on top.
Needing one more stop, the Mulerider defense delivered as a 4
th and 7 pass attempt from the Tigers' Traair Edwards was knocked away at the goal line with senior
Jacob Berry and junior
Hosea Singleton defending. Celebration ensued.
The Muleriders tallied up 511 yards of total offense on a whopping 93 plays from scrimmage. SAU recorded 26 first downs and overcame 11 penalties for 95 yards. Defensively, SSAU held its second straight opponent under 90 rushing yards and surrendered just 256 for the game, while forcing eight punts.
Jones finished 21-of-43 for 304 yards and a touchdown to go along with 92 yards rushing and two scores.
Jariq Scales rushed for 74 yards on 15 carries. Whitten, C. Williams and
D'evin McDonald all hauled in four receptions. Whitten led with 86 yards receiving, C. Williams followed with 65 and McDonald produced 45.
Melvin Smith Jr. and
Gavin Roe each recorded seven stops with the former registering two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Eight other Muleriders were in on at least three stops. SAU recorded eight tackles for loss and six pass breakups in the win.
The attention turns to Week 3 where a showdown against national top 10 power Ouachita (2-0, 2-0 GAC) awaits on Saturday from Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia. Southern Arkansas is set for its first primetime kickoff on the east campus of Arkansas HWY 7 since 2005 when the two sides clashed in a 7:05 p.m. meeting in the Gulf South Conference's Game of the Week on September 22. It will be the 82
nd meeting between the two schools and the September 16 matchup marks the earliest ever for the two programs. Live coverage links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
