BETHANY, Okla. - Behind an incredible dual threat effort from senior quarterback
OB Jones and a second half defense that limited the nation's second-best rushing attack to just 122 total yards of offense and no points over the final two quarters, Southern Arkansas earned a 28-21 Great American Conference road win over Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon from SNU Football Stadium in Bethany, Oklahoma.
The Muleriders (4-1, 4-1 GAC) received a program first from Jones who became the third player (Josh SanFilippo, Damian Melancon) in SAU's NCAA Era (review pending on all-time program list) to throw four touchdown passes and rush for 100 yards in a single game. At first glance, he is just the second in league history to post that stat line, joining Saturday's opposing signal caller Gage Porter who did it in 2022. Jones connected with grad transfer
DJ Wagoner (Q1; 25 yards), junior
Matthew Whitten (Q2; 17 yards), junior
Seth Johnson (Q3; 20 yards) and sophomore
D'evin McDonald (4Q; 3 yards), while carrying 21 times for a career-high 137 yards. It marked Jones' second four-touchdown passing day as a Mulerider and his third career game to cross over the century mark in rushing.
Southern Nazarene (3-2, 3-2 GAC) entered the Week 5 matchup averaging 295.0 yards rushing as the nation's 11th-highest total offense. After surrendering 21 first half points behind 216 total yards and 13 first downs, the Muleriders held SNU to just four first downs, 26 yards rushing and 96 yards through the air in the third and fourth quarters combined. Southern Arkansas limited seventh-year sensation Gage Porter to season lows in rushing (59 yards) and carries (10), while forcing a season-high in passing attempts (26). His three touchdown passes all came in the first half, while his lone interception found SAU's
Zay Woods on the potential game-tying drive to seal the win for the Muleriders. Woods led the SAU defense with eight tackles of which six were solo stops to go along with a tackle for loss. DK Henderson and
Hosea Singleton followed Woods in tackling with six stops each.
Aiding the Muleriders' offensive output was junior running back
Jariq Scales who rushed for 121 yards on 16 attempts and added three receptions for 24 yards. It marks the 13th time in his career that the Osceola native eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark. Eleven of Scales' 16 carries came in the fourth quarter and the playmaking back delivered with 28 yards on SAU's opening drive of the fourth quarter and then put together five carries for 62 yards on five consecutive carries on its next drive which included gains of 18, 28 and 15.
In the second half, the Southern Arkansas defense forced four punts, including a pair of three and outs, and did not allow the Crimson Storm to cross midfield. SNU ran 21 offensive plays across the final two quarters as the Muleriders engineered three drives that took four plus minutes each including its go-ahead touchdown drive that took 6:17.
The Muleriders set their focus on a Week 6 Homecoming matchup with Oklahoma Baptist. It will be the eighth matchup all-time with the Bison. SAU leads the series 6-1 and claimed a 52-20 win last fall in Shawnee. OBU earned its lone series victory in its most recent trip to Magnolia; a 44-40 win on Halloween Eve 2021. Kickoff from Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field is set for 2:30 p.m. Live coverage links are available at
www.MuleriderAthletics.com.
