MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Week 2 is here. The stage is set. But on Thursday night, the Great American Conference spotlight shines on just one of its dozen footprints and that's in Ada, Oklahoma. Southern Arkansas and East Central kickoff Week 2 as the lone midweek contest on the league's slate. Action is set for 6 p.m. from Koi Ishto Stadium. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

LAST WEEK | W, 34-19 vs. SOSU
>>> The Muleriders lean on a four-touchdown performance from senior quarterback OB Jones who tossed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 20-of-27 passing along with three rushing touchdowns in a 95-yard effort the ground to be named Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
>>> The team's top receiver from a year ago in junior Cole Williams lead the team with eight catches for 54 yards.
>>> The Mulerider defense was led by junior Dawson Scott who notched eight tackles including four for loss with 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery. 
>>> SAU moved to 24-20-3 all-time against Southeastern Oklahoma and improved its NCAA DII Era record in season openers to 18-10 with a 6-3 mark in the month of August and a 12-11 mark on Thursdays. 
>>> Eight of Jones' 20 completions went to new receivers as DJ Wagoner grabbed four for 32 yards and a 14-yard, third-quarter touchdown.
>>> A baker's dozen worth of Muleriders recorded at least three tackles and among those qualifying defenders that aided in cooking up a performance that held the Savage Storm to 260 yards of total offense, five were making their Mulerider debut.
>>> The Muleriders received game-changing production from its special forces as redshirt freshman Hayden Nitz connected on a pair of 40+ yard field goals, while junior Andrew Schreiner averaged 44.2 yards per punt with a field-flipping long of 51.

WEEK 2 MATCHUP
>>> Southern Arkansas (1-0, 1-0 GAC) and East Central (0-1, 0-1 GAC) have the Great American Conference stage all to themselves on Thursday night in Ada. The only weekday matchup on the league's Week 2 slate sends the Muleriders west for the first of three trips to the Sooner State to take on a Tigers team hunting the win column in its '23 home opener.
>>> Preseason No. 6 in the GAC Coaches Poll, East Central is coming off of a 41-13 Week 1 loss at Henderson State, while Southern Arkansas moved past Southeastern Oklahoma 34-19 for its sixth win under second-year head coach Brad Smiley. 
>>> It's the 24th meeting all-time and the 14th road matchup for the Muleriders. SAU leads the series 14-9 (7-4 GAC), but has suffered losses in its last two meetings. 
>>> Since 2011, the Muleriders are 7-4 in their first GAC road game of the season and are 5-4 when that game takes place in Oklahoma.
>>> SAU is 20-10 in the state of Oklahoma in its 11 seasons of GAC play. Overall, the Muleriders own a record of 39-21-3 all-time in the Sooner State with its first trip coming on October 18, 1946. Magnolia A&M defeated Eastern Oklahoma State 27-0.
>>> It will be SAU's 24th game contested on a Thursday since 1995. The Muleriders are 12-11 in such games over the past 29 years. SAU plays its second Thursday contest in a season for the first time since 2013 and the Muleriders will be in action on consecutive Thursday nights for the first time since 2009: a 38-30 win over West Alabama in five overtimes in Week 3 and a 51-17 loss at Henderson State in Week 4.
>>> ECU boasts a different head coach/starting quarterback duo than the one that spoiled the Muleriders' Week 5 homecoming game last season as interim head coach John Litrenta and starting quarterback Traair Edwards lead the Tigers following the program's winningest season since 1993.

NOTABLES: SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
>>> Southern Arkansas started out on the right foot in last Thursday night's season opener.
>>> The Muleriders' depth along the defensive front proved beneficial as SAU held the Savage Storm to just 49 yards rushing at 1.8 per carry. SAU recorded nine tackles for loss of which five were sacks in addition to eight notable pressures.
>>> Southern Arkansas forced 11 turnovers all of last season, but forced three last week alone as Steven Adair and Zay Woods recorded interceptions, while Dawson Scott recovered a Damon LeGrande-forced fumble. Both INTs led to points for the Muleriders.
>>> The Mulerider defense will enjoy the services of senior linebacker Jacob Berry on Thursday night as the all-league defender makes his season debut. 
>>> Six Muleriders caught a pass from OB Jones in the win. Half of the six were making their Mulerider debuts. Newcomer DJ Wagoner caught the 17th career touchdown pass from Jones on SAU's first drive of the second half. 
>>> Cole Williams tallied eight catches in the win to run his career catch total to 80. His 54 receiving yards give him 903 for his career.
>>> Jones crossed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his career with his 95-yard performance in the opener. Entering Week 2, the dual threat performer has 1,025 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns with 2,186 yards passing and 17 touchdowns.
>>> Redshirt freshman Hayden Nitz hammered a 49-yard field goal, the first of his career on his second career attempt. The make was the longest by a Mulerider placekicker since Thomas LaToof nailed a 51-yarder on October 18, 2003 at Delta State. It was the longest field goal by a Mulerider at Wilkins Stadium since Jason Williams hit a 49-yard field goal on August 29, 1999 against Southeastern Oklahoma State.

NOTABLES: EAST CENTRAL
>>> Interim head coach John Litrenta, ECU's former defensive coordinator, took over the program on December 22, 2022 following a nine-win 2022 campaign that saw his defense finish in the top 10 nationally in pass defense. 
>>> East Central's defense rated as the GAC's top unit in scoring, sacks and third downs last season. Last week in the season opener, the Tigers allowed 276 yards through the air with four of HSU's 17 completions finding the endzone. 
>>> All-American Devon Roush recorded a dozen tackles with eight serving as solo stops, while adding a sack, one quarterback hurry and a forced fumble in the loss to HSU.
>>> The Tigers forced a half dozen fumbles last week, but were unable to recover any of the six.
>>> Ten Tigers recorded at least three tackles and ECU totaled 6.0 tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries. 
>>> Edwards carried a team-high dozen times for 27 yards with Miles Davis' 11 attempts totaling 40 yards. Davis rushed for 444 yards on 101 carries last season and is the top returning rusher for the Tigers following Nemier Herod's departure to Texas-Permian Basin.
>>> ECU managed just 71 yards on the ground against the Reddie defense. 
>>> C.J. Moore and Jackson Allen hauled in the touchdown passes from Edwards. Moore caught six passes for 101 yards with a long reception of 40 yards. 
>>> Ten different players caught a pass in the season opener.
>>> Reece Conner averaged just over 40 yards per punt in three attempts.
>>>Tommy Yousey missed his only field goal attempt of the game; a 40-yarder midway through the third quarter. He was 1-for-2 on extra point attempts.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS BY THE NUMBERS
1,415- The number of days between GAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for a Mulerider. OB Jones grabbed the Muleriders' first offensive honor from the GAC since 2019 when his predecessor Hayden Mallory claimed the award. It marks just the third time since 2015 that a Mulerider quarterback has won the award. 
75- The number of games in Southern Arkansas' Great American Conference Era that has seen the Muleriders eclipse 30 points or more. SAU has surpassed that mark seven times under current head coach Brad Smiley. The Muleriders have scored 30 or more points in eight or more games in four different seasons with the 2012 team reaching the mark nine times. 
17- The number of Muleriders that made their debut in the season opener. Of the 17, three appeared on special teams, while nine logged time on the defensive side of the football and five saw their first collegiate action on offense. 
2- The number of teams in all of Division II Football that registered more sacks than Southern Arkansas' five in the win over Southeastern Oklahoma. Of the five sacks across six different players, five were returning defenders from last year's squad that registered 20.0 sacks from 11 different defenders across 11 games. 

MOST RECENT MATCHUP | OCT. 1, 2022
>>> Redshirt sophomore running back Jariq Scales recorded 26 touches for 195 yards and two touchdowns, junior linebacker Jacob Berry totaled 15 tackles, but turnovers proved costly for Southern Arkansas in its Week 5 homecoming matchup as East Central won its second-straight meeting against the Muleriders 34-22. The Tigers boasted a top 30 pass defense in the country entering the midseason tilt and it stood firm in Magnolia. The Muleriders managed just 158 yards through the air on 33 attempts, but rushed for 326 yards at 7.1 yards per carry. A pair of fumbles turned the Muleriders away on consecutive first-half drives and an interception ended SAU's opening drive of the second half. The loss dropped Southern Arkansas to 2-3 on the season, while ECU moved above .500 as the victory was the third of a six-game winning streak following an 0-2 start to the season.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN THE SERIES
'19- In the 2019 edition, Southern Arkansas needed ten fourth-quarter points to move past the Tigers 24-23 to improve to 7-1 on the season. Hayden Mallory connected with Micah Small on a 67-yard strike to pull SAU to within two points of the ECU lead and Austin Wilkerson nailed a 35-yard FG attempt with under six minutes to play to give SAU the win.
'14- The Muleriders led 20-0 twenty minutes into the 2014 matchup, but 19 ECU points in the second quarter brought the host to within seven points of the lead at 26-19 heading into the intermission. The second half saw three tied scores and three lead changes as the Tigers prevailed 47-40 despite SAU running 92 plays and holding the football for over 40 minutes.
'12- In the 2012 meeting, SAU battled the Tigers and the weather as an hour and 45 minute delay led to the third and fourth quarters being played straight through with no halftime. It was SAU that came away with a 19-0 shutout victory of the Tigers who threw four interceptions; two to future All-American and CFL All-Star Don Unamba. SAU snapped the Tigers home win streak of 10 games which dated back to their 2010 season.
'97- SAU opened up their 1997 campaign in Ada and the 37-9 victory would be the first victory in a season that would see the Muleriders claim a share of the Gulf South Conference regular season title. The 28-point margin of victory was the largest for the Muleriders in the series until a 34-point win in 2013. ECU's largest margin of victory came in the teams' first meeting as GAC foes in 2011 where the Tigers closed out the season with a 43-point win over SAU.
'53- The Muleriders and Tigers played six straight years beginning with the first matchup in 1953. SAU won four of the six meetings, while all six of the contests were decided by two touchdowns or less including consecutive one-possession wins by the Muleriders in 1956 and 1957. There were also three shutouts during that span.