MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Football is back inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field, and so are many more as it is Homecoming week at Southern Arkansas University. Amongst many festivities throughout the day and prior to kickoff, there have a Great American Conference battle on tap between the visiting Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm and the (RV) Southern Arkansas University Muleriders.
 
WEEK 5 MATCHUP
>>> (RV) Mulerider Football enters week five after securing their largest victory of the season while also being the only game in which the final score was determined by more than one score (W, 36-31 | W, 28-20 | L, 20-25 | W, 38-7).
>>> The matchup between the Muleriders and the Crimson Storm the past two seasons have been quite the story to talk about as Southern Nazarene last traveled to Magnolia, Arkansas in 2022 on Southern Arkansas' Senior Day. The Storm claimed its first victory over the Muleriders since joining the Great American Conference with a Gage Porter final minute drive to take the lead and the game in a wild shootout (44-49).
>>> Last season's matchup saw the Muleriders travel to Bethany, Oklahoma in order to avenge that home loss a year prior. SAU did just that, but in more defensive fashion as they held the eventual two-time GAC Offensive Player of the Year (Porter) to 124 passing yards and 59 rushing yards, a 2023 season-low.
>>> In that game, Southern Arkansas' OB Jones and Jariq Scales both rushed for over 120+ yards, and combined for 257.
 
LAST WEEK | W, 38-7 at ATU
>>> In last week's matchup on the road at Arkansas Tech (Russellville, Arkansas), The Muleriders dominated on their second road trip of the season as they defeated the Wonder Boys 38-7 in front of an ATU Family Day Crowd.
>>> The outing saw the largest win by Southern Arkansas this season and is the only game this year that was decided by two or more scores for the Muleriders.
>>> While he had already broken a record just a couple weeks prior, senior running back Jariq Scales surpassed Cornell Williams' (1969-72) all-purpose yardage record with Scales' 4,807 all-purpose yards.
>>> Tying multiple Mulerider legends for second-most sacks in a game was Dawson Scott as the senior brought the Wonder Boy quarterback down on three occasions last Saturday, all in the first half. While Scott was on pace to break the record (4.0), there was no need for the all-conference defensive end to play the majority of the second half.
 
NOTABLES: SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
>>> In last week's game against Arkansas Tech, Scales set a new record for the all-purpose yards in a career for the Mulerider Football, but the senior is not done record setting. The Osceola, Arkansas native is just 32 rushing yards away from being the only Mulerider in the program's history with 4,000 rushing yards in a career.
>>> With 193 all-purpose yards, Scales would also become the only non-quarterback player in the program's history to surpass 5,000 all-purpose yards in a career.
>>> Southern Arkansas had lost a turnover in every game up until last week's battle as the Muleriders forced their eighth turnover of the season and remained at three given up.
>>> The Blue & Gold defense held to the strongest it has all season as the wall of defenders allowed just 91 rushing yards to a fairly talented Arkansas Tech backfield. The group's efforts kept the Wonder Boys to averaging just 3.7 yards per play (2.5/carry | 8.7 per completion). The squad's lone flaw on paper was the only touchdown score by ATU late in the fourth when the game was already chalked.
 
NOTABLES: SOUTHERN NAZARENE
>>> Southern Nazarene is still in search for their first triumph of the season as the Crimson Storm is off to an 0-4 start to 2024. The start for the Storm is the worst since 2021 when SNU start their season 0-6 and eventually ended 2021 at 1-10.
>>> The Crimson Storm is quite the transition phase in terms of their field general as Southern Nazarene its first season in five seasons without former Harland Hill Trophy finalist and two-time Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Gage Porter.
>>> The Muleriders have not lost to a school out of the Sooner State in eight-consecutive matchups. The last team to do-so, was the Crimson Storm back in 2022 when the two faced in an intense shootout that is still talked about today.
>>> That shootout victory for the Storm was the lone win the troupe has had over the Muleriders since both joined the Great American Conference.
>>> The Muleriders 28-21 victory last fall was the tenth win for SAU over SNU.
 
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS: BY THE NUMBERS
699 - the number of days since the Muleriders have lost to a team not from the state
Arkansas. Southern Nazarene still remains as the only team not from the Natural State to have upended Southern Arkansas in Brad Smiley era (2022-now). SNU makes its return to Wilkins Stadium for the first time since that contest.
193 - the number of yards needed by the senior out of Osceola, Arkansas, Jariq Scales, needs in order to become the only Mulerider with over 5,000 all-purpose yards in a career. The record of most all-purpose yards already belongs to Scales, but this is in order to once again sketch his name into the history books.
8 - the number of passes defended by junior cornerback Zay Woods. Woods currently leads the league in passes broken up as the native of Carthage, Texas has broken up seven passes and recorded one interception thus far. Through four games, the junior is averaging 2.00 passes defended per game.
6.0 - the number of sacks accounted by senior defensive end Dawson Scott. Scott, like Zay Woods, leads the Great American Conference in sacks. The Mexia, Texas native is just one of two players in the GAC with at least 5.0 sacks this season, with Ouachita Baptist's Mikey Gonzalez being the only other player.