RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced its weekly honors for week nine of the GAC football season, and for the fourth time this campaign, Mulerider Football's field general
Judd Barton has seized the title of GAC Offensive Player of the Week!
The Alexandria, Louisiana native continues to set a new precedent for quarterbacks at Southern Arkansas University with each and every award he has earned. The junior is just the fifth quarterback to claim multiple offensive players of the week in a single season for Mulerider Football. That is not it though, as the Bayou State descendant is the first offensive player to record three or more OPOTW, and of course he is the only Mulerider in the Great American Conference era to be named player of the week three or more times.
Barton is currently leading the tenth-best scoring offense in Division II (38.1 points per game), and the 17
th-best offense in yards per game (434.1). The Muleriders are currently the best passing team in the GAC as they average 242.8 yards through the air per contest (28
th nationally). Not only are they a premier group with passing, but also the second-best in the league for their rushing attack averaging 191.3 yards on the ground per outing (21
st nationally).
Individually, Barton nears the top of almost all statistical categories related to his position within the GAC. He is first in the league for completion percentage (.638 | 30
th nationally) and total offense (268.1 | 21
st nationally). The Louisiana native is second in the league for passing efficiency (146.2), passing touchdowns (13), passing yards (1,944), passing yards per game (216.0), points responsible for (126), and points responsible for per game (14.0).
In last weekend's contest on the road against the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs, the junior completed 26 of his 44 passing attempts for 374 yards and three touchdowns. Barton was also responsible for a rushing touchdown as the Mulerider's final score of the ballgame. In total he accounted for 397 yards and four touchdowns. Barton is now just 100 yards shy of becoming the single-season leader for passing in the
Brad Smiley era at Southern Arkansas.
The Blue and Gold are back in action for one final outing in Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field this season as the Muleriders host the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers on Saturday, November 9 at 2:00 PM.
