MAGNOLIA, Ark. — The newly renovated Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field opened for business this evening, as Mulerider Football opened up home action in the 2026 season with the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm in town another weekend of Great American Conference play.
The home opener was halted for nearly 2 and a half hours after getting through 18:58 worth of game, as the ballgame was delayed due to lightning in the area. Eventually, action resumed on the brand new Rip Powell Field and Southern Arkansas clinched its first win of the year with a 27-21 victory against the Crimson Storm, marking the fourth-straight year the Muleriders defeated Southern Nazarene.
With SNU getting the ball first, the SAU defense had a great start to the night, stopping the Crimson Storm offense with a three and out, giving the Muleriders the ball. After a 10-play drive to start, the Blue and Gold struck first on the board, as Tyler Maull nailed a 45-yard field to go up 3-0.
Southern Nazarene looked to correct its ways from a drive ago, as the unit took eight plays to only end up at their own 44 before having to punt to Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders went on another 10-play sequence, but came up empty after driving down to the SNU 27 and turning the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass intended for Isaac Norris.
Southern Nazarene gained control of the ball again, and that drive crossed over into the second quarter, which then took them nearly four minutes to drive down and punch in the ball for a one-yard touchdown, claiming the lead at 7-3 with the made extra point.
Following that score, the game came to a standstill, as the action went into the 2.5 hour lightning delay. As soon as play resumed, the Muleriders seemed to have caught lightning, as Cooper Sanders went to return the ball on the ensuing kickoff and returned it out to the Southern Nazarene 35-yard line.
On SAU's first drive after the delay, freshman quarterback Drew Davis got his first look in his collegiate career. Southern Arkansas' first drive after the delay began with four-straight runs up the gut by Katrevion Thomas, going for nine, six, seven, and then two yards to the SNU 28, prior to an unnecessary roughness penalty against SAU. On a 3rd and 16, Davis took it himself up the middle for a five-yard gain, making it 4th and 11. After a timeout call by the Muleriders, Davis completed a short pass to his left to Norris, who then took the rock 24 yards to the SNU 12 for another Mulerider first down. Following a four-yard gain by Thomas up the middle, and a seven-yard gain by Davis, the freshman punched it in from one yard out, taking back the lead at 10-7.
The Crimson Storm responded strongly, as took advantage of a pass interference and face mask penalty agains SAU to put them well within Mulerider territory. The unit came up to a 4th and 1 and went for it, which instead of just a first down, quarterback Maddox Olatunde kept the ball and took it into the end zone for six. After the PAT, the score was now 14-10. With 3:56 to go in the half.
Southern Arkansas looked to come out and gain some momentum before going into the five-minute halftime, and the unit did just that, as they drove down with four-straight rushes by Arkez Gomez and a 19-yard pass by Davis got the group into enemy territory. The group got pushed even further into SNU's side of the field after an unnecessary roughness called against Southern Nazarene, and following a couple more short ground gains and a five-yard complete pass to get to the SNU 9, Davis carried the ball for six yards to set Maull up for as much of a chip shot as you could ask for, and Maull delivered. Going into halftime, the score was now 14-13 with the Crimson Storm on top.
While the Muleriders scored most recently, they got the ball right back as the two groups got back into play from the shortened halftime due to SNU receiving to begin the game. Southern Arkansas had a nice start to its drive after a couple of hard-fought two-yard gainsay Torey Lambert and a 28-yard roll out pass by Adam Parker to Cooper Sanders to get into SNU territory. The Crimson Storm quickly responded, as Lambert gained five yard in two rushes, but SNU the sacked Parker for an eight-yard loss, forcing SAU to punt.
Southern Nazarene get the ball back and its next drive with a an early 3rd and 15 after a false start to push them back five yards, but that did not stop them, as SNU's Jaxon Worley rushed for 17 yards for a first down. Following two back-to-back eight-yard gains, the SNU offense stalled out, especially after another false start. After an incomplete pass by Worley, SNU punted, and while it was muffed, SAU recovered the ball at its own 16.
The run game came to life for Southern Arkansas in the next round of plays, as the group ran the ball seven times before passing, getting them down to the SNU 42. Parker then completed an 11-yard pass, which was followed by three-straight runs by KT Thomas, ending in an 18-yard rushing touchdown and PAT to go up 20-14.
SAU made quick work of the Crimson Storm to end the third quarter, as the Muleriders did surrender a 19-yard rush, but quickly made up for it with a tip drill interception to Hooks, Texas native David Johnson. The safety went on to return the ball 31 yards to the Southern Nazarene 34-yard line, and it did not take the Blue and Gold long to hit pay dirt, with Arkez Gomez running in a 34-yard touchdown, followed by the extra point for a 27-14 advantage.
The Crimson Storm aimed to quickly bounce back, as heading into the fourth quarter, SNU tacked on two chunk plays, one more 17 yards and the other for 24. The unit ended up goin empty handed with the drive, as the Storm stalled out and missed a 46-yard field goal try.
The Muleriders' goal now was to run the clock, and they did so by continuing to punch the ball up the middle with rushes from Torey Lambert and Katrevion Thomas, with the two combining for seven rushes until getting to the Crimson Storm 36. After nearly losing the ball to a fumble, SAU ended up being stopped at the SNU 37 and punted for a touchback.
After not having recorded a score around 3.5 hours, Southern Nazarene had finally answered the Muleriders with a score of their own, as the group ran for a couple of chunks and continued to run the ball down the field. On a 4th and 10, the squad needed to go for the yardage to keep themselves in the bout, and did just that with a 14 yard pass over the middle, pushing SNU to the SAU 27. After another big completed pass for 22 yards, the Crimson Storm ran up the middle with Worley for a score to cut the lead to six at 27-21.
With a 1:41 left on the clock, all SAU needed was a first down to completely seal the deal, and the group managed to do so with a Parker seven-yard rush for a first down, leading into victory formation to clinch the Muleriders' first win of the season.
Individual Standouts
Southern Arkansas had three rushers with 65+ yards, with Lambert leading that charge with 99 yards on 19 attempts. All three Mulerider touchdowns came on the ground, with Katrevion Thomas (14 carries | 83 yards), Arkez Gomez (11 carries | 67 yards), and Drew Davis (6 carries | 31 yards) all doing so.
SAU's leading receiver in the outing was Isaac Norris, as the Austin, Texas native recorded two receptions for 43 yards.
Three members of the Blue and Gold recorded 10+ total tackles, as Kendrick Juniel led the lot of them with 16 total tacks, 13 assisted tackles, and three solos.
Up next:
Southern Arkansas' next outing is back on the road, with the group heading to Searcy, Arkansas to take on the second-ranked Harding Bisons on September 19 at 7:00 PM
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