Alva Review-Courier -

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – A week after allowing a season-high 45 points and over 550 total yards, the Mulerider defense recorded 13 tackles for loss, including three sacks, and forced a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers, while allowing only 256 total yards of offense as Southern Arkansas thwarted an upset bid by Southern Nazarene on Family Day with a 21-16 Great American Conference win inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field on a hot Saturday afternoon.

The Muleriders (6-0, 6-0 GAC) are off to their best start to a season since 1990. That year's squad and the 1952 Muleriders are the only known SAU teams to have started a season 6-0. The victory on Saturday in front of a reported attendance of 4,805 was the 15th-consecutive win, dating back to 2015, for Southern Arkansas at home.

Highlighting the performance for the Muleriders in the win was a defensive unit that saw four players register 2.5 tackles for loss. Redshirt senior DaVondrick Lison led the defense with eight total tackles, including 2.5 for loss totaling 10 yards. Redshirt juniors Malik Preston and La'Montrick Turner also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and combined for nine stops. Redshirt senior Anthony Washington collected a pair of sacks and four tackles as did his younger brother Antonio Washington who picked up a half sack as part of his 1.5 tackles for loss.

Redshirt freshman Jalen Williams was the final Mulerider defender to get in on the backfield action as he recorded 1.5 tackles for loss. Freshman Brock Floyd and Demarcus Pegue each recorded seven tackles.

RECORDS

#17/18 Southern Arkansas Muleriders (6-0, 6-0 GAC)

Southern Nazarene (1-5, 1-5 GAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED – First Half

Southern Arkansas opened scoring at the 8:57 mark of the first quarter as redshirt senior Barrett Renner found classmate wideout Kile Pletcher on a 53-yard strike that found six for the game's first points.

The Muleriders would go up 14-0 on a four-yard touchdown run from senior Lorenzo Alexander, who finished with 81 yards on 21 carries and two scores. In the past two games, Alexander has scored five times.

SAU appeared to be on their way as the offense, through the game's first 15 minutes, was operating like a well-oiled machine.

The Crimson Storm answered in emphatic fashion as its offense marched 75 yards in 17 plays which took 8:11 off the clock and resulted in SAU's lead being cut to a touchdown margin.

The next Mulerider drive would stall in SNU territory and the Crimson Storm's Carlos Anguiano nailed a 32-yard field goal with 38 seconds to play in the half as SAU carried a slim four-point advantage into the break.

HOW IT HAPPENED – Second Half

The Muleriders would go up 21-10 after Alexander scored on SAU's first drive of the second half following Renner connecting with redshirt junior Jaidon Parrish on a 27-yard pitch-and-catch down to the one-yard line. Parrish finished as the game's leading receiver with four catches for 81 yards.

The 11-point difference in favor of Southern Arkansas would stand until the 6:57 mark of the fourth quarter as SNU's Gage Porter found Jacoby Hicks in the end zone on a jump ball-type pass for the score. The two-point try failed and the Muleriders led by five.

The action would take several momentum shifts in the game's ensuing 5:30-plus minutes as the team's combined to force four turnovers.

Southern Arkansas fumbled away the football on their second play following SNU pulling to within less than a touchdown of the lead. The very next play, the Crimson Storm coughed up the ball as Turner forced it to the turf with sophomore Kobe McDonald picking it up.

Alexander would carry six straight times for 23 yards following the back-to-back turnovers but Southern Arkansas would leave the door open for the Crimson Storm one last time as SNU forced their second fumble in as many possessions to give themselves a chance trailing by five with 1:31 remaining and needing to cover 92 yards.

TURNING POINT(s)

Saturday's turning point happened late as redshirt senior Kaseem Smith deflected a Crimson Storm pass that found the hands of redshirt junior Stacy Lawrence with 60 seconds to play to seal the win.

OF NOTE

The Mulerider defense allowed just 78 yards on the ground, at an average of just 2.2 per carry, and totaled 55 yards in TFL.

Southern Arkansas ran 60 plays and totaled 411 yards.

Saturday's time of possession margin was by two seconds: SAU – 30:02 and SNU – 29:58.

Renner finished 11-of-18 for 215 yards and a touchdown with an interception. Renner now has 11,575 career passing yards and is one of two quarterbacks in Arkansas collegiate football history to throw for over 11,000 yards in a career. His single touchdown pass gives him 109 in his career and he is 15 back of tying Henderson State's Kevin Rodgers for the all-time collegiate state record.

Redshirt senior Karonce Higgins caught a pair of passes for 53 yards, including a long of 37. He now has 163 career catches and is 12 receptions back of tying the program record. Additionally, Higgins has recorded 2,486 yards receiving and is 366 yards shy of Nik Lewis' all-time program record.

Redshirt junior SirCharles Perkins added 59 yards on the ground to go with 32 kickoff return yards and Renner followed with 57 rushing yards.

UP NEXT

Southern Arkansas heads back to Oklahoma for the final time in 2018 with a scheduled 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 13 against Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant. The Muleriders will eye an opportunity to capture a school-record seventh-straight win to open a season. Live coverage links will be made available at http://www.MuleriderAthletics.com.