Muleriders look to bounce back against Bisons
MAGNOLIA, Ark.—The Southern Arkansas football team is at home for the first time this season and the Muleriders will be looking to bounce back from a tough 28-21 loss on the road last Thursday at Arkansas Tech. SAU will have to face another tough test early in the season as they host defending Great American Conference Champion, Harding.
Picked in the preseason to win the GAC by the league head coaches, SAU will be looking to avoid their first 0-2 start to a season since 2010, while Harding will enter Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field looking to pick up their first win of the season and avoid their first 0-2 start since 2001 after the Bisons lost to Henderson State at home 28-20 in Week 1.
With a lot on the line for a pair of teams with the highest preseason expectations, SAU will have the benefit of playing in front of an expected large home crowd for Family Day after last year’s game was standing-room only. Since 2012, the Muleriders are 19-3 at Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell, but two of those losses are to the hands of the Bisons (2013 & 2015).
Arkansas Tech at Henderson State
ARKADELPHIA, Ark.—After a thrilling season-opening win against 15th-ranked Harding last week, No. 23 Henderson State will battle another in-state foe as Arkansas Tech comes to Arkadelphia for the Reddies’ home opener today with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.
The game will mark the beginning of the 50th season at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium/Ruggles Field. Constructed in 1968, Henderson State has a 31-17-1 record in home openers at CHS/RF.
Arkansas Tech and Henderson State meet for the 93rd time in a series that dates back to 1920. The Reddies lead the all-time series at 44-43-5 following HSU’s 27-20 win last season in Russellville. HSU has won the last six meetings and seven of the last eight games against the Wonder Boys.
Quarterback Andrew Black led the Reddies last week having a solid game against the Bisons completing 18-of-30 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. The junior from Tyler, Texas also totaled 28 yards rushing including a 1-yard plunge for a touchdown.
Black has 2455 career passing yards and has completed 188-of-302 passes for 62 percent including 17 touchdown tosses.
Ben Johnson was Black’s favorite target in the opener as Johnson hauled in seven passes for 80 yards, all in the first half. Johnson increased his career total to 545 yards to go along with four career touchdowns.
OBU at SWOSU
WEATHERFORD, Okla.—A battle of 1-0 teams will take place at ASAP Energy Field tonight at 6 p.m. as the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State University welcome the Tigers from Ouachita Baptist with the Paul Sharp Cup on the line.
Both teams earned close victories in their season opener, with Ouachita (1-0, 1-0 GAC) defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State 31-28 while SWOSU (1-0, 1-0 GAC) blocked a potential go-ahead field goal attempt by Arkansas-Monticello in the final seconds to secure a 20-19 win. SWOSU is 1-5 against the Tigers as members of the Great American Conference, but the Dawgs did defeat Ouachita 58-38 in the last meeting in Weatherford (Sept. 19, 2015).
With a victory on Saturday, the Bulldogs would move to 2-0, opening a season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2013.
Last season, the Tigers handed SWOSU a 48-28 defeat in Arkadelphia, the third time in six meetings as GAC foes that Ouachita put up 40 or more points against the Bulldogs.
Ouachita is 3-1 against SWOSU in the Paul Sharp Cup series with victories in 2013, 2014 and 2016 while the
Bulldogs held the trophy for one year following their 2015 victory over the
Tigers.
Today’s GAC games
Northwestern Oklahoma State at Arkansas-Monticello, 6 p.m.
Henderson State at Arkansas Tec, 6 p.m. Southern Arkansas at Harding, 6 p.m. East Central at Southern Nazarene, 6 p.m. Southwestern Oklahoma State at Ouachita, 6 p.m.