September 29, 2001

Southern Arkansas Drubs West Alabama 38-7

Magnolia, Ark.--Leading 28-0 at the half, Southern Arkansas University breezed past the University of West Alabama 38-7 here Saturday night in perfect football weather. The Muleriders are now even for the season (2-2-0) and in Gulf South Conference play (2-1-0) while the visiting Tigers (1-4-0) and (0-3-0) are still seeking their first league win.

The 'Riders scored first on a 10-yard jaunt by freshman halfback Torrance Jones with 1:20 left in the first period and added three touchdowns in the second quarter on a six-yard keeper by sophomore quarterback Ted Williams with 12:13 on the clock, senior halfback Forrest Curry took an option pitch for 56 yards to reach the end zone at even nine minutes and freshman wide receiver Nik Lewis hauled in a 29-yard Williams pass with 16 ticks left in the half. Saul DeLa Cruz drilled all four extra points.

The first score of the second half was on a two-yard burst by Jones with only :08 seconds left in the third stanza with DeLa Cruz converting and the freshman kicker put a 32-yard field goal through the uprights with 6:16 remaining in the game to give SAU a 38-0 lead.

The Tigers did not get on the scoreboard until less than a minute remained and this came after a fumbled snap by SAU freshman backup quarterback Donald Bulter and a pass interference call on 'Rider junior cornerback Carl Butler gave UWA possession inside the 'Rider 10. Junior wide receiver Kyle Henderson caught a four-year pass from reserve quarterback A.J. Williams with 57 seconds left to get UWA on the scoreboard.

In the first half, SAU's first two scoring drives covered 56 yards, the third 62 yards and the fourth only 29 yards after a fourth-down gamble by the Tigers was smothered. UWA had only one threat and that came late in the half when punter Michael Sims converted a fourth-down fake punt into a 59-yard run to the 'Rider 14, which accounted for all but four-yards of UWA's total offense to this point. In all, the Tigers had 81 yards total offense and three first downs at halftime while SAU piled up 268 yards, 239 on the ground, and 11 first downs.

SAU finished with 409 yards total offense, 380 on the ground and 17 first downs while the Tigers had 172 total yards and 10 first downs. Williams rushed 13 times for 120 yards while the fake punt run of 59 yards by Sims was the bright spot for UWA.

Senior defensive end Michael Webb led the 'Rider defense with 12 tackles, five for 18 yards in losses and had a sack for a minus eight. The GSC's tackle leader, free safety George Bates, had 11 for UWA with six solos.

This was SAU's fourth straight win over UWA since the 'Riders joined the GSC and evened the series that began in the 1950's with 10 wins each.