Southern Arkansas University vs. Texas A&M University-Commerce

When: September 14, 2002            Where: Commerce, Texas, @ Memorial Stadium            Time: 6 p.m.

            The Series (SAU 7-6-0)

            Saturday’s game between Southern Arkansas University and Texas A&M University-Commerce will be the 14th meeting between the Muleriders of the Gulf South Conference and the Lions of the Lone Star Conference. The series began in 1980 but after 1992, SAU and TA&M-C did not meet again until 2001.

            When the series began, the ‘Riders were a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) while the Lions were already a member o the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II. SAU moved to the NCAA Division II ranks in 1995, three years after they last met the Lions until the series resumed last year.

            A&M-C won the first meeting in 1980 21-14 but SAU captured a 39-37 shootout the following season and squeezed out a 13-11 decision in 1982 for a 2-1 advantage. A&M-C evened matters the next year 24-15 and waxed the ‘Riders in 1984 35-14 to regain the series lead. SAU bounced back with a 30-20 win in 1985, won 21-10 in 1986 and made it three in a row in 1987 with a 21-17 win. After A&M-C took a 17-11 win in 1988, the ‘Riders and Lions did not play in 1989.

            In 1990, the ‘Riders won 22-17 and claimed a 14-6 victory in 1991. A&M-C won the last meeting in 1992 31-16 until the 2001 clash, which resulted in a 17-13 Lion win. A win by A&M-C Saturday will once again even the series.

            The Coaches

            Second-year SAU head coach Steve Quinn (Ouachita Baptist, 1985) will be coaching his 12th game with the Muleriders. Quinn finished his first season at SAU in 2001 with a 5-5-0 record but lost his opener two weeks ago to Midwestern State at Wichita Falls and needs a win tonight to regain a .500 percentage.

            Eddie Brister (Austin College, 1972) is in his fourth year as head coach of A&M-C. His record with the Lions is 17-17-0, thanks to a 7-4-0 record in 2001. Since the A&M-C game with Southwestern Assemblies of God in the 2002 opener was cancelled, this will be the opening game for the Lions.

            Media Coverage

            KVMA 107.9 FM in Magnolia with Dan Gregory on play-by-play and Jay Adcox as color commentator with Lane Jean on the sideline; KETR 88.9 in Commerce with Scott Garner doing play-by-play and Dr. J.P. Slovak handling the color.

            Last Season

            The Lions took advantage of kicking game miscues by the ‘Riders to claim a 17-13 decision. SAU missed two point blank field goals from short range (20 and 23 yards) and an extra point. A&M-C had opened their season a week earlier with a 14-11 win over Harding while it was the season opener for the ‘Riders.

            GSC This Week

            West Georgia @ Albany State, 1 p.m.; Central Oklahoma @ Arkansas Tech, 6 p.m.; Langston (Okla.) @ Central Arkansas, 6 p.m.; Delta State @ Mississippi Valley State, 6 p.m.; SOUTHERN ARKANSAS @ Texas A&M-Commerce, 6 p.m.; Henderson State @ Stephen F. Austin, 7 p.m.

            GSC Next Week

            Arkansas-Monticello @ West Alabama; Central Arkansas @ Henderson State; Delta State @ Valdosta State; West Georgia @ SOUTHERN ARKANSAS; Arkansas Tech @ Ouachita Baptist; Harding @ North Alabama.

            GSC Last Week

            North Alabama 24-Lambuth 17; West Alabama 45-Stillman 33; Northeastern State (Okla.) 9-Arkansas Tech 7; Central Arkansas 31-Abilene Christian 17; Valdosta State 32-Fort Valley State 6; West Georgia 37-Presbyterian 35; Harding 34-East Central (Okla.) 23; Southeastern Oklahoma 20-Ouachita Baptist 17.

            Team Leaders

SAU: QB Ted Williams passed for 162 yards and a touchdown by completing 11 of 25 attempts with one interception and rushed for 90 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown in the opener vs. MSU. WR Nik Lewis caught seven passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Tony Grecco punted seven times for a 44.6 average. SS Brian Davis had 10 tackles on defense, nine of them unassisted.

            A&M-C: Though the Lions have not played a down this year, their expected leaders on offense are fullbacks Adrian Barnes and Chris Babin, flanker Melvin Crosby and offensive lineman Eric Austin, all three-year lettermen seniors. Defensive leaders are linebacker John Paul Mulligan, cornerback Everett Webb and safety Jesse Brooks, all three-year lettermen seniors. Randy Weston, another three-year letterman senior, made a difference last year with his kicking vs. SAU.

            From the Coach

            SAU head coach Steve Quinn said “Saturday’s game with Texas A&M-Commerce will be important for our football team. We must show that we have made progress as a team from the first game to the second game of the season. This is usually when the most improvement is made as a football team.”

            “The little mistakes we made against Midwestern State that contributed to us losing the game we had a chance to win must be corrected. Our team has shown good focus during the off-week and has concentrated on correcting our errors. The attitude and work ethic has been very good.”

“Texas A&M-Commerce is a good football team that makes very few, if any mistakes.They force you to beat them because they don’t beat themselves. We haven’t seen anything on them from this year because this will be their first game. However, they are returning nine starters on a defensive unit we felt was very good last year. The new starter at quarterback will be different because he evidently beat out the previous starter that was a good player for them a year ago. They have good skill people offensively and are big in the offensive line.  They will definitely be well coached. This is going to be a tough game for us.”