Wichita Falls, Tex.
August 30, 2002
Indians Outscore Muleriders 35-26
Wichita Falls, Tex.-Southern Arkansas University
fumbled an exchange the second play of the game here Saturday against
Midwestern State University deep in their own territory. SAU’s defense held and
forced a field goal, which was no good. SAU, however, roughed the kicker to
give the Indians another shot close to the goal. MSU took advantage this time
and went on to defeat the mistake-prone Muleriders 35-26 in the season opener.
Quarterback Phillip Boggs kept from
the two and Jerry Holstrom booted the PAT to make it 7-0, MSU, and the game
only a minute and 55 seconds old. The ‘Riders came back to tie it after a
48-yard drive on a 13-yard pass from quarterback Ted Williams to wide receiver
Nik Lewis and Thomas LaToof converted, 7-7, with 1:56 remaining in the first
quarter.
MSU regained the lead on a one-yard
run by fullback Jerrold Fuqua that closed a 71-yard march and Holstrom’s extra
point kick for a 14-7 advantage with 12:36 left in the second quarter. The
‘Riders came back to finish a 69-yard drive on a four-yard run by halfback
Torrence Jones but LaToof missed the extra point, leaving SAU trailing 14-13
with only 2:34 left in the half.
SAU was deflated when MSU drove 67
yards in eight plays to score before the half. Boggs passed eight yards to 6-6
wide receiver Chris Chatman for the touchdown and Holstrom’s kick made it 21-13
at halftime.
The Indians extended their lead in
the third period when Chatman hauled in a 27-yard pass from Boggs and Holstrom
toed it to 28-13 with 10:54 on the clock. SAU was unable to score again until
14:18 remained in the fourth quarter. The ‘Riders narrowed the gap to 28-20 by
marching 91 yards, capped by a five-yard jaunt by Jones and the PAT by LaToof.
Still in the game at this point, the
SAU defense was unable to stop the Indians from driving 66 yards in 11 plays to
score on a one-yard run by backup quarterback Cedric Jackson and Holstrom’s
kick that made it 35-20 with 9:46 to play.
Williams’ one-yard sneak finished a
10-play, 74-yard SAU drive but LaToof again missed the extra point and only
1:45 remained.
It was the second year in a row for
SAU to lose their opener to a Lone Star Conference team. Last year, SAU
dominated Texas A&M-Conference only to lose 17-13 by missing close range
field goals and extra points.
The statistics were close. MSU had a
23-21 edge on first downs and 422 total yards to 421 for SAU. The ‘Riders
rushed for 259 yards and passed for 162 while the Indians rushed for 214 yards
and passed for 208. One glaring statistic that made a big difference was SAU
turned the ball over four times, losing three of five fumbles and an
interception, while MSU did not suffer a single turnover in their opener.
Individually, Fuqua rushed 21 times
for 89 yards and a touchdown and Boggs passed for 182 yards, completing 12 of
20 for two touchdowns with no interceptions for MSU. Chatman had six receptions
for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
SAU’s Williams rushed for 90 yards on 13 carries and
a touchdown while passing for 162 yards, completing 11 of 25 and a touchdown
with one interception. Lewis hauled in seven receptions for 132 yards and a
touchdown. One bright spot for SAU was the punting of freshman Tony Grecco, who
had seven punts for a 44.6 average.
SAU has an open date next week before meeting Texas A&M-Commerce in Commerce September 14 to give the ‘Rider coaching staff a chance to eliminate several mental miscues that contributed to their opening loss.