Box Score |
Photo Gallery
DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern was unable to withstand a second-half flurry from Southern Arkansas and saw a halftime lead dissolve into a 31-24 loss on Saturday night in the home opener at Paul Laird field.
The Savage Storm fall to 1-1 on the year and dip to 0-1 in Great American Conference play, while the Muleriders improve to 2-0 and 1-0 in league play.
SE will be back in conference action on Sept. 22 when it travels to Arkadelphia, Ark., to face Henderson State at 6 p.m.
Things looked good early for Southeastern, jumping to a 7-0 lead with 6:24 to play in the first quarter when
Jercolby Bradley found
Quentin Morris for a 25-yard TD strike to take an early 7-0 lead. The play capped a 66 yard drive that ran 2:55 off the clock over five plays.
The TD was the first of the season for Morris who would go on to have his biggest day in an SE jersey, finishing with five catches for 113 yards and a pair of scores.
SAU would answer midway through the second quarter when Carlos Brown hauled in a 16-yard pass from Tyler Sykora to cap a 13-play, 66 yard drive.
The Storm would get the last word in the first half, however, as
Chris Peoples would hit a 22-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead with 4:46 to play.
The field goal capitalized on a Rafael Thomas fumbled punt that was recovered at the SAU nine-yard-line by
Chad Tucker.
The Muleriders would tie the game with a 42-yard Jacob Carpenter field goal early in the third quarter to again knot the game, this time at 10-10.
However, on the second play of the ensuing drive, Bradley would once again find Morris, this time for 70 yards and a touchdown to take a 17-10 lead. The 70-yard connection is the longest on the season thus far.
The Storm defense would strike on the first play of the next SAU drive when
Emmanual Jackson stripped SAU's Mark Johnson before
Houston Slemp fell on the loose ball for SE's third forced turnover of the night.
Southeastern would take the ensuing drive 40-yards over 3:33 seconds before
Ladarius Abrams crossed the goal line to put the Storm in front 24-10 with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter.
The Muleriders would answer two drives later when Sykora hit Thomas for a 21-yard TD strike, but SE would block the PAT and still maintain a 24-16 lead with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Storm would be held to a three-and-out on the following possession and SAU's Mark Spaight would block a
Jared Heim punt and DeMario Thomas would return it 21 yards for the touchdown and after completing the two-point conversion he game was tied at 24-24.
SE's first drive of the fourth quarter would stall on downs at the SAU 43 yard line and the Muleriders would then march the following drive 57 yards in eight plays burning 3:29 off the clock before Johnson scored from 10 yards out to take a 31-24 lead which would prove to be the final margin.
The loss overshadowed what was a solid home opener for Bradley who tossed for 299 yards and a pair of TD's, but was picked off once and completed 19-of-40 through the air. He continued to be a dual-threat, however, leading the team in rushing with 67 yards on 14 carries.
The bulk of his yards came with the help of Morris' 113 yards receiving as did both scores.
Kirk added 45 yards rushing on 18 carries, while Abrams chipped in 16 yards on four carries and a touchdown.
Despite its second-half troubles, the SE defense played well.
SAU finished the night with just 299 total yards of offense as compared to Southeastern's 423.
The Storm also forced four turnovers on the night, two interceptions and two fumbles.
Izzy Eziakor was all over the field with 11 tackles on the evening.
Matthew Leatherwood and
David Lamour each had interceptions, while Slemp and Tucker each had fumble recoveries. Smith and Jackson forced those fumbles.
The defense held Sykora to 13-27 passing for 135 yards and two touchdowns along with two picks.
Johnson rushed for a game-high 140 yards on 27 carries for the Muleriders with one score, while Thomas had 46 yards receiving on four catches with a TD. Brown added SAU's other receiving score.
