GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE: Seven turnovers too many for 'Riders

LITTLE ROCK — MAGNOLIA - At some point, the Southern Arkansas Muleriders might see how close they came to knocking off No. 5 Valdosta State and consider it a moral victory.

But it'll be a while.

For now, the Muleriders will be thinking about the seven turnovers they committed, including four interceptions by quarterback Josh SanFilippo, in a 33-21 loss to the Blazers on Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.

Southern Arkansas trailed 27-21 with under 10 minutes left in the game, but sandwiched a fumble between two interceptions on its next three possessions.

"We made a couple of dumb throws for picks," Muleriders Coach Steve Quinn said. "If it's not there, throw it away, live to play another day. We didn't do a very good job of that."

Valdosta State (5-0, 3-0) entered Saturday with the topranked offense in the Gulf South Conference, but little of that was displayed in the first half. Instead, Southern Arkansas' defense held the Blazers to 13first-half points, even as the offense fizzled.

Valdosta State, which ranked second in the Gulf South with 224 yards rushing per game, was held to 28 yards for the entire game.

"We took some chances defensively," Quinn said. "We had to."

A 4-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Evans early in the third quarter, then an 86-yard interception return by Shawn Harris, put Southern Arkansas (2-4, 1-3) in a 27-7 hole and threatened to break the game open. But the Muleriders opened the fourth quarter with consecutive drives for touchdowns, cutting Valdosta State's lead to six.

The Blazers walled off the middle of the line of scrimmage early on, shutting down the power running game the Muleriders hoped to employ in the first half. Instead, Southern Arkansas employed its option attack to explore the edges, which subsequently keptValdosta State from stacking the middle in the game's late stages.

Chris Metcalf capped a six-minute drive with a 1-yard run, then SanFilippo found Mario Coleman for a 32-yard touchdown pass just after the 10-minute mark.

Then came the mistakes. After forcing the Blazers to punt, Southern Arkansas squandered its first go-ahead opportunity after SanFilippo threw an interception to Roger King.

"We've got to be particular about [pass attempts]," Quinn said. "We've got to choose when to throw them instead of having to throw them."

After recovering a fumble, the Muleriders turned the ball over again after Jamaal Clark recovered a fumbled option pitch. Southern Arkansas stoppedValdosta State on fourth-and-1, giving the Muleriders possession at their 40 with 2:13 remaining.

Southern Arkansas' first play of the drive, a short pass, promptly was intercepted by Clark, who returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

"That's something that'splagued Southern Arkansas all year," Valdosta State Coach David Dean said. "They were forced to throw the ball, and that's not something that they like to do."