SAU (6-0) deals with injury bug

Another week, another closer-than-expected victory for Southern Arkansas University.

SAU Coach Bill Keopple won't apologize for it.

"We'll take them any way we can get 'em," Keopple said of the Muleriders (6-0, 6-0 Great American Conference) who are ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Top 25 coaches poll.

If it means having to hold on at home for a 21-16 victory over 1-5 Southern Nazarene, so be it.

Even if the Crimson Storm entered Week 5 last in the Great American Conference in scoring (13.0 ppg) and total offense (188.4 ypg), 11th in passing offense (60 ypg) and 11th in rush defense (224.0 ypg).

"I think Southern Nazarene is a better team than they've showed this year," Keopple said. "They ran a couple of plays that were so well-designed I think we're going to put them in."

SAU is 4-0 in its stretch of six consecutive games against the Oklahoma side of the GAC, and all four victories have required either a second-half rally or a scary second-half moment.

"Injuries have definitely caught up with us on offense," Keopple said, trying to explain that unit's up-and-down performance.

Keopple points to the loss of running back Keiandre Purifoy (41-168 rushing, 1 TD) for the past 2 games, wide receiver/all-purpose specialist Jared Lancaster (26-305 receiving, 4 TDs) after the first quarter of last week's game, and an unexpected reliance on four true freshmen on the offensive line.

The Muleriders still have much-acclaimed senior quarterback Barrett Renner (1,670 passing, 14 TDs) and big-play receiver Karonce Higgins (38-649 receiving, 4 TDs) in its arsenal.

Keopple said he expects the Muleriders to be at their best when they take on 4-2 Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday in Durant, Okla.

A victory would set the Muleriders up for a sweep of the Oklahoma teams (with 2-4 East Central in Magnolia on Oct. 21) before a three-game sprint to the finish against in-state rivals Henderson State (3-3), Ouachita Baptist (6-0) and Arkansas-Monticello (2-4).

But SAU has lost to SOSU in its two most recent trips to Durant (35-13 in 2015, 56-50 in 2013), and the Savage Storm have won three consecutive games with Rollin Kinsaul (40-61 passing, 617, 5 TDs) taking over as the starting quarterback.

"We've got a tough assignment," Keopple said. "But I feel like they've got a tough assignment, too."

Defense, defense

Ouachita Baptist leaned on its offense last season en route to winning the Great American Conference championship before losing in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Now, it's the defense's turn to lead the way.

The Tigers (6-0) have moved to No. 1 in Division II in scoring defense (9.3 ppg) in the aftermath of their 7-3 victory over Harding on Saturday.

It's the last thing Coach Todd Knight wants his Tigers thinking about as they prepare for their upcoming game against a high-scoring Oklahoma Baptist team in Shawnee.

"We may be No. 1 today, but we still know we have some weaknesses," Knight said. "When you get fat and happy about statistics, that's when you get your tail beat."

OBU's defensive ranking is even more impressive when compared to last season's defense, which finished the season ranked 73rd in Divison II yielding 26.3 points per game.

Running Reddies

Henderson State has been known as a passing team in Scott Maxfield's 14 seasons, and this season's Reddies came into last week's game with Oklahoma Baptist third in the GAC in passing (287.0 ypg) and 10th in rushing (101.2 ypg).

That changed in Saturday's 56-21 victory over Oklahoma Baptist at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia.

"They emptied the box to stop our passing game," Maxfield said. "We took what they gave us."

The Reddies ran for 383 yards, with a 1-2 punch of Querale Hall (15-173, 2 TDs) and Logan Moragne (15-167, 1 TD) combining for 340 of those yards.

It marked the first time Henderson has had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since 2011, and it was the first time the Reddies have rushed for more than 300 yards since 2015 and the largest one-game total since 2004.

"I'm not sure if it was because they were that bad, or whether we were that good," Maxfield said, with a laugh. "Probably a combination of both."

Hall, who started the season as the No. 3 back, has seen his playing time increase after Cobra Jones went down with an ankle injury two weeks ago. Moragne had also been slowed by injuries.

But it's not like Henderson has gone full-blown Harding Flexbone.

Quarterback Richard Stammetti (17-29 passing, 206, 3 TDs) still threw the ball, just not as much as he has been.

Fourth and go

Harding Coach Paul Simmons went for it on fourth down four times during last week's 7-3 loss to No. 5 Ouachita Baptist, and the Bisons picked up first downs the first three times -- at the OBU 42 in the second quarter, at the Harding 46 on the fourth play of the second half, and at the Ouachita 36 on Harding's final drive of the fourth quarter.

The only time the Bisons weren't successful on fourth down was after an illegal motion penalty wiped out Cole Chancey's apparent 1-yard touchdown run with 29 seconds to play. The Bisons had to do it over from the 6, and quarterback Preston Paden's pass to the end zone was incomplete.

"I really don't consider those gambles," Simmons said of the fourth-down plays. "I just want to make sure we're always playing to win instead of not playing to lose. I really believe the guys are going to get it."

Sports on 10/12/2018