Southern Arkansas University linebacker Malik Preston placed his index finger in front of his chest late Saturday night after a 27-14 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State.
SAU, ranked No. 19 in the AFCA Top 25, improved to 4-0 with the victory in Magnolia to remain tied with Ouachita Baptist University atop the Great American Conference standings.
Preston's gesture, while adamant, had nothing to do with the Muleriders being No. 1 in anything.
He was simply answering a reporter's question about how the Muleriders would continue navigating through four more weeks of playing only GAC foes from Oklahoma, until finishing the season with longtime Arkansas rivals Henderson State, OBU and Arkansas-Monticello.
"One," Preston said, drawing laughter from teammate and fellow linebacker Demarcus Pegue. "One game at a time."
"That's our motto," said Pegue, a redshirt sophomore from Texarkana.
The next four weeks figure to be as much a mental grind as a physical one for the Muleriders, with two more trips to Oklahoma -- vs. Oklahoma Baptist (2-2) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-2) -- and home games against Southern Nazarene (1-3) and East Central (1-3).
Preston, a redshirt junior from Shreveport, continued holding his index finger in place.
"Never focus on anything other than the week in front of you," he said.
SAU's defense did that against the Rangers, forcing 4 turnovers, recording 5 sacks and limiting NWOSU to 254 offensive yards, with 166 of those yards coming on 3 plays.
It was a game that might have turned into a rout had SAU's offense been clicking, but four times the Muleriders failed to score a point with possession inside the Rangers 20.
The defense didn't mind.
"In a sense," Preston said, "I feel like it drives the defense more if the offense doesn't produce. It means we have to, and it give us an extra boost of energy."
Pegue, who shares time with Preston, added: "And once we get that extra boost of energy, it transfers to the offense and gets them going."
Preston and Pegue don't get top billing on SAU's defense, which is allowing 12.2 points and 287 yards per game.
The Muleriders' headliner is defensive end DaVondrick Lison, a Division II All-American who was named Great American Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts last Saturday -- 8 tackles, 5 unassisted, 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss.
Preston and Pegue combined for 4 tackles for loss, including Preston's trifecta of sacking NWOSU quarterback Isaiah Weed, forcing him to fumble and then recovering the loose ball at the Rangers 2.
Border battles
The past two weeks of GAC football matched six Oklahoma teams against six Arkansas teams, with six games being played in Oklahoma two weeks ago and six games played in Arkansas last week.
Arkansas teams went 8-4, with Southern Arkansas (4-0), Ouachita Baptist (4-0), Harding (3-1) and Arkansas Tech (2-2) each going 2-0.
Henderson State (1-3) and Arkansas Monticello (1-3) went 0-2, with Henderson losing after holding fourth-quarter leads in both games.
Familiar foes
This week's GAC schedule features two all-Arkansas matchups -- Arkansas Tech (2-2) at No. 7 Ouachita Baptist (4-0), and No. 21 Harding (3-1) at Arkansas Monticello (1-3).
Arkansas Tech Coach Raymond Monica said he is looking forward to Saturday's noon kickoff at Cliff Harris Stadium, marking the 83rd meeting between the schools.
"We know their players and they know ours," Monica said. "When you see them [Tigers], what you see is a complete football team."
OBU Coach Todd Knight said getting his players to focus on the Wonder Boys and not think ahead to their Oct. 6 date with Harding should not be difficult.
"We know how good Arkansas Tech is," Knight said. "They could easily be 3-1. They've got a good team."
Harding Coach Paul Simmons said there is no reason for the Bisons to be looking past the Boll Weevils, even with OBU looming.
"I'm scared to death of this ballgame," Simmons said. "I haven't slept all week. It's such a unique deal in our conference. No matter how good your opponent is, they all count the same."
Wonder Boy
Arkansas Tech running back Bryan Allen, a senior from Forrest City, surpassed the 3,000-yard career mark (3,040) after rushing 33 times for 175 yards in Saturday's 24-10 victory over Southern Nazarene in Russellville.
Allen, (62-329 rushing; 4-89 receiving) ranks fourth on the Wonder Boys' all-time rushing list, behind Travis Horn (3,073), Eddie Meador (3,410) and Larry Brown (3,603).
Allen's 33 rushing attempts were the most by a GAC running back in almost two years.
Wonder Boys Coach Raymond Monica praised Allen but was not surprised by it.
"We've seen Bryan run the football like that before," Monica said.
So has Ouachita Baptist, which yielded Allen's career high of 279 yards as a freshman.
"There's a lot of guys in this league who can run the football," Ouachita Baptist Coach Todd Knight said. "And he's right at the top."
Delay of game
A lightning strike within 10 miles of Willis "Convoy" Leslie Boll Weevil Stadium stopped Saturday's game between Arkansas-Monticello and Southeastern Oklahoma State with 9:55 to play in the first half and SOSU leading 14-0.
The game resumed 34 minutes later, and the Savage Storm won 21-7 in a game played on a field soaked by more than 4 inches of precipitation last Friday and Saturday.
The teams combined for 403 total yards, and UAM averaged 2.7 yards on 67 plays. SOSU averaged 3.7 yards on 60 plays.
UAM came into the game leading the GAC in total offense (480.7 ypg) and tied for first in scoring offense (35.3 ppg).
UAM Coach Hud Jackson said he felt the field held up well.
"It was a slick surface in regards to the balls, there were a few more drops," Jackson said. "Cost us a blocked punt due to a bad snap. But we have been in these situations before. Both teams had to deal with it."
Polling place
Three Arkansas teams remain in the AFCA Top 25 poll, with No. 19 Southern Arkansas (4-0) leapfrogging No. 20 Harding (3-1) and Ouachita Baptist (4-0) moving up to No. 7.
"We appreciate the respect," OBU Coach Todd Knight said. "We realize in this conference, anybody can beat anybody any week."
Sports on 09/28/2018