Henderson State committed four turnovers while Southern Arkansas played a near flawless game as the Muleriders beat the Reddies 50-24 Saturday, at the Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado.
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The Muleriders totaled 508 yards of offense and controlled the football totaling 41 minutes of possession time with the Reddies having the ball for just 19 minutes.
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The two teams traded scores for much of the first-half with SAU getting on the board first putting together a methodical drive going 75 yards on 16 plays in 8:45. Michael Nunnery finished the drive with a 1-yard plunge. Bradford Grems' point after failed and the Muleriders led 6-0.
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Henderson answered quickly as
Zacari Lavender returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the SAU 45.
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Andrew Black then connected for
Al Lasker for 42 yards down to the SAU 3 with
Jaquan Cole scoring two plays later on a 5-yard dive to put HSU on top 7-6.
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Grems then booted a 35 yards field goal for SAU to begin the second quarter, with
Houston Ray countering with a 25-yarder of his own.
SAU, 6-2 on the season, would regain the lead with 5:52 left in the half as Nunnery scored his second touchdown of the game, this time from two yards out.
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Again the Reddies quickly answered on the following possession as Black connected with
Courtney Whitehead for a 13-yard score. Whitehead had receptions of 11 and 25 yards during the drive to set up the go-ahead score.
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SAU took the lead for good on its next drive as Barrett Renner hit Jaylon Dews for an 18-yard strike to put the Muleriders on top 23-17 with 1:13 left in the half.
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The Muleriders came up with a big special teams play on the kickoff as
Jacoby Lewis fumbled, giving the ball back to SAU on the Reddie 30.
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It took four plays for SAU to score as Renner connected with Darrion Ardoin from 17-yards out to make the score 30-17 at the break.
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Henderson, 6-2, quickly scored to begin the second-half as Lasker recorded a 31-yard touchdown reception from Black to cut the deficit to 30-24.
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The Muleriders would then score 20 unanswered taking advantage of a Reddie fumble and a blocked punt for the final score.
Black finished the day completing 17-of-25 passes for 266 yards including a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions.
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Lasker led the Henderson receivers with five receptions for 100 yards, while Whitehead had 72 yards on five catches and
Austin Bennett having 67 yards on four grabs.
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The Reddies were limited to 35 yards rushing with Black and Cole both having 20 yards.
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Renner completed 21-of-33 passes for 318 yards, while Nunnery led the SAU ground game with 62 yards on 18 carries.
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Gary Vines totaled a career-high 13 tackles for Henderson, with
Sheldon Watson having 9 stops and
Josh Davis 8.
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Henderson State returns home next Saturday as the Reddies welcome Oklahoma Baptist for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium\Ruggles Field.
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