No matter the score in past games, Hud Jackson has touted his ability to keep the University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils motivated for the next one.
Riding a five-game skid, Jackson just wants to go out a winner in his final game as head coach – and for the 51st time in his career.
“I’m not good at much, but I do feel like I have a talent in getting guys motivated to play,” he said Thursday. “That’s something that’s obviously going to continue going into this last game. We’d love nothing more than to get a win and selfishly bring that trophy home. That’s what our intent is. That’s what we want to do and try really, really hard to do.”
There isn’t a championship to be won Saturday at Magnolia’s Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field, but a trophy will be on the line when Southern Arkansas University (7-3 overall and Great American) hosts UAM (2-8).
A series touted as the longest-running in-state rivalry will be played for the 100th time, with kickoff set for 2 p.m. KHBM-FM 93.7 will air the game with team1sports.com/mulriderathletics streaming (subscription or single-game fee required).
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
In an otherwise lackluster season for the Weevils, no luster is lost in this storied showdown, which SAU leads 61-37-1. (SAU won 54-22 last November in Monticello.) Jackson is 2-11 against the Muleriders, winning in 2018 to secure his only regular winning season and in 2021.
“Every game we play is important; that’s for sure,” Jackson said. “But this one has a little more meaning to it, obviously because of the rivalry and everything else that’s gone on. Whatever the outcome’s going to be, there’s a lot to be proud of and a lot of things to look forward to. It’s going to be bittersweet, but I really look forward to the challenge Saturday and what it can do for us and the pressure that goes along with that.”
The Muleriders may look forward to it as well, but a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs could be at stake for Coach Brad Smiley’s team. With Harding University having already won the Great American Conference title, the best SAU can hope for is to move from No. 10 in the NCAA Super Region Four rankings to No. 8 after Saturday’s game to qualify for the tournament now expanded from 28 to 32 teams. (No team will receive a first-round bye.)
Aside from Jackson’s last stand and SAU’s playoff hopes, the two starting quarterbacks, who are both junior-college transfers, are central figures in the centennial battle. UAM’s Tavion Faulk needs just 99 yards to reach 2,000 passing for the season. SAU’s Hezekiah Harris leads his team in rushing with 706 yards and 7 touchdowns on 137 carries, and also has 1,392 yards and 10 TDs passing.
Harris, a Miami native who played at Texas’ Trinity Valley Community College, is third in the Great American in total offense with 2,098 yards on the season, leading fourth-place Faulk by just 16 yards.
“When you’re trying to defend (Harris) as a runner, you have to put more people in the box to make that happen, and he’s been consistent as a thrower as well,” Jackson said. “It’s a big feat that our defense understands we’re going to have to control him as best we can.”
Faulk and Harris will be behind the controls in a rivalry that is traditionally high scoring. Ten of the last 13 games have seen a combined 76 or more points, with SAU’s 66-42 win in 2014 and UAM’s 73-37 feat in 2021 the highest scoring.
Practices have been great and high-spirited as usual, Jackson reported, and this week’s workouts have been no different. But, as has been the case much of the season, the Weevils struggled to find rhythm against a Northwestern Oklahoma State team that, on paper, was beatable.
UAM’s offense was held in check to the tune of 179 yards and turned the ball over twice (but fumbled four times, losing one) in a 40-7 loss to a Rangers team that was 1-8 going into last Saturday in Alva, Okla.
Great American Conference
Football standings
NOTE: Each game counts toward standings. Numbers in parentheses represent rankings in the American Football Coaches Association Division II top 25.
Team;Record
(2) Harding;10-0
Arkansas Tech;7-3
Henderson State;7-3
Ouachita Baptist;7-3
Southern Arkansas;7-3
East Central;6-4
Southwestern Okla. State;5-5
Southeastern Okla. State;4-6
UA-Monticello;2-8
Northwestern Okla. State;2-8
Oklahoma Baptist;2-8
Southern Nazarene;1-9
Nov. 8 scores
Henderson State 45, East Central 35
Northwestern Okla. State 40, UAM 7
Southern Arkansas 16, Southeastern Okla. State 14
Ouachita Baptist 42, Southwestern Okla. State 38
Arkansas Tech 38, Oklahoma Baptist 25
Harding 52, Southern Nazarene 14
Saturday’s games
East Central at Southeastern Okla. State, noon
Henderson State at Ouachita Baptist, 1 p.m.
UAM at Southern Arkansas, 2 p.m.
Harding at Arkansas Tech, 2 p.m.
Oklahoma Baptist at Southern Nazarene, 2 p.m.
Southwestern Okla. State at Northwestern Okla. State, 3 p.m.