Turnovers Doom SAU in Boomtown Classic Loss to UAM

The Boll Weevils' win ended a slide in the series as the Muleriders had won the last four meetings and 11 of the past 12 in the series against their longest standing rival. It was also SAU's first loss to UAM in El Dorado to bring the series there to a 3-1-1 Southern Arkansas lead, with the Muleriders having won in 1934, 1946 and 1947, with the two teams playing to a scoreless deadlock in 1933. 
The game was a defensive battle as SAU held a narrow 238-234 advantage in total offense, but committed five turnovers to two for the Boll Weevils. UAM limited Southern Arkansas to only one net yard rushing, while the Mulerider defense kept Arkansas-Monticello star quarterback Scott Buisson under wraps with only 115 yards of total offense.  SAU junior quarterback Austin Civita (Newbury Park, Calif.) was 19 of 39 passing for 225 yards, but tossed three interceptions, with the Boll Weevils scoring off two. 
Each team had blocked punts with UAM's leading to the first score of the game. Following a scoreless first quarter, Southern Arkansas junior punter Zach Massingill (Hawkins, Texas) was forced to boot away from his own 30 in the second, but Arkansas-Monticello's Cantrelle Monk broke through to knock it down and recover at the 16. After four plays, Joe Lamoureux connected on a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 Boll Weevil lead at 2:57. 

The Muleriders moved to the UAM 38 on the ensuing series, but Civita threw his first interception when Lowen Baptiste picked it off and returned it 34 yards to the SAU 34. Six plays later Buisson hit Jywin Ceaser for a five-yard touchdown and Lamoureux's PAT made it 10-0 with 12 ticks before the half.  Southern Arkansas had its chances in the first quarter, but lost two fumbles, and junior Noé Cuevas' (Pasadena, Texas) 39-yard field goal at 5:18 was wide left.  Arkansas-Monticello wasted no time in the third quarter as James Jackson snared Civita's second errant throw on the third play of the half and rambled 43 yards for the touchdown. Lamoureux tagged the PAT and it was 17-0 at 13:25.  The Muleriders finally got on the board in the fourth following a seven-play, 68-yard drive with senior receiver Quintin Porter (Silsbee, Texas) taking the snap at quarterback and running in from a yard out. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the PAT back and Cuevas' kick attempt failed with 52 seconds remaining in the third, and the score stood as the final at 17-6.  The Boll Weevils threw for 119 yards and had 115 on the ground, while SAU finished with 237 through the air versus their lone yard rushing.  Southern Arkansas held Buisson to 6 of 21 passing for 93 yards and 22 yards rushing. Johnny Polite led UAM with 40 yards on 13 carries, while senior running back Chris Metcalf (Blytheville) had just 12 on nine totes for the Muleriders. Civita suffered six sacks that left him minus 29 on the ground.

Arkansas-Monticello linebacker Carlton Johnson and SAU nose guard Devin Alexander (Henderson, Texas) paced their respective teams with 11 tackles apiece. Johnson had 2.5 sacks, forced a fumble and broke up a pass, while Alexander had two tackles for loss.  Southern Arkansas junior tackle Cedric Thornton (Star City) added seven stops with 3.5 for loss, including three sacks, and blocked a kick. 
The Muleriders lose 12 seniors off a team that saw action this season from 21 first-year players.