RUSSELLVILLE -- Arkansas Tech Coach Kyle Shipp suspected Southern Arkansas was much better than its record suggested long before the teams played Saturday.
The Muleriders didn't give him any reason to sway from that belief by the time the game ended.
Jariq Scales finished with 152 yards on 20 carries and scored 3 touchdowns as SAU put an end to a two-game losing streak by holding off the Wonder Boys 49-33 at Thone Stadium in a matchup that was called with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter because of inclement weather.
The game was actually delayed twice, with the first stoppage lasting for more than two hours after lightning flashed in the area just before an untimed down was set to be run on the final play of the third quarter.
Once play resumed, the teams played for more than nearly nine minutes until the contest was halted again, this time for an hour, due to more lightning. Luckily for the Muleriders, the weather cooperated long enough for them to complete the required three quarters of play to earn their fourth consecutive victory over their long-time rivals.
O.B. Jones completed 20 of 27passes for 208 yards with 1 touchdown and rushed 10 times for 110 yards and a score for SAU (3-4, 3-4 Great American Conference), which took the fight to Arkansas Tech (3-4, 3-4) from the outset to put an early damper on the Wonder Boys' homecoming festivities.
The Muleriders scored touchdowns on five of their six first-half possessions to build a huge 35-10 lead by halftime.
SAU busted out quickly on the game's opening drive. Despite being flagged twice for holding, the Muleriders moved 90 yards in 15 plays, capped by a 5-yard touchdown run from Scales, to take a 7-0 lead.
On the following possession, SAU's Gavin Roe recovered a fumble by Arkansas Tech's Deon Simmons at the Muleriders' 43. Nine plays later, Kadyn Roach scored from a yard out to boost SAU's lead to 14-0.
The Wonder Boys did get their offense cranked up on their next try and got a lift from their special teams soon after to get back in it.
Jack Grissom threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Keon Simmons with 1:58 to go in the first quarter to cut SAU's lead in the half. The Wonder Boys then came up with a blocked punt at the Muleriders' 11 and parlayed that into a 27-yard field goal from Jesus Zizumbo, pulling them within 14-10 with 13:36 left in the second quarter.
But SAU scored three touchdowns in a nine-minute span to emphatically regain control. Scales started the flurry with an 18-yard scoring run, and Blake May followed with a 3-yard touchdown with 54 seconds to go in the half.
Twenty-one seconds after May's score, Zay Woods picked off Grissom and returned it 34 yards deep inside Arkansas Tech territory. It took only three snaps for SAU to find the end zone again, this time with Jones throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Whitten.
The Wonder Boys did put together an impressive drive to start the third quarter when they got a 1-yard touchdown run from Jordan Edington to end a 12-play, 75-yard march, but the Muleriders fired back with a tackle-breaking 65-yard score from Jones.
Arkansas Tech responded with a 7-yard touchdown scamper from Deon Simmons, and SAU hit back with a 4-yarder from Scales before play was initially stopped. The Wonder Boys added another touchdown on Ryan Wilkerson's 43-yard run after the game was restarted, but that would be it after it was called when it was determined there wouldn't be a sufficient enough playing window to continue.