MELBOURNE, Fla. --- The Mississippi College football team faced Florida Tech for the first time in school history on Saturday, falling by a score of 44-9 at Pirate Stadium.

The Choctaws (1-6, 0-4 GSC) fell behind 7-0 after the Panthers' (5-3, 2-2 GSC) first offensive possession, but freshman quarterback Kyle Smith led MC on an 8-play, 73-yard drive that ended in a one-yard rush by Smith, his fifth rushing touchdown of the season. The key play of the drive was a 39-yard strike from Smith to senior Kirk Bryant that put the ball at the FIT one-yard line. Bryant caught four passes for 93 yards in the contest. The extra point was blocked, making the score 7-6 Florida Tech with just under eight minutes left in the first quarter.

The Panthers would go down and score on their next possession, a 14-yard touchdown pass from Mark Cato to Gabe Hughes. Cato would go 29-of-39 for 304 yards and five touchdowns. The five-time GSC Freshman of the Week made a case to win the award after another stellar performance. His top target was Xavier Milton, who caught 13 passes for 123 yards and a score.

After an MC punt, the Choctaw defense stood tall, forcing a 22-yard field goal attempt that FIT faked and was stopped short. Sophomore Reggie Bennett led the way for the Choctaws, tallying a career-high 18 tackles, including 12 solo stops. Senior Dylan Klibert had 11 tackles with 3.0 coming for loss, while freshman Kaleb Coleman had a career-high 11 tackles with 2.0 for loss.

The Panthers would score twice more and take a 27-6 lead into the halftime break. Coming out of the intermission, the Choctaws forced a punt on Florida Tech's first possession and proceeded to drive the ball down the field and get a 27-yard field goal for junior Hunter Estess. While Kyle Smith played the entire first half under center, senior Jonathon Redd came in the second half and threw for 103 yards and rushed for 29 more.

The Choctaw offense had their biggest output of the season with 323 yards, tallying a season-high 167 yards through the air. Sophomore Adrian Cerrato led MC in rushing for the second straight week, carrying the ball 10 times for 64 yards.

The Choctaws will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Carrollton, Ga. to face West Georgia at 2:00 p.m. ET, 1:00 p.m. CT.