CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team took their first home loss of the season with a 42-23 defeat at the hands of Shorter University on Saturday night at Robinson-Hale Stadium.

After the Choctaws (2-3, 0-2 GSC) fell behind 14-3, the offense drove into Hawks (2-2, 1-0 GSC) territory, but Dominique Henffield forced a fumble and Jordan Shaw returned it 61 yards for a touchdown to put Shorter ahead, 21-3.

Senior Tyler Poe nailed two field goals (27 & 39 yards) in the first half to make the halftime score 21-6 in favor of the Hawks.

The second half opened with the MC defense forcing a fumble as senior Seth McDonald created the turnover and senior Lazarus Shelby recovered the loose ball, giving the Choctaws the ball at the Shorter 24-yard line.

The MC offense was held to another Poe field goal as the Pearl High and Hinds CC kicker nailed a 35-yarder to cut the deficit to 21-9.

On Shorter's next drive, the defense forced a 4th-and-12, but quarterback Aaron Bryant escaped a would-be sack and completed a 17-yard pass to Cody Simpson to extend the drive.

Bryant capped off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 28-9 with 7:18 to go in the third quarter.

The Hawks took advantage of another MC miscue as they blocked a punt, and Aki Coles rushed in from two yards out to push the lead to 35-9.

Senior Chris Ingram scored his first touchdown of the season to open the fourth quarter on a one-yard run to cut the lead to 35-16.

After the Hawks pushed the lead out to 42-16, junior Quon Brand finished off the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run.

The Choctaws rushed for 203 yards on 54 carries with the two rushing touchdowns. The Hawks put up 300 rushing yards and five scores in the contest.

Ingram led the MC offense with 79 rushing yards and the score, while freshman Moregan Sharp rushed for 30 yards on two carries with a long of 26 yards.

Junior Carl Rainey, Jr. led the MC defense with 10 tackles, including eight solo stops. Shelby finished with eight tackles, while junior Reggie Bennett had three tackles and his fifth career interception.

B.J. McCoy led Shorter with 117 rushing yards, while Bryant had 99 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Zach Butts led the defense with 10 tackles, 1.5 for loss and a sack.

The Choctaws will take their bye week on the October 10th weekend, returning back to action on October 17th to face Valdosta State on the road at 1:00 p.m. (Central).