CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team outscored Belhaven 28-0 in the second half to pull away with a 42-21 victory on Saturday night at Robinson-Hale Stadium.

The Choctaws (2-1) used their potent rushing attack to get the come-from-behind victory, carrying the ball 55 times for 500 yards and five touchdowns. The school record for rushing yards in a game came in 1975 when MC posted 567 rushing yards against Mexico Polytechnico.

Sophomore quarterback Kyle Smith led the way, tallying 192 rushing yards and a score on 21 carries. Former Belhaven and Ole Miss signal caller Raymond Cotton also eclipsed the century mark, rushing for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

The MC defense pitched a shutout in the second half, holding the Belhaven "Air Raid" attack to just 93 passing yards in the final 30 minutes. Sophomore Chris Manning and freshman Mike Hall each had a team-high six tackles, while freshman Krishun Cash picked off a pass in the fourth quarter, and freshman R.J. Arnold recorded a sack.

Things did not start off so well as MC found themselves behind 7-0 after a diving 37-yard touchdown catch by Darien Thomas from quarterback Clayton Webb. The freshman passed for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the contest.

Tthe Choctaws were forced to punt on their first drive, but after forcing a punt of their own that forced them to start at their own six-yard line, Smith would cap off a five-play, 94-yard drive with a 42-yard touchdown run. After a missed point-after, the MC would trail 7-6.

The Blazers would extend the lead with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Webb to Deon Richardson, but MC answered back with a four-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass from Smith to junior Marcel Newson. Smith would tie the game with a leap into the end zone on the two-point conversion.

Belhaven would take the 21-14 lead after a screen pass went 25 yards from Webb to Kevin Shief and found the end zone.

"We really had to make some adjustments at halftime," said head coach John Bland. "The defense came out and dominated, and the offense got things rolling."

The first drive of the second half for MC would tie the game as Cotton bulldozed his way in from three yards out and the score was 21-21 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

The Choctaw defense forced a three-and-out on the next possession, and junior JaQarius Scott got his hand on a punt to set the Choctaws up at the Belhaven 32-yard line.

Senior James Banks would give the Choctaws the lead for good with a 16-yard touchdown run. Senior Chris Ingram tallied 80 rushing yards on 11 carries, while Banks had two rushes for 31 yards and the score.

The Choctaw offense had chances to score more in the second half, but a fumble inside the Belhaven five-yard line and 11 penalites for 125 yards stalled a few drives.

With the 28-21 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, the Choctaws extended the lead with a 74-yard drive for a touchdown that was highlighted by a 44-yard run from Smith on 3rd-and-14. Cotton also had a 26-yard run on the drive and scored from eight yards out.

The Choctaws capped off the second half spurt with a two-yard touchdown run from Cotton to make the score 42-21.

"We had a few kinks in the first half," said junior offensive lineman Daivon Milan. "Our defense came out and shut them down in the second half. Our offense came together as a unit tonight. We got those first downs and moved the ball down the field. We're a good team, we just have to keep doing what we're doing."

The Choctaws will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Lake Charles, La. to face McNeese State at 6:00 p.m.