CLEVELAND, Miss. --- Despite putting up 557 yards of total offense, the most for a Choctaw team in nine years, the Mississippi College football team dropped a rivalry game to Delta State, 61-31, on Thursday night at Parker-McCool Field.

The Choctaws (2-3, 0-3 GSC) passed for 328 yards, the most under head coach John Bland in his 25 games at the helm. Senior quarterback Sharone Wright piled up 377 yards himself, rushing for 107 and two scores in the game.

Senior wide receiver Marcel Newson hauled in a career-high 192 receiving yards on six catches, also putting up 290 all-purpose yards, which included 64 kick return yards and 33 rushing.

The Choctaws also had 229 rushing yards on the night, putting up the most total offensive yards since posting 597 on November 10, 1997 in a win over Sul Ross State.

After the Statesmen (3-2, 2-1 GSC) grabbed a 7-0 lead, the Choctaws answered back with a 25-yard rushing score, tying the game 7-7 with 4:50 left in the first quarter.

DSU would jump back ahead with a touchdown, but Wright found Newson for an 83-yard score to knot the game 14-14 on the one-play drive that only took 11 seconds.

The Statesmen scored back-to-back touchdowns to grab a 28-14 lead, but a Matt Brasher 22-yard field goal cut into the lead, and Wright found senior Michael Hodges Jr. for an 18-yard score in the final seconds of the first half to make the score 28-24 at intermission.

Coming out in the second half, MC's defense, led by junior Chris Manning with 16 tackles and 12 solo stops, forced a punt on the opening drive. However, the Choctaws muffed the return and DSU took advantage with another score to push the lead to 35-24.

With 10:13 remaining in the third quarter, Wright rushed in from 26 yards out to cut the score to 35-31, but MC was unable to crack the board the rest of the way.

The Statesmen picked off three passes, including returning one 58 yards for a touchdown to pull away for the victory.

Junior Steven Bradley also tallied 10 tackles in the game, including nine solo stops. He left the game early in the third quarter, and went to the hospital with an injury, but reports were that he had feeling in all his extremities and was being held for precautionary reasons.

The Choctaws will be back in action next Saturday when they will host first-year program West Florida for "Fallen Military Heroes Day" on October 8th at 2:00 p.m.

Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.
 
The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.
 
For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 ornichols@mc.edu
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