CLINTON, Miss. --- On "Senior Day", it was Greg Nickles in his final game at Robinson-Hale Stadium, who nailed a 25-yard field as time expired to give the Mississippi College football team a 30-29 victory over Shorter on Saturday afternoon.

The Choctaws picked up their first victory of the season, improving to 1-8 with a 1-6 Gulf South Conference mark, while the Hawks dropped to 0-10 and 0-7 in league play.
 

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TURNING POINT
- Nickles, who was 2-for-2 on field goals throughout the game, stepped up a drilled a 25-yard field goal through the uprights to give MC their first victory since last year's 32-0 win over Shorter. Freshman Jonathan Penton provided the perfect snap, while senior Matthew Turcotte was the holder for the game-winner.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Choctaws jumped on the scoreboard first as junior Chakel Gates took the opening kickoff back 83 yards, setting up a three-yard touchdown run by junior Ty Jobe.
- Nickles made field goals of 36 and 26 yards to give MC a 13-0 lead through one quarter of play.
- The Hawks got on the board in the second quarter with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Pullum to Kartez Carr, one of his four touchdown passes on the day.
- The Choctaws answered on their next possession as Jobe found freshman Darius Young for a 34-yard touchdown strike, and the Choctaws took a 20-7 lead.
- In the final minutes of the first half, the Hawks looked to cut into the lead, but the MC defense forced two fumbles deep in their own territory to keep the 13-point lead going into halftime.
- Junior Colton Magee forced one fumble, while senior Alex Johnson and sophomore Julian Charles each recovered a loose ball.
- The second half started much like the first as the Choctaws took their first drive 95 yards on 13 plays, their longest of the season, and a freshman Aaron Feazelle rushed into the end zone from a yard out to make the score 27-7.
- The Hawks began their comeback on the next drive when Pullum found Kartez Carr for a 20-yard touchdown, making the score 27-15 going to the fourth quarter.
- Shorter would then score on a 40-yard touchdown pass and took the lead with 7:21 remaining on a 18-yard scoring pass from Pullum to Ross.
- On MC's next possession, they would turn the ball over and Shorter moved the ball down to the MC 16-yard line with 2:54 to go.
- The Hawks would miss a 34-yard field goal, setting up the Choctaws on their final drive.
- Jobe would go 6-of-7 passing with 22 rushing yards, including setting Nickles and MC up at the eight-yard line with just two seconds remaining.
- MC convereted two third downs on the drive with an eight-yard pass to Gates and a six-yard run by Jobe.
 

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KEY STATS
- The Choctaws put up a season-high 414 total yards of offense, including a season-high 263 rushing yards on 46 carries.
- Junior Tiberias Lampkin tallied his first career 100-yard rushing game, carrying the ball 16 times for 110 yards.
- Jobe also rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, passing for 101 yards and a score. He was 9-of-14 throwing the ball.
- Gates led the team with five catches for 35 yards, while Young had three catches for 50 yards.
- Magee and junior Justin Stewart led the team with seven tackles apiece, while freshman Damon Wright had a sack in the game.
- Turcotte punted two times for a 39.5 yard average, including landing a punt at the Shorter four-yard line to open the fourth quarter.
- Pullum went 25-of-41 for 442 yards and four scores, while B.J. McCoy rushed 19 times for 83 yards.
- Lewis Hayes caught seven passes for 141 yards, while Ross (6-108) and Carr (5-127) each had two touchdown catches.
- Kareem Taylor led the Hawks with 13 tackles, while Austin Porter had 11.
 

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GAME NOTES
- The Choctaws and the Hawks have now split four meetings, including MC winning the last two.
 

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NEXT UP
- The Choctaws will head to Florence, Ala. for the season finale when they face North Alabama, who will playing their final game as a member of Division II as they head to Division I status in the 2018-19 academic year.
 

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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 or nichols@mc.edu.