CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team will open Gulf South Conference play this Saturday when they travel to Livingston to face the University of West Alabama. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
 
The Choctaws (0-2) and the Tigers (1-1) have met 43 previous times, the second-most common opponent for MC behind Millsaps College (52 games). UWA holds a 22-19-2 edge in the series, including winning each of the last six meetings with MC's last win coming in a 30-7 victory in 1995.
 
Head coach John Bland leads the Choctaws in his fourth season at the helm, improving MC's win total in each of his first three years. MC dropped a couple tough games to open 2017, falling in overtime at Clark Atlanta (32-29) before going on the road and losing to Southwest Baptist (32-9).
 
Former Tiger Brett Gilliland leads the Tigers into his fourth season, going 7-4 in each of the last two years. UWA is 1-1 after a season-opening thumping of Lenoir Rhyne (46-7) and a big second-half comeback that came up just short at Division I-FCS Samford (49-41).
 

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WHEN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE HAS THE BALL
 
The Choctaws had three different quarterbacks take snaps during last week's game at Southwest Baptist. Junior Ty Jobe, who has accounted for all four of MC's offensive touchdowns this year, tossed the first passing score of the year to junior Ja'Moz Mark last week. Junior Khiran Williams and freshman Aaron Feazelle also saw time as signal-callers for MC.
 
Junior Tiberias Lampkin has led a rushing offense that has seen just seven lost rushing yards from the running back position early in the season. Lampkin is averaging 6.5 yards per carry with 144 yards, while junior Alizee Chubbs has rushed for 81 yards on 22 runs this season.
 
Mark, who leads the team with 16.7 yards per reception in 2017, paces the receiving corps that has five players with multiple receptions. Junior Nathan Faciane has a team-high five catches, while junior Chakel Gates has four grabs for 49 yards.
 
The Tigers opened the season with an impressive defensive showing, holding Lenoir-Rhyne to just seven points and 184 yards of total offense. In last week's comeback attempt at Samford, UWA 439 total yards, including 317 through the air.
 
Terry Samuel is the team's leading tackler early on with 14 stops, including 2.5 tackles for loss. All-GSC selection Darius Ellis has a team-high 4.0 TFL with 2.0 sacks through the first two contests.
 

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WHEN WEST ALABAMA HAS THE BALL
 
The Choctaw defense has been strong against the run through the first two games, ranking 4th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (108.5). After allowing nearly 230 rushing yards per game in 2016, MC has cut their mark by more than half and is allowing just 3.7 yards per carry.
 
Juniors Kaleb Coleman and Blake Miller are the top tackles for MC this season with 12. Senior Carl Rainey Jr. had 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack against Southwest Baptist.
 
Junior Colton Magee tallied an interception return for a touchdown in the season opener against Clark Atlanta, while seniors Reggie Bennett (INT) and Jahmaad Harrell (Fumble) were responsible for turnovers against SBU.
 
Quarterback Harry Satterwhite leads the West Alabama offense with 323.5 passing yards per game, while completing 67.4% of his passes. In the loss to Samford, Satterwhite threw for 401 yards and two touchdowns, while also tossing two interceptions.
 
The league's top-scoring offense also features a 2016 All-American in wide receiver Donta Armstrong, who has 12 catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Four different players have at least 10 catches for UWA, led by Qua Boyd with 14.
 
Rashad Lee is the team's leading rusher with 136 yards on 24 carries. The senior ran for 98 yards and a score in the season opener against Lenoir-Rhyne, while also scoring against Samford.
 

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SPECIAL TEAMS
 
Preseason All-GSC selection Matthew Turcotte ranks 3rd in the league at 39.3 yards per punt, including landing three inside the 20-yard line. The Philadelphia, Miss. native ranks 7th in school history in punt yards (5,012) and 8th in punts (119).
 
Junior Greg Nickles nailed a 23-yard field goal for the Choctaws against Southwest Baptist, while senior Matt Brasher is averaging 59.6 yards per kickoff and opponents are averaging starting at the 31-yard line this season.
 
Freshman Darius Young had a 67-yard kickoff return against SBU and is averaging 31.0 yards on four returns this season. Faciane is averaging 8.0 yards per punt return on the season.
 
Colin Douglas has drilled all four of his field goal attempts with a long of 33 yards in 2017. Jordan Bennett is averaging 58.8 yards per kickoff with one touchback on the season.
 
Zach Gaines is the team's starting punter, averaging 41.7 yards per kick this season with a long of 57 yards and two kicks over 50 yards. Reed James has punted twice, averaging 43.0 yards on the year.
 
Armstrong also makes an impact in the return game, averaging 16.4 yards per punt return with a long of 57 yards for a touchdown. Three different players are averaging at least 21 yards per kickoff return, led by Barnard McGhee with three returns for 67 yards.
 

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GAME NOTES
 
- The Choctaws have played nine previous times on September 16th in their 106-year history, going 5-4 with the last opportunity in 2006, a 28-21 victory over Texas Lutheran. They have won four of their last five on the date, including a 50-6 victory over East Texas Baptist in 2000.
 
- The Choctaws are 101-87-11 all-time against teams from the State of Alabama, playing a total of 13 schools. This will be MC's 200th game against teams from the Yellowhammer State, the most against any state in the nation.
 
- There are 18 student-athletes on the Mississippi College football roster from the State of Alabama, including eight players that show up on this week's depth chart. Seniors Trey Harris and Chris Manning and juniors Kaleb Coleman, Arik Washington and Khiran Williams were all part of coach Bland's first recruiting class from Alabama.
 
- The MC defense went 3-0 in 2016 when holding opponents to fewer than 30 points in a game. Over Bland's first three years, the Choctaws are 6-3 when allowing 29 or fewer points. Each of MC's first two opponents have scored 32 points this season.
 
- The Choctaws were also good front-runners in 2016, going 3-0 when they scored first and held a halftime lead. MC trailed at the break in each of their first two games this season.
 
- The Choctaws were predicted to finish 8th in the GSC Preseason Poll, while Manning, Turcotte and Washington were All-GSC preseason selections.
 
- MC is scheduled to play their first home game of the season next Saturday (September 23) when Florida Tech comes to town. They will then turn around and host rival Delta State on September 30th with the game being featured as the GSC-TV / ESPN3 Game of the Week.
 

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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.