CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team opened their home schedule with a 35-0 loss to Florida Tech on Saturday night in Robinson-Hale Stadium.

The Choctaws dropped to 0-4, 0-2 in Gulf South Conference play, while the Panthers improved to 3-1 and 2-0 in league play.
 

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TURNING POINT
- With the Panthers leading just 7-0 and 6:00 remaining in the third quarter, they went on a seven-play, 90-yard drive that ended in a 6-yard touchdown pass from Trent Chmelik to Demetrius Frazier. FIT would go on to outscore MC 28-0 in the second half and grab the victory.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Panthers took the opening kickoff and went 76 yards on 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead just under five minutes into the game.
- They would miss field goals on each of their next possessions, and the MC defense forced a punt as the teams went into the break with the score 7-0.
- The Choctaws' best scoring chance of the night came on their third drive when they went 55 yards on 12 plays but had a 42-yard Greg Nickles field goal blocked.
- After FIT took the 14-0 lead, they would score on three consecutive possessions to make the score 35-0 in the fourth quarter.
 

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KEY STATS
- Florida Tech put up 476 yards on 66 plays, while the Choctaws tallied 173 yards on 53 plays.
- MC held the ball for nearly 32 minutes on the night, but FIT held the Choctaws out of the red zone all night long.
- Freshman Darius Young had a big night in the kick return game, taking back five kicks for 119 yards, averaging 23.8 yards per return.
- Sophomore Bobby Mitchell had a team-high 27 rushing yards, while four Choctaws had at least 20 rushing yards on the night.
- Junior Colton Magee led MC with eight tackles, joining senior Kris Reliford with a tackle for loss each.
- Senoir Steven Bradley and junior Justin Stewart each had seven tackles on the night.
- Antwuan Haynes rushed for 139 yards on 22 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carry on the night.
- Chmelik went 9-of-14 for 181 yards and three touchdowns, while Frazier caught two touchdown passes on the night.
- Patrick Banks led the Panthers with eight tackles in the game
 

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NEXT UP
- The Choctaws will be back in action next Saturday when they host rival Delta State at 7:00 p.m. in Robinson-Hale Stadium. The matchup will be 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.