CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team will welcome rival Delta State to Clinton for the 2017 version of the Heritage Bell Classic on Saturday night. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Robinson-Hale Stadium with the game being the GSC-TV/ESPN3 Game of the Week.
The Choctaws (0-4, 0-2 GSC) and the #13 Statesmen (4-0, 2-0 GSC) have met 37 previous times with DSU holding a 20-15-2 edge in the series. The last time the teams met in Clinton, MC jumped out to a 23-17 halftime lead, but Delta State stormed back for a 37-29 victory. Overall, DSU has won five straight with the Choctaws' last win coming in 1993.
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 is coming off a 35-0 loss to Florida Tech in their home opener last Saturday. The Panthers turned a 7-0 game with 6:00 remaining in the third quarter into a decisive road GSC victory.
Head coach Todd Cooley is in his fifth season at Delta State, going 31-18 overall and leading the Statesmen to a #13 ranking in the latest AFCA poll, the highest mark for any GSC school, currently. DSU went on the road for the first time last week and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 54-20 win over Shorter.
WHEN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE HAS THE BALL
After putting up 29 points in a season-opening loss to Clark Atlanta, the MC offense has sputtered in the last three weeks, scoring just 22 points. Junior quarterback
Ty Jobe led the offensive attack with three rushing touchdowns against CAU.
Junior
Tiberias Lampkin is MC's top rusher with 205 rushing yards through four games, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The offensive line, led by senior
Ronny Smith and junior
Lawrence Guyot have had the same five starters all four games this season.
Last week, the MC receivers were held in check as sophomore
Nathan Faciane and junior
Chakel Gates were held to just one catch for seven yards, combined. Faciane had an 87-yard touchdown reception on the team's opening drive against West Alabama two weeks ago.
The Statesmen have the top rushing defense in the league, holding opponents to just 49.8 yards per game and 1.7 yards per rush. On the season, DSU has allowed just one rushing touchdown and opponents are just 5-of-14 scoring when in the red zone.
Johnquavious McBride is the team's top tackler with 34 stops in 2017. Ovenson Cledanord, who has been named the GSC Defensive Player of the Week this season, has a team-high 8.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks.
Devontae Willard leads a DSU pass defense that has intercepted seven passes and broken up 17 others. Willard returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown in Delta State's season-opening win over Tarleton State.
WHEN DELTA STATE HAS THE BALL
The Delta State offensive attack revolves around the run game as they lead the GSC with 257.0 yards per game on the ground. Senior Chris Robinson averages 105.0 rushing yards per game with six touchdowns, including toting the ball 15 times for 118 yards and two scores last week against Shorter.
Quarterback Breck Ruddick takes over for All-American signal-caller Tyler Sullivan after four years under center. He is completing 61% of his passes for 690 yards and seven touchdowns and is the team's second-leading rusher with 198 yards.
Leon Green is the team's leading receiver with 126 yards and two touchdowns, while John McInnis has a team-high 12 catches for 121 yards. Tyler Harrell has caught just four passes for 49 yards this season, but two have gone for scores.
Defensively, the Choctaws are led by junior
Colton Magee with 22 tackles, including 12 solo stops. He also has 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception return for a touchdown against Clark Atlanta. Junior
Kaleb Coleman is tied with Magee for the team-lead in tackles.
Senior
Chris Manning is third on the team with 20 tackles, while senior
Steven Bradley is just behind with 19 and 1.0 TFL. Senior
Kris Reliford leads the Choctaws with 2.5 tackles for loss on the year, while senior
Carl Rainey Jr. and junior
Preston Reed each have a sack apiece.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior punter
Matthew Turcotte ranks 4th in the Gulf South Conference in punting average (39.2) after being named to the All-GSC Preseason Team. Last week against Florida Tech, however, he had two punts blocked.
Junior
Greg Nickles was perfect on field goal attempts and made his extra point against West Alabama two weeks ago. Senior
Matt Brasher has handled the kickoff duties and has held opponents to start at their own 26-yard line on average through the first four games.
Freshman
Darius Young leads the kickoff return attack with 25.8 yards per run-back, which ranks 4th in the league this season. He had five returns for 119 yards last week against Florida Tech. Faciane is averaging 8.0 yards per punt return on the year.
Vince Sciorrotta is the team's field goal kicker, and despite going just 2-for-5 this season, he has a long make of 50 yards. Sam Barge handles the punting duties, averaging 36.8 yards per kick with seven landing inside the 20-yard line.
In the return game, Mississippi State transfer Jamoral Graham is average 14.0 yards per punt return with a long of 38 yards. LeDarion Peterson is averaging 26.0 yards on nine kickoff returns in 2017.
GAME NOTES
The Choctaws have played 12 previous times on September 30th in their 106- year history. MC is 8-4 all-time on the date, including winning their first six on the 30th. The Choctaws gave up a total of 27 points over their first 8 games on September 30th.
The Choctaws are 75-61-9 all-time against teams from the State of Mississippi, facing 12 total teams. Delta State is the only team from the Magnolia State MC will face in 2017.
The Choctaws will play their second game at Robinson-Hale Stadium in 2017 after a 35-0 loss to Florida Tech last Saturday in the home opener. Last year, MC went 2-4 at home, including wins over Point and Cumberland (TN). This will wrap up the first of two, twogame homestands this year as MC will be featured on the GSC-TV/ESPN3 Game of the Week when they host rival Delta State on September 30th. The Choctaws will be back in Clinton for Homecoming when West Georgia visits on October 21st.
The Choctaws boast 54 players from the State of Mississippi, making up nearly half of the 2017 squad. Brandon is the most common residence on the team with six student-athletes, followed by Natchez and Olive Branch with three apiece. There will also be 37 players projected to be on the dress list from Mississippi for this weekend's rivalry game against Delta State, making up half the squad, as well.
Senior defensive back
Chris Manning will open his final campaign on the field this season, but he has been recognized for excellence on and off the field in the preseason. Chris is the lone Gulf South Conference nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, recognizing those football student-athletes who contribute to their community while impacting their team. He has also been nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is a post-graduate scholarship granted to 18 different student-athletes across the country. Manning serves on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was vital in the efforts to grant a wish for Make-A-Wish.
The Choctaws will play 10 games in 2017, six of which come against opponents that received votes in the AFCA Top 25 Preseason Poll. North Alabama (6), Valdosta State (11) and Southwest Baptist (18) were all in the Top 25, while West Georgia, Florida Tech and Delta State all picked up recognition.
The Choctaws will hit the road for their next two games, beginning with an October 7th date with West Florida in Pensacola. It will be just the second meeting between the two schools with the Argos being in their second season of football. Last year, UWF jumped out to a big lead and picked up a 42-28 win in Clinton.
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.
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