CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team could not overcome four turnovers in a 30-17 loss to #13 Delta State University on Saturday night at Robinson-Hale Stadium.

The Choctaws fell to 0-5 and 0-3 in Gulf South Conference play, while the Statesmen improved to 5-0 and 3-0 in league play.

TURNING POINT
- The Choctaws held a 10-6 lead in the final minute of the first half but an MC interception gave the Statesmen the ball with 41 seconds remaining. DSU would drive down and score to take a 13-10 advantage into the halftime break. They would not trail the rest of the night.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Choctaws got off to a quick start as they forced a three-and-out thanks in part to a sack by sophomore Julian Charles on 3rd-and-9.
- MC took over after a punt and drove 28 yards on 10 plays, and junior Greg Nickles nailed a 33-yard field goal to give the home team a 3-0 advantage.
- The MC defense would continue their strong play throughout the first half, holding DSU scoreless in the first quarter for the first time all season.
- The Statesmen would get on the board to open the second quarter, tying the game at 3-3 when Vince Sciorrotta hit a 27-yard field goal with 12:32 remaining.
- DSU would take their first lead of the night on their next possession as Sciorrotta hit a 31-yard field goal with 8:42 to go to take a 6-3 lead.
- With 5:01 remaining in the first half, the Choctaws would take over at their own 21-yard line and a 65-yard pass from freshman Aaron Feazelle to sophomore Nathan Faciane set MC up at the DSU four-yard line.
- Feazelle would carry it in on the next play to give MC the 10-6 lead with 2:25 remaining in the first half.
- The MC defense would force a punt on the next possession but would toss an interception followed by a DSU touchdown to trail 13-10 going into the half.
- The Statesmen extended the lead on their first possession of the second half as quarterback Breck Ruddick rushed in from 39 yards out to take a 20-10 advantage.
- After a 56-yard kickoff return by freshman Darius Young, the Choctaws used some trickery as Faciane took a sweep and found senior Christian Keen for a 24-yard touchdown to cut the score to 20-17.
- The defense stopped Delta State on their next possession, but a fumble by the Choctaws on their next chance gave the Statesmen the ball back.
- They would go down and score on a five-yard rushing touchdown by Chris Robinson to make the score 27-17 with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter.
- Neither team could get much going in the fourth as Delta State's third field goal of the night gave the game its final score of 30-17.

KEY STATS
- The Choctaws put up 312 yards of offense on 65 plays, holding onto the ball for 33:07 on the night.
- The Statesmen piled up 428 yards of offense, including 280 rushing yards on 48 carries.
- MC went 6-of-12 on third downs on the night, holding DSU to just 5-of-14.
- The teams combined to go 7-of-7 in the red zone as Delta State went 5-of-5.
- Faciane led the Choctaws with six catches for 96 yards, while Keene caught five passes for 65 yards and the touchdown.
- Junior Tiberias Lampkin had a team-high 67 rushing yards, while Feazelle carried the ball 13 times for 57 yards and a score.
- Young returned five kicks for 194 yards, averaging 38.8 yards per return with a long of 56 yards.
- Senior Steven Bradley and Chris Manning had a team-high nine tackles apiece, while Manning had an interception on the night.
- The defense had 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, led by Charles with 2.0 TFL and a sack.
- Ruddick led the Statesmen with 124 rushing yards and a score, while Robinson carried the ball 19 times for 106 yards and a touchdown.
- Ovenson Cledanord had a team-high 12 tackles for DSU, while Johnquavious McBride had 11 stops.

GAME NOTES
- The Choctaws are now 15-21-2 all-time against Delta State while the Statesmen have won six straight in the series.
 

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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.