CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team will hit the road for their final non-conference game of the season, traveling to Florence, Ala. to face the University of North Alabama on Saturday. Kickoff at Braly Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
 
The Choctaws (2-3, 0-3 GSC) are led by 5th-year head coach John Bland, who had the Choctaws off to their first 2-0 start since 2010. Last week, MC grabbed a 21-10 lead at Florida Tech in the third quarter, but the Panthers roared back to pick up the 31-24 victory in Melbourne.
 
The Lions (3-3), who are under the direction of 2nd-year head coach Chris Willis, are in their first year of transition to Division I after making the move following the 2017-18 academic year. Last week, UNA dropped a home game to West Florida, 24-19.
 
This will be the 35th all-time meeting between the two schools with North Alabama holding a 18-14-2 edge in the series. The road teams actually have the edge over the games that date back to 1963. UNA has won eight straight with MC's last win coming in 1991 (31-3).
 

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WHEN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE HAS THE BALL
 
The Choctaws rank 3rd in all of Division II in rushing offense (312.4 ypg), including putting up 451 rushing yards against the top team in the Gulf South Conference, Valdosta State. MC is averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season, and with 16 rushing touchdowns, has nearly eclipsed the single-season touchdown mark since Coach Bland took over in 2014 (17 in 2015).
 
Tiberias Lampkin had a big game against Florida Tech, carrying the ball 22 times for a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns. The Sturgis, Miss. native had a long rush of 52 yards and ranks 5th in the GSC with 81.2 rushing yards per game.
 
Detrick Hawthorn (97.2 ypg) is the league's leading rusher with five touchdowns and 486 yards. He missed the second half of the loss at Florida Tech after suffering an injury just before halftime. Hawthorn has three 100-yard rushing games thus far in 2018.
 
The Lions are allowing opponents to rush for 167.3 yards per game with seven rushing touchdowns in 2018. In the loss to West Florida, UNA allowed just 172 passing yards, but the Argonauts rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown.
 
Christon Taylor is the unquestioned leader of the defense, pacing the squad with 42 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss. The sophomore has also tallied two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries with 2.5 sacks.
 

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WHEN NORTH ALABAMA HAS THE BALL
 
The Choctaw defense held Florida Tech to just 387 total yards of offense last week, their second-lowest yards allowed mark of the season (Southwest Baptist, 326). MC has had the luxury of plenty of rest the past two weeks, only averaging 21 minutes on the field against Valdosta State and Florida Tech.
 
Derric Hawthorn is the team-leader with 25 tackles, including 21 solo stops with two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Turner Rotenberry is second on the team with 22 tackles and has already set an MC single-season record 157 interception return yards on three interceptions.
 
Michael Washington Jr. leads the team with 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Dalton Frederick and Calvin Sims Jr. each have 2.5 TFL. Elijah Rogers is tied with Rotenberry for the team-lead with three interceptions.
 
The Lion offense is averaging 369.8 total yards per game, including 226.0 passing yards per game with nine touchdown passes. UNA has also rushed for 143.8 yards per contest with five scores in 2018.
 
Quarterback Christian Lopez is completing 57% of his passes for 1,207 yards and seven touchdowns with just one interception. He threw for a season-high 350 yards and three scores in the season-opening win over Southern Utah.
 
Damon Cox leads the team with 486 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including going for over 90 yards in each of the previous three games. Dexter Boykin has a team-best 327 receiving yards and four touchdowns, while Jakobi Byrd has a team-high 28 catches and three scores.
 

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SPECIAL TEAMS
 
Drake McCarter handles all of the kicking duties for the Choctaws, hitting 4-of-6 field goals with a long of 44 yards in 2018. He nailed a 39-yarder in the fourth quarter at Florida Tech that tied the game at 24-24 before the Panthers went on the eventual game-winning scoring drive.
 
McCarter is also averaging 44.3 yards per punt, which is the second-best average in the Gulf South Conference. He has six punts of over 50 yards with a long of 61 on the season.
 
Chandler Carrera is 10-of-11 on field goals this season with a long of 41 yards. He has made seven field goals of over 30 yards this season. Joe Gurley is averaging 39.5 yards per punt in 2018 with two of over 50 yards and 10 landing inside the 20-yard line.
 

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GAME NOTES
 
The Choctaws are 9-5 all-time in their 106-year history as a football program when they play on October 13th. MC has won two straight on the date, including a 50-7 victory over LaGrange in 2007.
 
The Choctaws are 101-89-11 all-time against schools from the State of Alabama. MC has played more games against teams from the Yellowhammer State than any other in the nation. The most common opponent is GSC opponent West Alabama, who they've played 44 times.
 
The Choctaws have 17 players that hail from the State of Alabama, the most from any state besides Mississippi. Coby Kirchharr and Tahara Thornton (Mobile) and Kobe Graves and Parker Davis (Tuscaloosa) represent just two cities with multiple players.
 
Of the 11 regular season games for the Choctaws in 2018, six will come against teams that are at least receiving votes in the AFCA Preseason Top 25. West Florida (2), West Alabama (12) and West Georgia (19) are all in the Top 25, while Delta State, Florida Tech and Valdosta State received votes.
 
The Choctaws will wrap up a three-game road swing when they head to Rome, Ga. to face Shorter University (Oct. 20). MC has won two straight against the Hawks, including a 32-0 victory in 2016 that was the first GSC victory for the Choctaws since coming back to Division II. Last season, Greg Nickles hit a walk-off field goal in a 30-29 victory.
 

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Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC 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 2018-19 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.