CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team will celebrate "Homecoming" this weekend when they host #3 West Georgia for their first home game since September 29th. Kickoff at Robinson-Hale Stadium is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
The Choctaws are led by 5th-year head coach
John Bland, who got the Choctaws off to their first 2-0 start since 2010 and snapped a four-game losing streak with a 37-24 win over Shorter last Saturday on ESPN3.
D.J. Smith helped to seal the win with a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minutes of the road victory.
The Wolves are led by 2nd-year head coach David Dean, who is no stranger to the Gulf South Conference after a stint as the head coach at Valdosta State. He has his team off to a perfect 8-0 start, including a 27-25 win over West Alabama last Saturday.
This will be the 17th all-time meeting between Mississippi College and West Georgia with each team picking up eight wins. The Choctaws dominated the early contests with eight wins in the first nine games. Since then, the Wolves have won seven straight over MC. Last season, UWG came to Clinton and picked up a 28-0 victory in a weather-shortened game.
WHEN MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE HAS THE BALL
The MC offense is run-heavy in 2018, averaging 294.6 rushing yards per game, which leads the Gulf South Conference and ranks 5th in all of Division II. Quarterback
Detric Hawthorn (105.7 ypg) leads the team and ranks 2nd in the Gulf South Conference. He rushed for a season-high 148 yards and two scores, also passing for a score in the victory over Shorter.
Tiberias Lampkin (80.7 ypg) has scored a rushing touchdown in each of the last three games, including a pair of scores with 126 yards against Florida Tech (Oct. 6).
Ja'Mori Mark (49.0 ypg) has two 100-yard rushing games, turning the trick with two touchdowns against Southwest Baptist (Sep. 8) and Valdosta State (Sep. 29).
Cole Rotenberry leads the team with 12 catches for 309 yards and three touchdowns, including catching at least two balls for over 60 yards in each of the last three games.
The Wolves lead the GSC in scoring defense (15.6 ppg), total defense (279.8 ypg) and rushing defense (112.9 ypg) in 2018. They have held four opponents under 100 rushing yards in a game this season.
Montrell Pardue is the team's leading tackler with 43 stops, including 29 solo. Chad Price leads the team with 6.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, while Ashton Jackson has a team-best two interceptions with eight passes defended.
WHEN WEST GEORGIA HAS THE BALL
Defensively,
Derric Hawthorn earned GSC Defensive Player of the Week honors after racking up seven tackles with an interception and a fumble recovery against the Hawks.
Calvin Sims Jr. earned GSC Freshman of the Week honors after tallying seven tackles with a tackle for loss and a pass breakup against Shorter.
Hawthorn leads the team with 36 tackles, including 27 solo stops. He also has an interception with two pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
Turner Rotenberry and
Elijah Rogers each have 31 tackles on the season and have combined for seven interceptions with 218 return yards. Rogers has a team-best four picks, while Rotenberry has already set a single-season record with 157 return yards.
Michael Washington leads the team with 6.0 tackles for loss, followed by Sims Jr. with 3.5 and a sack.
Devontae Jackson (119.5 ypg) leads the league and ranks 10th nationally in rushing yards per game, also scoring nine touchdowns. He is averaging 193.0 yards per game with three touchdowns over the last two wins over West Florida and UWA.
Willie Candler has completed 66% of his passes for 1,798 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He has also rushed for 280 yards and three scores on the season.
Malik Henry leads the team with 27 catches for 381 yards and five touchdowns. Five difference Wolves have caught multiple touchdowns in 2018.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Drake McCarter handles all the kicking duties for the Choctaws, making 6-of-8 field goals with a long of 44 yards on the season. He's also averaging 43.7 yards per punt with eight landing inside the 20-yard line and six going over 50 yards.
Omar Cervantes is 8-of-10 as a field goal kicker for the Wolves, hitting a long of 44 yards, as well. Christian Ramirez handles the punting, averaging 42.6 yards per boot with 14 landing inside the 20-yard line.
GAME NOTES
The Choctaws are 7-4 all-time in their 106-year history as a football program when they play on October 27th. The Choctaws won six straight on the date from 1973-2007, including a 52-24 victory over this week's opponent West Georgia (1984).
The Choctaws are 31-22-2 all-time against schools from the State of Georgia. MC has already played three opponents from the Peach State in Clark Atlanta (W, 31-30), Valdosta State (L, 42-63) and Shorter (W, 37-21). West Georgia will be their final opponent from the state this season.
The 2018 season has been a much different story than just a year ago. Through just seven games this season, the 2018 Choctaws have outscored the 2017 squad (206-122), already have more rushing yards (2,200-1,485) rushing touchdowns (20-8) and total touchdowns (27-14). MC already has more interceptions than a season ago (11-5) and many more interception return yards (323-24). In 2017, the Choctaws averaged just 4.0 yards per play, while they are averaging 6.5 yards per snap in 2018.
The Choctaws have two players from the State of Georgia on the 2018 roster. Linebacker
Alizee Chubbs (Atlanta) made the move to defense after three seasons as a running back.
EJ Hurley (Tyrone) also switched positions, moving to defensive line after a year on the offensive front in 2017.
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 their home schedule next Saturday (Nov. 3) when they welcome West Alabama to Robinson-Hale Stadium. MC will honor their seniors prior to the game against the Tigers. UWA is 5-3 on the season with a 2-3 GSC record, including a tight 27-25 loss at West Georgia last Saturday.
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.
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