CLINTON, Miss. --- In an offensive explosion that includes 105 points and 1,129 total yards, the Mississippi College football team lost to #13 Valdosta State University, 63-42, on Saturday evening at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
The Choctaws dropped to 2-2 overall with an 0-2 mark in the Gulf South Conference. The nationally-ranked Blazers improved to 5-0 and 3-0 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Freshman
Calvin Sims Jr. made a big play for the MC defense on the opening drive, intercepting his first pass of the season to give the Choctaws the ball at their own 31-yard line.
- Six plays later, junior
Chase Hughes took a pitch and sprinted in from 38 yards out to give MC a 7-0 advantage in the first quarter.
- The Blazers answered on their next possession, going 75 yards on six plays as Brian Saunds caught a 10-yard pass from Rogan Wells.
- MC answered back to open the second quarter as junior
Detric Hawthorn rushed in from seven yards out, one of his two scores on the night.
- VSU scored the next 14 points on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Wells to Darrel Myers and a 43-yard run by Jamar Thompkins to make the score 21-14 with 9:54 to go in the first half.
- It was MC's turn to tie things up as junior
Ja'Mori Mark went 37 yards for his third rushing touchdown of the season to make the score 21-21 with 7:46 remaining.
- The Blazers would open things up for good over the 13 minutes of game time, scoring 28 straight points to make the score 49-21 with 9:28 left in the third quarter.
- The Choctaws would make a run of their own as Mark scored his second touchdown of the game, breaking free for a 75-yard score, his second touchdown run of more than 70 yards this season.
- Hawthorn would cut the lead down to 14 (49-35) near the end of the third quarter as he rushed in from 28 yards out for his second score of the night.
- VSU put the game away with back-to-back scores before sophomore
Aaron Feazelle gave MC their final touchdown with a two-yard run with 2:05 to go.
KEY STATS
- The 515 total yards was the highest mark for the Choctaws this season and the most since MC put up 557 against Delta State on September 29th, 2016.
- The Choctaws also put up 451 rushing yards on 70 carries, the most in a single game since September 19th, 2015 when the Choctaws rushed for 500 yards against Delta State.
- MC would tally a season-high 27 first down, including 21 of the rushing variety.
- Mark carried the ball nine times for 147 yards and two scores, while Hawthorn rushed the ball 29 times for 131 yards and two scores.
- Hawthorn also threw for 46 yards, while Feazelle threw for 18 yards and rushed for 44 with a score.
- Defensively, junior
Turner Rotenberry made a team-high five tackles and picked off his third pass of the season.
- The 46 return yards on the interception gives him 157 on the season, which has already set a new single-season school record through just four games.
- Junior
Michael Washington Jr. had 1.5 sacks in the game, while junior
Alizee Chubbs had 0.5 sacks.
NEXT UP
- The Choctaws will play their first road game of the season next Saturday when they travel to Melbourne, Florida to face Florida Tech at 6:00 p.m. (Central).
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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