CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College football team improved to 4-0 at Robinson-Hale Stadium in 2019 with a 41-20 victory over Shorter University on "Homecoming" on Saturday afternoon.

The Choctaws (4-3, 3-2 GSC) scored the game's first 28 points and rushed for a season-high 395 yards as they cruised to the victory over the Hawks (0-8, 0-6 GSC).
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
  - The Choctaws took the opening kickoff and went 79 yards in eight plays, capped by a 29-yard scoring run by senior Ja'Mori Mark to take a 6-0 lead.
  - After the MC defense forced a three-and-out, senior Jordan Wright ran in from 30 yards out to extend the lead to 13-0 with 6:40 to go in the opening period.
  - The teams then traded punts before the Choctaws pushed the lead to 21-0 when Wright went in from 20 yards away and junior Aaron Feazelle ran in for the two-point conversion.
  - The 28-point spring to open the game was finished off by a 20-yard touchdown run from senior Detric Hawthorn, giving the Choctaws a four-touchdown lead with 4:36 to go in the first half.
  - The Hawks put up their first points in three weeks as Aeneas Dennis got loose for a 62-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 28-7 with 3:09 to go.
  - The half ended as sophomore Bailey McGaha-Potter nailed a 28-yard field goal as time expired to put the Choctaws ahead 31-7 at the break.
  - The soggy second half took its toll in the third quarter with the only points coming from a 22-yard field goal from McGaha-Potter.
  - The Choctaws' touchdown in the second half was an explosive one with senior Cole Rotenberry returning a kickoff 92 yards for a score to push the MC lead to 41-10.
  - The Hawks scored 10 more points in the final minutes to give the game its final score.
 

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KEY STATS
  - The 395 rushing yards on 52 carries was the highest single-game mark for the Choctaws since going for 451 against Valdosta State on September 29th, 2018.
  - Wright led the Choctaws with 135 rushing yards on 18 carries, also tallying two touchdown runs and a 7.1 average per carry.
  - Hawthorn also rushed for over 100 yards, going for 120 on 19 carries with a touchdown.
  - Mark went for 81 yards on four carries and a score, averaging 20.3 yards per touch.
  - Junior Luke Wilson led the Choctaws with seven solo tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack, also breaking up a pass.
  - Junior Jonathan Jones tallied six tackles with a TFL and a pass breakup, while junior Joshua Gillard also tallied a sack in the win.
  - Dennis led the Hawks with 99 ruhsing yards and a score, while Gregory Fields Jr. also had a rushing touchdown.
  - The MC defense allowed just 142 passing yards with two sacks in the victory.
 

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GAME NOTES
  - The Choctaws are now 4-2 all-time against the Hawks, winning each of the last four meetings.
  - The Hawks have now lost 47 straight games with their last win coming in 2015 at MC.
  - The Choctaws are 4-0 at home this season, marking the first time they have started that well at Robinson-Hale Stadium since 1990.
  - The 4-3 start for MC is the best start since the Choctaws started 6-1 in 2009.
  - The 92-yard kickoff return by Rotenberry was the first kick return score for the Choctaws since Marcel Newson took one back 93 yards in a win over Shorter in 2016.
  - The two 100-yard rushing games by Wright and Hawthorn is the first time the Choctaws have had a pair over the century mark since Hawthorn and Tiberias Lampkin turned the trick against West Florida last season.
 

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NEXT UP
  - The Choctaws will hit the road for the next two games, starting next Saturday against West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga. at 1:00 p.m. (Central).
 

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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 began 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.