VALDOSTA, Ga. --- The defending national champions pulled away late as the Mississippi College football team fell to #1 Valdosta State, 42-17, on Saturday afternoon at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

The Choctaws trailed just 21-17 in the final minutes of the third quarter before VSU scored the final 21 points of the contest.
 
The Choctaws fell to 2-3 on the year with a 1-2 mark in Gulf South Conference play, while the Blazers improved to 5-0 with a 3-0 league record.
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED
 - The Blazers got off to a fast start with a 54-yard touchdown run from Jamar Thompkins to take a 7-0 lead in the first minute of the game.
 - After an MC punt, VSU used a trick play to go 50 yards as Rogan Wells found Brett Buckridge for a touchdown pass to take a 14-0 lead with 9:54 left in the first quarter.
 - The Choctaw offense got going with a much-needed 11-play, 68-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Detric Hawthorn.
 - The teams traded defensive stops until the Blazers blocked an MC punt and took over at the Choctaw 3-yard line, punching it in the end zone on the next play to make the score 21-7.
 - The Choctaws answered with a 10-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal from senior Drake McCarter to make the score 21-10 at the halftime break.
 - The Choctaws scored the first points of the second half as Hawthorn capped off a 9-play, 89-yard drive with another 1-yard scoring run to the cut the score to 21-17 with 5:50 to go in the third quarter.
 - The Blazers answered on their next drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Wells to Brian Saunds on a 3rd-and-goal to push the lead out to 28-17.
 - The teams traded punts before VSU took advantage of a short field and extended the lead to 35-17 on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Wells to Lio'undre Gallimore.
 - The final score of the game came in the final three minutes as Thompkins rushed in from a yard out to make the advantage 42-17.
 

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KEY STATS
 - The Choctaws held Valdosta State to their fewest offensive yards of the season, putting up 409 yards, including a season-low 218 rushing yards.
 - MC put up a season-high 226 rushing yards on 54 carries, led by 51 from junior Jaylin Jones and a pair of touchdowns from Hawthorn.
 - The Choctaws had six different players rush for 30 yards or more in the contest.
 - Junior Josh Miller and sophomore Calvin Sims Jr. each had a team-high eight tackles for the Choctaws, while Sims, junior Jonathan Jones and junior Ethan Owens had a tackle for loss each.
 - Thompkins rushed for a game-high 149 yards and three touchdowns, while Wells threw for 191 yards and three scores, completing passes to 10 different receivers
 - Cody Roberts and Dalton Mydell had 10 tackles apiece to lead the Blazers.
 

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GAME NOTES
 - The #1 Blazers have now won 20 consecutive games, including the national championship in 2018.
 - It's the 10th straight win for VSU over the Choctaws with coming in 1990.
 

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NEXT UP
 - The Choctaws will be back at home next Saturday when they host Florida Tech at 7:00 p.m. at Robinson-Hale Stadium. It will be "Military Appreciation Day" at the stadium with all military and their family being offered free admission with ID.
 

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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.