CARROLLTON, GA. --- In a wild Saturday evening contest, it was the Mississippi College Choctaw football program that pulled off the thrilling 39-38 comeback win over #5 nationally ranked West Georgia in Gulf South Conference play.
Trailing 38-31 with eight seconds remaining in the contest with Mississippi College on the UWG three yard line,
Marcus Williams drove the ball into the endzone to cut the UWG lead to 38-37 with four seconds on the clock.
After a successful 11 play, 66 yard drive in 3:32, it was the Choctaws offense that took the field for the two point conversion for the chance to give MC the go ahead lead and opportunity to win the contest.
Set up on the three yard line, quarterback
John Henry White took the snap, handing it off to
Ron Craten, as it was Craten that found the space and punched it into the West Georgia endzone, as MC took the lead, 39-38, with four seconds left.
After the ensuing kickoff, West Georgia took to the air one last time in an effort to find the endzone, yet it was the Choctaws defense that knocked the ball down out of the air, as MC secured the 39-38 comeback thriller over #5 UWG in Carrollton on Saturday night.
Despite trailing 21-3 with nine seconds left in the first half, Mississippi College went on the outscore UWG 36-17 over the final 30:09 in the game. In the second half, the Choctaws offense racked up over 233 total yards on 32 plays, while the defense held UWG to 205 yards of offense after giving up 245 yards in the first half.
Mississippi College finished with 382 yards of total offense on 60 plays, with 283 rushing yards and 99 passing yards. Starting quarterback
DeAnte Smith-Moore was 3-of-5 through the air with 90 passing yards and two touchdowns, prior to exiting Saturday's win with an injury.
Playing for the injured Smith-Moore, backup
John Henry White helped lead a successful second half comeback for the Choctaws, aiding with 13 rushes for 103 rushing yards and one touchdown. White averaged 7.9 yards per rush, with a long of 36 yards, including a 12 yard rush on the final scoring drive to help push the Choctaws into West Georgia territory.
Marcus Williams had a stellar game out of the backfield, rushing the ball 17 times for 107 yards to lead MC with two touchdowns, while averaging 6.2 yards per rush.
Me'Kyle Franklin and
Sam Wilder each added a touchdown reception of 38 and 32 yards, respectively to lead the Choctaws receiving efforts.
Defensively,
Nick Grady led MC with two interceptions and two pass breakups, along with four tackles.
Grant Watts and
Jason Betz had nine tackles each to led MC in tackles, with
Ridge Futral helping add eight total tackles.
The Choctaws improved to 2-3 overall on the season and 1-1 in GSC play after Saturday nights win over West Georgia. It was the biggest win for MC in the
John Bland era, as MC knocked off the #5 ranked team in all of NCAA Division II.
MC returns home next Saturday where they take on Shorter at home, beginning at 2 p.m. at Robinson Hale Stadium in Clinton, Miss.
FULL GAME SUMMARY
In the first quarter, West Georgia struck first on nine play scoring drive that was capped off with a 9-yard touchdown run, as the Wolves took the 7-0 lead.
On the Choctaws first drive of the game, MC utilized a five minute drive to move the ball down into UWG territory where the Choctaws
Ben Pledger knocked down the 31 yard field goal. MC cut the Wolves lead to 7-3 with 6:05 remaining in the clock in the first quarter.
The Wolves offense continued to be solid throughout the first half, adding a rushing touchdown with 1:33 in the first quarter to take a 14-3 lead before adding a passing touchdown with 11:29 left in the second quarter, going ahead 21-3 over the Choctaws.
With nine second remaining to go in the first halftime,
DeAnte Smith-Moore found
Me'Kyle Franklin on a touchdown toss that allowed MC to cut the Wolves lead to 21-10.
The Choctaws and Wolves went to the break with the score 21-10 after the first 30 minutes of action.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, Mississippi College scored on three plays on a 38 yard touchdown pass from Smith-Moore to
Sam Wilder, as MC pulled within a four point deficit, 21-17.
With 2:50 to go in the third quarter, UWG scored on a seven yard passing touchdown from Harrison Frost to Tre Williams to regain an 11 point advantage, 28-17.
The Choctaws answered one minute later on a five play, 36 yard touchdown run by
John Henry White as MC once again pulled within one touchdown, 28-23.
After a successful field goal by UWG to make it a 31-23 contest, the Choctaws picked up the tying score on a three yard touchdown rush by
Marcus Williams and 2-point conversion to make it 31-31 with 8:04 remaining in the contest.
UWG took the go ahead lead, 38-31, on an 11 play, 65 yard scoring drive, as Jaxton Carson scored on a one yard rushing touchdown.
Trailing 38-31 with eight seconds remaining in the contest with Mississippi College on the UWG three yard line,
Marcus Williams drove the ball into the endzone to cut the UWG lead to 38-37 with four seconds on the clock.
Set up on the three yard line, quarterback
John Henry White took the snap, handing it off to
Ron Craten, as it was Craten that found the space and punched it into the West Georgia endzone, as MC took the lead, 39-38, with four seconds left.
