CLINTON, Miss. --- Mississippi College drops to 1-2 following a close loss to West Georgia.
In front of a raucous family weekend crowd, the Choctaws came up just short and lost their second game of the season to the Wolves of West Georgia, 35-38.
The Choctaws struck first, with RJ Wilson capping off their opening drive with a six-yard touchdown. However, the Wolves answered quickly with a 38-yard touchdown run by Quarterback Cameran Brown, and following a fumble by the Choctaws Brown would strick once again, this time with an eight-yard scamper to put UWG up 14-7 to close the first quarter.
The Choctaws took control in the second quarter though, with two long touchdown drives each capped off with one-yard touchdowns by John Henry White and Ron Craten, pushing their lead to 21-14 before Brock Pellegrino's 44 field goal made it 21-17 going into the halftime break.
Both teams continued to trade touchdowns until the Wolves got a crucial stop with 6:25 to go in the game while trailing 35-31. Wolves quarterback Ben Whitlock, in for an injured Cameran Brown, threw a 57-yard touchdown, where broken coverage in the Choctaw secondary allowed wide receiver Cole Terrill to walk in a go-ahead score.
The Choctaws then took control of the ball with 2:47 to go; following two big hits that left him lying on the turf, MC quarterback John Henry White had to come out of the game just a few plays into the most crucial drive of the game. Cameron Davis came in in relief and drove the Choctaws all the way to the 31-yard line of UWG running a pass-heavy spread offense, in stark contrast to the triple option White had run all game. However, following a pair of crucial drops, the drive eventually sputtered, leaving the game in the hands of sophomore kicker Ben Pledger. From 49 yards out, Pledger drilled his first attempt at the kick, however, Wolves Head Coach David Dean called their final timeout to ice Pledger and force him to kick it again. That proved to be the right decision, as Pledger's second attempt barely missed, going wide right by around a foot and giving the Wolves the 37-35 win.
Ron Craten had a standout night carrying the ball for the Choctaws, picking up 102 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. John Henry White was solid on the ground throughout the night as well with 95 yards and two touchdowns of his own on 21 carries. Passing the ball for the Choctaws Cameron Davis went 4-9 31 yards, mostly on the final drive of the game.
For the Wolves, both quarterbacks had success moving the ball through the air, though it was Whitlock throwing for two late touchdowns that sealed the win for them. On the ground, Rajaez Mosely gained 175 yards on just 19 carries and Cameran Brown picked up 100 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Terrill Cole led the Wolves in receiving with 113 yards on just 4 receptions, including the winning touchdown.
Defensively, Nick Grady had another standout game for the Choctaws as he once again had an interception, his third of the year, and added four tackles including one for loss. David Brown and Jason Betz were the Choctaws' leading tacklers with 7 each.
The Choctaws are back in action on Saturday, September 9 in Livingston, Alabama, and will face the University of West Alabama Tigers at 6 p.m. CT.
