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The Mississippi College football team opened the 2016 season with a 28-16 victory over Point University on Saturday afternoon at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
Senior Josh Dixon (Clinton, Miss.) led the offense with 16 carries for 131 yards and three touchdowns, as the Choctaws (1-0) finished the day with 279 yards on 43 carries. His first score came on the opening drive as he finished off a 9-play, 78-yard drive with a six-yard scamper aided by a push from the offensive line.
“It’s not just me, it’s the ‘O-Line,'” said Dixon. “I’m going to give that credit to them all the time. They drug me in for two of them, and I had great blocking on the outside by Brandon Windham on the third one. All credit to them. Not me.”
The Skyhawks (0-2) answered right back as quarterback Rashad Louie broke away for a 52-yard rushing touchdown, tying the game 7-7 just six minutes in. Louie finished the game with 136 rushing yards, adding 180 passing yards to lead Point’s offense.
To open the second quarter, Poing appeared poised to grab a lead as they took the ball inside the MC 1-yard line, but the Choctaws stood tall with a 4th-down stop that kept the game knotted.
The game remained tied until late in the second quarter as Dixon rushed in from two yards out to push the advantage to 14-7. Sophomore Moregan Sharp set up the scoring run with a 34-yard rushh to open the drive.
The Choctaws took the lead into the break, but the Skyhawks cut into the advantage as Wesley Rubiera made a 27-yard field goal to make the score 14-10.
The defense made another big play mid-way through the third quarter as a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage fell into the hands of sophomore Micah Bagley, who went 35 yards for the score to push the lead to 21-10.
The Skyhawks would score again in the third to cut the score to 21-16, but Dixon put the game away with his third rushing score of the game, a six-yard run around the left side.
The Choctaws would also pass for 196 yards in the game, led by senior Sharone Wright, who passed for 181 yards, including a 64-yard completion to sophomore Arik Washington.
Sharp and Wright also had 59 yards rushing apiece, while senior Marcel Newson caught a team-high six passes for 66 yards.
Senior JaQarius Scott had a team-high six tackles with 2.0 for loss and a sack, while sophomore Kaleb Coleman, who missed the entire 2015 season due to injury, also had 2.0 TFL and a sack.
Sophomore Rondaius Johnson joined Bagley with an interception, while the Choctaws piled up 8.0 total tackles for loss in the game.
The Choctaws will be on the road for their Gulf South Conference opener next week, making the long trip to Melbourne, Fla. to face Florida Tech at 6:00 p.m. (CT) at Panther Stadium.
