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The Mississippi College football team will be featured in the Florida’s Space Coast GSC-TV Game of the Week on ESPN3 when they travel to Cleveland to face rival Delta State on Thursday night. Kick-off is scheduled for 6:04 p.m. at Parker Field at McCool Stadium.
The Choctaws (2-2, 0-2 GSC) are coming off a thrilling 27-26 win over Cumberland (TN) last Saturday that saw juniorMatt Brasher make a 37-yard field goal as time expired. The MC offense went 44 yards on nine plays in the last 54 seconds to set up the game-winning score.
The Statesmen (2-2, 1-1 GSC) grabbed their first conference win of the season with a dominating defensive performance against Shorter University, winning 47-7. DSU allowed just 141 yards of total offense and rushed for four touchdowns on their way to the victory.
This will be the 37th all-time meeting between the two “Magnolia State” rivals with DSU holding a 19-15-2 edge in the series. MC’s last win against the Statesmen came in 1993 with a 13-7 victory in Cleveland.
Last season, the teams closed out their seasons in Clinton, and MC took a 23-17 lead into halftime thanks to a couple of touchdowns from freshman Colt Freeman, including a blocked punt return. DSU bounced back in the second half, outscoring the Choctaws 20-6 to claim the 37-29 victory.
The Choctaws are led by third-year head coach John Bland, who earned his 80th career victory last Saturday in 12 seasons as a head man. The former Arkansas quarterback claimed his first victory on Saturday night since coming to MC when his team rushed for fewer yards than their opponent.
Senior quarterback Sharone Wright is leading the MC offensive attack, averaging 229.8 yards of total offense per game over the first four contests. The Houston, Miss. native, who did not take his first snap under center until the 9th week of 2015, currently has the highest completion percentage (64.1) of any quarterback in school history.
Senior wide receiver Marcel Newson continues to shine on the outside for MC, piling up 236 all-purpose yards in the win over Cumberland (TN). He had a 75-yard rushing touchdown and added a 64-yard receiving score from Wright. The Coldwater native also had a 58-yard kickoff return in the victory.
Defensively, junior Steven Bradley leads the Choctaws with 24 tackles, including 20 solo stops. The Olive Branch native piled up a season-high 11 tackles in the victory Saturday night over the Phoenix.
Junior Chris Manning has posted 23 tackles and has tallied at least six tackles per contest over the past three games. Senior JaQarius Scott leads the team with 3.0 tackles for loss, while sophomore Kaleb Coleman has 2.5 TFL with a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Brasher, a Meadville, Miss. native, is 4-of-6 on field goals over the last two games, including the game-winner Saturday night. Junior Matthew Turcotte leads the Gulf South Conference, averaging 40.2 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards.
Fourth-year head coach Todd Cooley brings his team into this rivalry matchup, posting a 24-12 overall record in his tenure. Cooley graduate from Arkansas Tech, and his team’s magic number has been 30 over his four seasons. When DSU scores 30 or more points, they are 22-4.
The Statesmen are led by four-year starting quarterback and All-American candidate Tyler Sullivan, who ranks second in school history in passing yards (8,116) and completions (657). In the win over Shorter, Sullivan went 25-of-33 for 240 yards and a score.
Junior running back Chris Robinson leads the DSU rushing attack, averaging 98.8 yards per game with eight touchdowns on the season. Senior K’Shun Evans is the team’s leading receiving threat, catching 20 passes for 197 yards and a score this year.
On the defensive side of the ball, De’Quan Reddick leads the way with 19 tackles, while Erin Brown has a team-high 7.5 tackles for loss with 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Six different players have tallied at least 3.0 TFL this season, while Romelo Wilson and Keith Flanigan each have two interceptions with Wilson returning one 80 yards for a touchdown.
Cody Mills is the do-it-all kicker for the Statesmen, going 5-of-5 on field goals with a long of 37 yards and averaging 44.4 yards per punt over 12 kicks.
Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be 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
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