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The Mississippi College football team will cap off the “Homecoming” week on Saturday when they host Florida Tech at 3:00 p.m. at Robinson-Hale Stadium.
The Choctaws (2-4, 0-3 GSC) and the Panthers (4-3, 2-1 GSC) will meet for the second time with FIT picking up a 44-9 win in Melbourne, Fla. last season. Junior Reggie Bennett recorded a career-high 18 tackles in the contest.
MC is coming off a 34-7 loss at Valdosta State that saw them have several chanches to take a first half lead. Despite three opening period turnovers that kept the Choctaws scoreless in the first half, senior running back Chris Ingram had 82 rushing yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The defense forced two missed field goals and held VSU to 160 rushing yards.
The Panthers picked up a 34-7 win over Fort Valley State in their final non-conference game of the year. FIT has won three straight games, including GSC victories over Delta State and West Alabama. The Panthers are a member of the Gulf South Conference for football only, being a permanent member of the Sunshine State Conference.
Ingram leads the Choctaws with 336 rushing yards, averaging 5.8 yard per carry with two scores. He ranks 33rd in school history with 905 career rushing yards and could become just the 31st player in school history to hit the 1,000-yard mark in the next four weeks. The Choctaw offense averages 214 rushing yards per game with 15 touchdowns by nine different players.
Freshman Mike Hall leads the MC defense with 32 tackles, including 20 solo stops. Junior Carl Rainey Jr. has led the team in tackles the last two weeks, while junior JaQarius Scott has a team-high 3.5 tackles for loss on the year.
The Panthers are led offensively by sophomore quarterback Mark Cato, who was named the GSC Freshman of the Year and a USA College Football Freshman All-American in 2014. He has passed for 1,296 yards and 12 touchdowns in six games this year.
Chris Stapleton leads the FIT defense with 56 tackles, while J.J. Sanders has a team-high 11 tackles for loss with four sacks.
The Choctaws will be back at home next Saturday to host #2 West Georgia, while the Panthers return home to host Shorter on Halloween.
