Another week of Division II and Division III football in Mississippi is now in the books. Highlighted by Belhaven’s Blaine McCorkle becoming the winningest head coach in school history and Delta State smoking Shorter in the school’s annual Pig Pickin’, catch up with the scores from Saturday below.
Delta State 56, Shorter 20
Puns fully intended, No. 6 Delta State “pulled” away from Shorter in the second quarter and never looked back winning 56-20. The Statesmen (4-0, 2-0 GSC) were led by Patrick Shegog who had seven total touchdowns on 218 passing yards and 138 rushing yards. The graduate player now has 1,376 total yards and 19 touchdowns for the Gulf South Conference’s top offense through four games. If Shegog keeps playing like he has been, he will undoubtedly be a contender for this year’s Harlon Hill.
Coming in relief for Shegog was Mississippi Gulf Coast product Austin Davidson, who went six of nine passing for 38 yards. Davidson also added 36 yards on the ground. Helping both quarterbacks of course was the team’s dominant offensive line but also five different receivers with one touchdown apiece – Jalen May, Calvin Lockett, Todd Lee Battle, Jaylen Green, and Tycen Gray.
Running back Alfonso Franklin contributed 84 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, both Wydett Williams, Jr. and Jarvis Townsend eclipsed the 10-tackle mark while Malik Jones had one “pick” in the team’s victory over the Hawks (2-2, 1-1).
Belhaven 34, Greensboro 0
While Delta State continues to make its case as a Division II playoff team, so does Belhaven but over in Division III. The Blazers (3-0, 1-0 USA South), coming off a bye week, looked rusty on offense early but managed to keep pounding the football and come away with the 34-0 home win over Greensboro (0-4, 0-1).
The Belhaven defense picked up right where they left off by forcing a three-and-out and then a fumble on the Pride’s first two possessions. The unit went on to allow just 122 yards in the team’s first shutout win of the season. Carlton Brown led the way with seven tackles, 1.5 sacks, and the fumble recovery. On offense, Blazers quarterback Tim Johnson had 176 yards on 10 of 20 passing with three total touchdowns while Kolbe Blunt rushed for 110 yards and one touchdown.
The victory was Belhaven head coach Blaine McCorkle’s 25th since taking over the program in 2018. McCorkle passes Joseph Thrasher as the program’s winningest head coach.
Hendrix 53, Millsaps 42
While the offense showed improvement for the second week in a row, it was not enough as Millsaps (0-4, 0-2 Southern Athletic Association) fell on the road at Hendrix (2-2, 2-0) by a score of 53-42.
Millsaps interim head coach Cory York decided to stick with Gray Jennings at quarterback, and the freshman once again proved as a sparkplug to an offense that only scored seven points through two weeks of play. Jennings finished the day with 418 yards on 19 of 36 passing with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Temias Mason was the recipient of two of those touchdowns as the senior was just eight yards away from a 200-yard game.
The Majors, who were down 46-14 early in the third quarter, mounted a comeback effort that included a 28-7 run in the second half, but time was not on their side as the Warriors were able to run out the clock after a late fourth quarter score by Millsaps.
West Alabama 10, Mississippi College 7
Circling back to Division II, Mississippi College (1-3, 0-2 GSC) lost another close game, this time at West Alabama (2-2, 1-1) by a score of 10-7.
Mississippi College got on the scoreboard first with a 17-yard touchdown run by Ron Craten early in the second quarter. As defenses stood strong, the score ended up at 7-3 in the Choctaws’ favor going into the locker room for halftime.
A scoreless third quarter gave rise to a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from West Alabama quarterback Tucker Melton to Dearrius Nelson with 10:59 left to play. The Mississippi College offense, who was mostly without starting quarterback John Henry White, then had two opportunities to score but couldn’t do so as kicker Ben Pledger missed a 44-yard attempt and the Tiger defense forced a big stop on the Choctaws’ final possession.
Relief quarterback Cameron Davis finished with 134 yards on 13 of 28 passing while Craten added 64 yards on the ground as the offense sputtered. Chase Rush and Davis Brown IV each had an interception as Scott Burton and Brayden Zeigler shared a sack in the defense’s best showing of the year.
