September 3, 2006

JACKSON -- What started out as a Mississippi College blowout, turned into a “Backyard Brawl” in the second half of a Choctaw 52-28 win before a capacity crowd of 5,217 at Harper Davis Field on Saturday evening.

Mississippi College won the coin toss and took control of the game early, returning the opening kickoff 45 yards to the Millsaps 35-yard line.

The Choctaws took their opening drive of the game all the way down to the 1-yard line, before the Majors stuffed them on four straight plays to force a turnover-on-downs.

After a Millsaps three and out, the Choctaws lit up the scoreboard first with an Adam Shaffer 61-yard touchdown strike to Charmer Moore on the first play of the drive.

Shaffer would add two more touchdown passes to put the Choctaws on top 21-0, just 16 minutes into the game.
After a rough start, Millsaps would settle down to play a solid ballgame but could never gain ground.

Shaffer, the 6-foot-2 sophomore from Jackson Academy, was deadly in the first half. He completed 15-of-21 passes for 286 yards and five touchdowns, before being knocked out of the game late in the second quarter.

With 7:01 to play in the half, the Majors cut the lead to 21-14 on a 1-yard touchdown run by junior halfback Neil Woodall and a 45-yard interception return by the sophomore Jacob Hanberry.

That is as close as the game would get, as the Choctaws rallied for two late second quarter touchdowns to take a 35-14 lead into the half.

The Majors came out of the locker room with a bit of a swagger, as Juan Joseph connected with Josh Hanna for a 32-yard touchdown pass to cap off a three play 74-yard drive just 1:04 into the third quarter.

The Choctaws responded right away, with an 11-play, 35-yard scoring drive that resulted in a Kyle Kruse 39-yard field goal and an 82-yard strike on a trick play, which put the game out of reach 45-21.

Millsaps played a solid second half, outscoring Mississippi College 14-10 before a late rushing touchdown gave the Choctaws a 17-14 edge.

Joseph led the Majors on offense, completing 18-of-29 passes for 205 yards and a score, while Hanna hauled in four catches for 63 yards on the evening. Chris Jackson, Eric McCarty, Tyson Roy and Donnie Epps also added a combined 14 catches for 142 yards.

Leading the way defensively for the Majors was Ray Kline’s 13 tackles, followed by Shawn Gillenwater (10), Joey Doxey (9), Casey Younger (9) Lee Klein (8) and Cedric Lawrence (6).

Millsaps looks to bounce back this weekend, when they play host to Louisiana College (Sept. 9) in the second of five-straight home games for the Majors. Game time is slated for a 1 p.m. start.