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JACKSON - In the first ever meeting between the two teams, Millsaps used a school-record tying five touchdown passes from sophomore Juan Joseph en route to a 52-10 thumping of Lincoln University (Mo.) in front of a hungry Millsaps crowd on “Purple Pride Day” at Harper Davis Field.
Joseph becomes the first Millsaps quarterback to throw for five TDs in a single game since Beau Pollard led the Majors to a 52-16 win over Greenville College (Ill.) in 1997.
Millsaps (1-3) was in control from the very beginning, as junior linebacker Ronnie Wheat picked up the first points of the game for the Majors by stuffing Blue Tigers wide receiver Devin Palmer in the end zone for a safety only 1:09 into the first quarter.
The Majors would tack on three more scores in the first quarter – each drive spanning less than a minute – thus making good on all three first quarter drives with TDs, to put Millsaps on top 21-0 after one quarter of play.
With 13:13 left on the second quarter clock, the game took an unexpected turn when Blue Tigers linebacker Julien Noel stayed on the turf after making his fourth tackle of the ballgame. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., freshman remained on the Lincoln sideline for a good 20 minutes before being hauled off by ambulance and being diagnosed with a broken leg.
When the game resumed, Millsaps followed up a strong first quarter with an identical second quarter, piling up 21 more points to take a 42-0 lead into the half.
The Majors dominated in all statistical categories after two quarters of play, holding Lincoln to a dismal 33 total yards on 32 plays and only allowing four Blue Tiger first downs.
On the Millsaps side, the Majors had a well balanced first half, totaling 161 rushing yards and 165 passing yards for a combined 326 yards and 14 first downs.
With such a large first half lead, the second half allowed both teams to shuffle in a bunch of different players, which was a big reason why the second half scoring was a 10-10 draw.
Lincoln (1-5, 1-1 Great Lakes Conference) finally got on the scoreboard just two minutes into the third quarter when Donald Brown hooked up with DeWitt Johnson for a 71-yard touchdown strike.
Sam Herman answered right back for the Majors by booting a 36 yard field goal, his first of the season at the 11:36 mark in the third.
Millsaps would add one more score with 12:01 left in the game, when Joseph connected with Louis Conley for 30 yards to cap off an eight play, 80-yard drive and give the sophomore from Edgard, La., a school-record tying five touchdown passes.
Millsaps combined for 556 yards of total offense, while holding the Blue Tigers to only 204 for the game.
Lee Klein, Shawn Gillenwater, Colby Langston and Keith Naccari led the way for the defense, combining for nine tackles for loss, five sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Klein was the leader with 11 tackles, while Langston had nine and Gillenwater had eight.
Offensively for Millsaps, Joseph was 18-of-35 for 275 yards and five TDs, Tyson Roy had eight carries for 163 yards and a score, Nick Namias had eight carries for 80 yards and a score, Chris Jackson caught five balls for 72 yards and two scores and Eric McCarty and Louis Conley each chipped in with a touchdown reception.
The 52 points put up by the Majors is the most since a 58-16 win at Rose-Hulman in 2000.
Millsaps will play its fifth home game in six weeks, when they host Centre College in its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener at Harper Davis Field on Saturday, Oct. 7. Game time is slated for a 1 p.m. start. |
