Mississippi College rolls past Panthers 50-7
Oct. 13, 2007

LAGRANGE, Ga. – Mississippi College rolled past LaGrange College 50-7 at Callaway Stadium on Saturday. The Choctaws, off to their best start since 1997, improved to 5-1. The host Panthers dropped to 0-7 on the season.

Mississippi had 562 yards of total offense, 369 in the air. Quarterback Adam Shaffer threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Jake Allen had seven receptions for 119 yards. Running back Chris Blanton ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

The Choctaw defense, ranked fourth in NCAA Division III against the run, limited LaGrange to 29 yards on 33 carries. The Panthers managed only 127 yards of total offense in the game.

Mississippi led 13-0 after the first quarter. Blanton had both of his scores in the quarter. He capped an 11-play 53-yard drive with a one-yard plunge. Late in the quarter, Blanton went around the right side from nine yards out for his second touchdown.

Shaffer threw for all of his scores in the second quarter. He was 10-for-16 in the quarter for 185 yards. Shaffer threw a 25-yard pass to Dusty Coleman for his first score. He came back with scoring strikes of 14-yards to Josh Lankford and 53-yards to Marcus Terry to put Mississippi up 34-0. Defensive end Brannon Willisson finished the first half scoring by tackling the Panthers' Brandon Crawford in the end zone for a safety and a 36-0 lead.

The Choctaws need only four plays to go 58 yards in their first possession of the second half. Joe Barker ran 26 yards to make it 43-0 three minutes into the third quarter.

LaGrange avoided the shutout in the third quarter. Quarterback Drew Carter threw to Crawford coming out of the backfield, turning the play into a 36-yard gain to the Choctaws' 4-yard line. Robert Walsh came in at quarterback after Carter was shaken up. Walsh finished the 50-yard drive by sneaking it over from the 1-yard line.

Mississippi closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter. The Choctaws' Hunter Clark returned an interception to the Panthers' 4-yard line. On the next play, Gerald Brown scored for the 50-7 final margin.

Mario Wallace had 136 all-purpose yards for the Panthers. Linebacker Justin Pair had a game-high 11 tackles for the Panthers. He had two quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery.

The Panthers go to Brevard, N.C. next Saturday to face NCAA Division II member Brevard College.