FLORENCE, Ala. — The Mississippi College football team opened Gulf South Conference play with a 34-17 loss to No. 13 North Alabama on Saturday evening at Braly Municipal Stadium.

In front of a crowd of 12,213 and a national audience watching on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, the Choctaws (1-1, 0-1 GSC) made a big statement after a 58-0 loss to the nationally-ranked Lions (2-0, 1-0 GSC) last season.

After UNA jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a touchdown on their opening drive, sophomore quarterback Kyle Smith and the offense answered as he found junior Marcel Newson with a 31-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-17 with 4:13 remaining in the first quarter.

Newson’s diving catch in the corner of the end zone capped off a 14-play drive that took over eight minutes. The Northwest Mississippi Community College transfer caught eight passes for 133 yards and two scores.

Smith went 9-of-14 for 162 yards and the two scores, while rushing for 30 yards on 13 carries.

The Lions would close out the first quarter with a touchdown and pushed the lead out to 21-7 with 59 seconds remaining in the half.

Just when it looked like the Choctaw would go into the half with a two-touchdown deficit, Smith found Newson on a screen pass, and the shifty wideout did the rest of the work, sprinting in the end zone to cut the score to 21-14.

The Lions would march down the field and kick a field goal before halftime, making the score 24-14 at the break.

In the second half, the Choctaws opened play by going 63 yards on 12 plays, and senior Tyler Poe nailed a 29-yard field goal to cut the score to 24-17.

The Lions appeared poised to extend the lead as the third quarter ran out, but junior Chris Lyles snatched an interception on the sideline and set up the Choctaw offense heading into the fourth quarter.

After a punt, the Lions would push the lead to 27-17 on a 20-yard field goal from Kevin Henke, and Lamonte Thompson put the game away with 2:06 remaining on a 31-yard touchdown run.

Thompson rushed for 188 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns, also catching two passes for 29 yards.

Junior Reggie Bennett led the MC defense with 16 tackles, notching 10 solo stops. Junior Sharone Wright had seven tackles, including one for loss. Freshman Mike Hall also had seven stops on the night.

The Choctaws will be back in action next Saturday when they will host Belhaven at 7 p.m. at Robinson-Hale Stadium.

by Choctaws Sports Media Relations