GAME NOTES: West Alabama (5-2, 1-2 GSC) @ Delta State (5-2, 1-2 GSC)
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CLEVELAND, Miss. - It's one of the Gulf South Conference's oldest rivalries and Saturday, Oct. 24, the No. 22 (5-2, 1-2 GSC) Statesmen of Delta State University welcome the Tigers (5-2, 1-2 GSC) of the University of West Alabama to Parker Field-McCool Stadium for the 61st meeting all-time between the two schools. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.

Delta State University and the Department of Athletics will honor the more than 500 first responders, who answered the call during the tragic events of Sept. 14, 2015. A special halftime ceremony is planned to honor all those who came to serve campus during the time following the murder of Dr. Ethan Schmidt.

DSU and UWA, then Livingston University, were instrumental in the formation of the GSC in 1971 and both institutions boast a rich tradition on and off the field in what many consider to be the toughest league in NCAA Division II.

The Statesmen, who own a 35-22-3 edge in the series standings, and Tigers met for the first time on Sept. 20, 1940 in a 0-0 tie at DSU's Delta Field, which sat where the Hugh Ellis Walker Alumni House is currently located today.

UWA claimed the first-ever GSC matchup between the programs, posting a 45-21 victory on Nov. 6, 1971 in Livingston. DSU also holds a slight edge, 26-16-2, in GSC contests.

Saturday's game is also the 36th time the two teams will have met in Cleveland, as DSU has posted a record of 23-11-1 in games against the Tigers at home.  

Since 1994, the Statesmen are 17-4 against the Tigers, including a 45-24 victory at Tigers Stadium in Livingston, Alabama, last season. Eddie McCadney, who rushed for 93 yards on 20 carries, became the first Statesmen to score three rushing touchdowns in a game since Trevor Wooden against West Georgia in 2012.  The three touchdowns also moved the Cleveland, Mississippi, natives total to a team-high eight rushing touchdowns.
 
Tyler Sullivan threw two touchdowns passes and rushed for one, while completing 19-of-30 passes (63 percent) for 158 yards. Patrick Bethley and Justin Leavy caught four passes and Casey Osborne, Ricky Hunt and Jarvis York D.J Holley had two receptions to lead the DSU receivers.

The Statesmen had 316 yards of offense on the night, 205 yards rushing and 158 yards passing while the DSU defense limited the Tigers to 316 total yards, 156 in the second half.
 
Delta State played the game in honor of fallen Statesmen Adrian Dinkins, who passed away in a one car accident last week in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

LAST TIME OUT: WEST GEORGIA 28 - DELTA STATE 7
Using a 21-0 halftime lead, the No. 2 Wolves of the University of West Georgia (6-0, 3-0 GSC) remained unbeaten in GSC play, defeating No. 22 Delta State (5-2, 1-2 GSC) 28-7 at Parker Field-McCool Stadium.

UWG tallied 381 yards of total offense, including 195 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the win.

DSU amassed 227 yards, including 197 yards passing by Tyler Cameron, who completed 20-of-35 attempts. Jarvis York caught eight passes for 83 yards to lead the Statesmen.  

WARE NAMED GSC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
De'Koven Ware was named the Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after his performance versus the No. 2 Wolves of the University of West Georgia.
 
The Dawson, Georgia, native turned in a career-best effort in Saturday's home setback versus No. 2 West Georgia, leading all players with eight solo tackles. Ware registered four tackles for a loss of 17 yards with two sacks for 11 yards. He added one quarterback hurry and was responsible for Delta State's lone score of the night when he scooped up a blocked punt midway through the fourth quarter, racing 10 yards for a touchdown.
 
Ware, a 6-foot-2 senior linebacker, earned the honor for the first time in his career. The defensive laurel has gone to the Statesmen for three consecutive weeks with Ware continuing the streak behind Jon Knox and Jamel Dennis.

TRICK DADDY'S GOT NOTHING ON US
Trick Daddy, famous for his rap anthem "Take It To The House," has got nothing on the Statesmen this season, as DSU ranks first in the GSC in defensive touchdowns with five. Greg Sims (40 yards vs. Albany State) and Jamel Dennis (33 yards vs. Florida Tech) have both returned interceptions for scores this season. Keijna Thomas returned a fumble 51 yards for a score, while D'Quan Bates blocked a punt and returned it for a 3-yard touchdown at Shorter. Last week, De'Koven Ware returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a score versus West Georgia.

FRESHMAN QB MAKING STRIDES
In his first two starts at quarterback, Tyler Cameron (6-3, 205, Fr.) led the Statesmen to a 38-17 victory at Shorter and a hard-fought 28-7 loss at home versus No. 2 West Georgia.

Against the Hawks, Cameron completed 13-of-19 passes for 196 yards and he followed up that performance with a career-high 20 completions, on 35 attempts, for 197 yards against the Wolves. In 89 plays and 74 pass attempts, Cameron has yet to turn the ball over. In all, he has completed 44-of-74 passes for 481 yards.  

An accomplished high school signal-caller, Cameron passed for more than 4,000 yards in his career at Foley High School.

HE'S THE GENERAL
While Sgt. York may have had a distinguished military record, the Statesman offense has turned to their field general, Jarvis York, for leadership this season. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana native leads the GSC in receiving yards per game (75.6) and ranks second in receptions per game (4.7). In seven games, York has 33 grabs for 529 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
 
RAMBO'S WAY
Senior defensive end Randall "Rambo" Boyd has wreaked havoc on opposing teams this season, ranking second in the GSC with 10.0 tackles-for-loss and 11th in sacks (2.0). In his two-year career, the Forest, Mississippi, native and All-GSC pick has amassed 23.5 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks.

LAST TIME STATESMEN WERE SHUTOUT
It's been 12 seasons since Delta State suffered its last shutout. Then No. 1 Valdosta State defeated the Statesmen 42-0 back on Sept. 1, 2002 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta, Ga.

SETTING THE BAR: DSU LEADS LEAGUE WITH 21 TURNOVERS FORCED
Opposing offenses haven't slept well going into games against the Statesmen this season, as Delta State paces the GSC with 21 turnovers forced.  The Statesmen have pickoff 13 passes and forced eight fumbles through seven games.

Delta State also paces the league in tackles-for-loss with 64 (-222 yards) and Red Zone defense, allowing a total of 17 scores. DSU is second in sacks with 18 (-104 yards).  

LAST CLEAN SHEET
The Statesmen blanked Albany State 40-0 on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Parker Field-McCool Stadium. Prior to last year's game, DSU had not shutout an NCAA Division II opponent since defeating Arkansas-Monticello, 53-0, on Nov. 11, 2006.

SET IT AT 60 & FORGET IT
Delta State is 18-0 all-time when scoring 60+ points in a game. In fact, the Statesmen have scored 50-plus points in a game 39 times in school history and most recently in DSU's 73-6 thumping of Concordia College on Nov. 8, 2014 at Parker Field-McCool Stadium.

SCIORROTTA INCHING CLOSER TO SCORING MARK
Kicker Vince Sciorrotta (5-9, 180, Jr.) broke the school record for career PATs after making all five of his attempts versus FVSU. The Cumming, Georgia native has hit 141 PATs in his career, topping Matt Dean's (2008-2011) previous mark of 110.

The veteran kicker is also 9-of-13 on field goal attempts this season, including a long of 45 yards versus Albany State. He is 30-of-44 on field goal attempts for his career, a DSU record.  

Sciorrotta's 231 points scored ranks fourth on the career charts. Trevar Deed, a three-time All-American, has the record with 264.  

BOYD, BROWN AND CURTIS DISRUPTING OFFENSES
Delta State's Randall Boyd (DE), Erin Brown (DE) and Wilson Curtis (LB) are disrupting opposing offenses at a GSC-leading pace this season. With Boyd second in the league with 10.0 tackles-for-loss and Curtis fifth with 7.5 TFLs, the Statesmen defense has recorded 64 TFLs for -222 yards and 17 sacks for -103 yards. Brown is seventh with 6.0 TFLs.

BOOMING THE BALL
Sophomore Cody Mills has delivered this season, leading the GSC and ranking third in NCAA Division II with a 44.8 yards per punt average. The Oxford, Mississippi native has punted 33 times with 11 kicks inside the 20-yard line and eight over 50 yards. His career-best 68-yard effort came against No. 2 West Georgia.

BECKWITH PACING BALL HAWKS
Joreco Beckwith has shown early on this season why many in the GSC consider him one of the best defensive backs in the league. The Winnsboro, Louisiana, native is pacing the Statesmen with three interceptions and second in tackles with 42. His three interceptions are tied with teammate Jon Knox for the GSC lead and rank 16th in the NCAA Division II.

In his 27 game career, Beckwith has recorded 125 tackles with four forced fumbles, four interceptions and nine passes defended.

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
Since Todd Cooley took over as head coach, the Statesmen are 6-3 against ranked opponents, including a 51-44 victory at No. 18 Texas A&M-Commerce. DSU fell 28-7 last week versus No. 2 West Georgia. No. 13 North Alabama is the lone ranked team on the schedule this season.

The Statesmen were 2-1 last season against ranked opponents after defeating No. 13 Valdosta State, 49-32, at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium on Sept. 20, and edging No. 3 North Alabama 33-28 at Parker Field-McCool Stadium on Nov. 1.  DSU's lone loss against a ranked team came against West Georgia, 37-27,  in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

COOLEY VERSUS NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS
The Statesmen faced their 11th nonconference opponent under Todd Cooley, as Delta State welcomed Albany State to Parker-McCool - a 40-0 victory. Cooley and the Statesmen have posted a 10-1 record against nonconference foes, including a 51-44 win at Texas A&M-Commerce and a 51-18 thumping of Kentucky Wesleyan.

Cooley's lone nonconference loss came at the hands of TAMUC, 45-37, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 13, 2013.

Delta State is an unblemished 7-0 against out of conference opponents at Parker Field-McCool Stadium under Cooley.

COOLEY TIES CAMPBELL FOR 2nd FASTEST TO 20 WINS
Statesmen head coach Todd Cooley tied former Steve Campbell for the second fastest coach to accumulate 20 victories, accomplishing the feat in 25 games. Cooley led DSU to a 7-3 mark in 2013 during his first season and followed up that performance with a 9-2 record in 2014 and a share of the GSC title. The Nashville, Arkansas, native started out the season 4-0 to get his 20th win in a 40-0 victory over Albany State at Parker Field-McCool Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26.  

Former skipper Ron Roberts won 20 games in 24 contests while capturing back-to-back Gulf South Conference titles in 2007 (10-2) and 2008 (10-2). Campbell, who led the Statesmen to the 2000 NCAA National Championship, needed just two seasons as well, but one more game in 1999.