CLEVELAND, Mississippi – The Delta State University football team scored 27 first half points, and allowed just 38 yards in the opening 30 minutes in a 47-7 Gulf South Conference victory over Shorter University, on Saturday at Parker Field-McCool Stadium.
 
THE BASICS

• Score: Delta State 47, Shorter 7
• Records: Statesmen, (2-2, 1-1, GSC Hawks (0-4, 0-2 GSC)
• Date: Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016 | 6:00 p.m. (CT) Kickoff
• Location: Parker Field-McCool Stadium | Cleveland, Miss.
• Attendance: 7,151 | 31st Pig Pickin' Classic
• Series: DSU leads 4-1
• Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateFB | Facebook – DSUStatesmen | Instagram – DSUAthletics

 
HOW IT HAPPENED | Scoring:

• The Statesmen opened the scoring with 10:14 left in the opening period, when Justin McArthur raced into the end zone from 23 yards out.
• Cody Mills gave the Statesmen a 10-0 lead, when he connected on a 21-yard field goal with 3:35 remaining in the opening quarter.
• Mills converted his second field attempt of the quarter, as he split the uprights with a 33-yard effort, with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
• K'Shun Evans helped extend the DSU lead, when he hauled in a 21-yard pass from Sullivan, with 3:13 left until halftime.
• The Statesmen took advantage of good field position, starting at their own 47, and ended the drive on a seven-yard touchdown run by Chris Robinson, giving DSU a 27-0 lead with 50 seconds left in the half.  
• With 7:37 left in the third quarter, Shorter scored their lone touchdown of the contest on a 32-yard scamper by Demerious Owensby.
• After converting a fourth and short, Robinson scored his second touchdown of the game with 14:33 left in the game, when he found the end zone from three yards out to give DSU a 34-7 lead.
• The Statesmen scored their final offensive touchdown of the night on McArthur's second score of the night, as he plunged in from two yards out.
• Romelo Wilson recorded his second interception of the season, and dashed 80 yards, as time expired, giving the Green-and-White its final touchdown of the game.

 
Offense:

• Robinson led the Statesmen with 25 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns. D'Juan Bellaire had eight rushes for 65 yards, while McArthur finished with four carries for 28 yards and a pair of scores.
• Sullivan finished 25-of-33 for 240 yards and a touchdown. Jabe Burgess was 6-of-7 in limited action.
• Bellaire led DSU receivers with six catches for 99 yards. Leon Green had a career-best six grabs for 71 yards.
• Evans also had six grabs with 70 yards.

 
Defense:

• The Statesmen allowed just 38 yards in the first half, including -1 on the ground.
• Shorter managed just 141 yards in the game, including 62 on the ground.
• Keith Flanigan intercepted a pair of passes in the first half, which were the first two of his DSU career. With 3:21 remaining in the contest, Flanigan capped off his game with a fumble recovery at the DSU 11 yards line.
• Landry Tullo led the Statesmen defense, finishing with eight tackles, including two for loss.
• Erin Brown had seven stops, including three sacks and five tackles-for-loss. The three sacks were the most by a Statesmen since Damian Davis tallied three sacks at West Georgia on Nov. 8, 2008.
• Cole Baker and Demarcus Glover also recorded two tackles-for-loss.

 
Special Teams:

• Aside from the two field goals, Mills also punted three times for an average of 42.7 yards.
• Ken Hike Jr. returned three punts for 72 yards, including a 29-yard effort.

 
Key Stats:

• The Statesmen allowed just 38 yards in the first half.
• DSU ran 84 plays, compared to just 58 for Shorter.
• The Statesmen were just 3-of-14 on third down, but 4-of-6 on fourth down.

 
Game Changer

• The Statesmen were able to score 20 points in the first quarter.

 
Notables

• The touchdown for McArthur was his first of the season.
• The three sacks for Brown marked the first time since 2008 (Damian Davis) that a DSU player has recorded at least three sacks in a game.
• After failing to record a touchdown pass in its last two games, Sullivan's pass to Evans ended the streak.
• Robinson now has eight touchdowns.
• Wilson's interception gives him nine for his career, which is fifth in school history.
• The teams combined for 21 penalties for 196 yards. DSU committed 11 fouls for 124 yards.

 
Up Next

• The Statesmen welcome in-state rival Mississippi College for the GSC-TV Game of the Week on Thursday, Sept. 29. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.