CLEVELAND, MISS. - The Delta State University Football team kick off Gulf South Conference play this Saturday (Oct. 5) as they are back at Parker Field at McCool Stadium to host the Hawks from Chowan University at 6 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear pink for breast cancer awareness.

The Voice of the Statesmen, Michael Gross will have the call on the Statesmen Sports Network and on the live stream on the FloFootball Network.

The Statesmen are coming off a home win against Fort Valley State 27-24 two Saturdays ago (Sept. 21). The conference opener with Erskine was cancelled and not rescheduled due to the damages from Hurricane Helene. Chowan opened up conference play last weekend as they defeated Mississippi College 27-25 last weekend.

The Coaches
Todd Cooley enters his 11th season as head coach at Delta State.

He was hired as the program's 19th all-time head coach on January 25, 2013. In his first campaign as head coach, Cooley guided the Statesmen to a 7-3 overall record and a second-place finish in the Gulf South Conference. Inheriting a team that went 3-7 the year before, the high-energy Cooley built a cohesive family atmosphere in less than nine months. That energy helped feed a program's turnaround in just one season. In 2014, Cooley led the Statesmen to a 9-2 record, along with DSU's seventh Gulf South Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, the school's first since 2011.

For his efforts, Cooley was named Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year by his peers in the league. In all, 11 Statesmen were named to the All-GSC squad, including GSC Freshman of the Year Tyler Sullivan, who quarterbacked DSU to a 4-1 mark as a starter.

DSU averaged 40.0 points per game offensively, while averaging 472.2 yards per game. The Statesmen pulled off three victories over nationally ranked opponents after defeating No. 21 North Alabama 37-34, No. 14 Tarleton State 38-36 and No. 24 Valdosta State 63-55.  

In 2014, Cooley earned his second consecutive GSC Coach of the Year accolade, sharing the honor with Florida Tech's Steve Englehart. Twelve Statesmen were selected to the All-GSC squads, while Trey Shaw captured the league's Defensive Freshman of the Year honor. DSU put up an impressive 5,395 yards of total offense, outscoring opponents 491-215.

With expectations riding high entering the 2015 season, the Statesmen raced out of the gate to a 4-0 record and No. 5 national ranking. Unfortunately, the ride would be short-lived, as injuries began to mount and derailed a title run for DSU. The Statesmen finished the year 6-5 overall and 2-5 in GSC play.

The Statesmen finished the year leading the GSC in passing (312.4), while ranking second in scoring (36.4) and third in total offense (426.7).

In 2016, DSU finished its season ranked No. 3 in the GSC in scoring offense (36.9), total offense (446.8) and passing offense (287.7).
After an injury filled 2018 season that saw the Statesmen post a 2-8 mark, Cooley's Statesmen rebounded to finish 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the GSC in 2019. Overall, nine Statesmen earned All-GSC laurels and two were selected to the D2Football.com All-Americans.  Additionally, 13 Statesmen made the GSC Academic honor roll for a GPA of 3.0 or higher while four were selected to the GSC All-Academic football team.

Paul Johnson was named the ninth Head Football Coach in January 2023.  Johnson will enter his second season as head coach in the Fall of 2024.

In his first season, Johnson led the Hawks in their first appearance as members of the Gulf South Conference. Chowan football finished the season with a first team all-conference selection after player, Traveon Mitchell led the conference in tackles.

Johnson comes to Chowan by way of Bloomsburg University where he served as the Offensive Coordinator along with coaching the Tight Ends and Wide Receivers for the past two seasons.  During his first season with the Huskies, Johnson averaged 304.2 yards per game in the PSAC East including a 700+ yard rusher.

Prior to his stint with the Huskies, Johnson spent a decade at Charleston (2011-2021).  His first six seasons, Johnson served as the Run Game Coordinator and Offensive Line coach.  Four of those seasons, the Golden Eagles rushed for over 200 yards per game.  Johnson helped UC to their first postseason appearance in program history in 2015 when the Golden Eagles went 10-2 after averaging 41.1 points and 241.3 rushing yards per game.

In 2017, Johnson was promoted to Offensive Coordinator.  During the 2019 season, the Golden Eagles produced a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard receiver and a 1,000-yard rusher.  Johnson guided Michael Stratchan to All-American status along with being drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft to the Indianapolis Colts.

During his time with the Golden Eagles, Johnson produced 17 All-Conference Offensive Linemen along with ranking in the top-25 nationally in offensive categories.

Prior to his time at Charleston, Johnson served as a Graduate Assistant at Marshall and West Virginia.  Johnson helped West Virginia make appearances in the Meineke Car Care Bowl and Gator Bowl.

The Parkersburg, W.Va. native played collegiately at Ohio University under Frank Solich.  Johnson was a three-year starter at left guard and helped the Bobcats to their first bowl appearance since 1966 appearing in the GMAC Bowl in 2007.

STATESMEN in GSC Openers
Delta State holds a 15-8 (.652) record dating back to 2000 in Gulf South Conference openers. Last Season, the Statesmen faced off with the Hawks in Murfreesboro, N.C., where the Statesmen pulled away to a 42-18 road win to start their quest to a second consecutive GSC title.

The DELTA STATE-Chowan SERIES
This will mark the third matchup in the history of both programs. The Statesmen hold an unblemished 2-0 record against Chowan. The first meeting between both teams was in September of 2017 when the Statesmen defeated Chowan 42-13, marking the largest margin of victory in the series.

The history of both programs
The Statesmen, who are embarking upon their 94th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 502-412-23 overall record, winning 53.5 percent of their 937 all-time games.
Delta State is one of just 38 NCAA Division II institutions to have recorded 500 all-time victories. The Statesmen have the second most program victories out of any Gulf-South Schools
Chowan has a 92-190 (.326) record in 28 seasons of intercollegiate play.

Scouting the Statesmen
The Statesmen enter this weekend with a 3-1 record after a second half rally to beat Fort Valley State 27-24 last weekend at Parker Field at McCool Stadium. Junior quarterback Cole Kirk surpassed the 1,000 mark in total yards as he threw for 241 yards and ran for 23. The depth in the skill positions showed in the win as 10 different players had a reception in the win. Senior Jalen May led the receiving core with five receptions for 78 yards. Jaylen Green had a team high six receptions for 51 yards. The turning point of the game was one of Michael Carley's two receptions as he brought in a pass while being interfered, and broke off a wimpy tackler to give the Statesmen a 24-17 lead in the 4th. The Statesmen rely on the three-headed monster of Kelvin Smith, Tamaj Hoffman, and Qualon Farrar. The trio combined for 150 yards in last week's win. Hoffman broke a 17-yard run followed by a Farrar 27-yard rush to lead the Statesmen down to a Herber game-winning Field Goal.

The Statesmen Defense shut down the Wildcats in the second half, limiting them to 107 total yards, only allowing five first downs. Senior Marlon Windham led the Statesmen defense with nine total tackles, .5 TFLs and a key pass breakup late in the fourth quarter. Windham leads the Statesmen defense with 26 tackles on the season.  Tylenn Bridges had two TFLs that totaled in 11 yards. Junior cornerback Jarius McFarland grabbed his third interception of the season to seal the deal for the Statesmen as the Wildcats had the ball with 1:16 left down 27-24.  After battling an injury from the Missouri S&T game, senior transfer Devin Squires made an impact on the line with five tackles in the winning effort.

Nick Herber connected with two of three field goals including the game winner with 1:16 to go in the game. Parker Burleson continued to show the power behind his leg. Burleson had five of his six kickoffs go through the endzone for touchbacks. Michael Carley had a special day on the kickoff return team. Carley put the Statesmen in great field position as he had three returns for 84 yards with the longest being 35 yards.
 
Scouting the Hawks
Last weekend against the Choctaws, Head Coach Paul Johnson achieved a significant milestone, earning his first-ever win as a college head coach.
 
Quarterback Maurice Smith, threw for 176 yards. Chowan's passing game saw Smith connect on 10 of 16 attempts. Leading the charge was Jamison Davis, who had 16 carries for 76 yards. Maurice Smith also made significant contributions, taking 13 carries for 35 yards. Gabrial Jackson racked up 4 receptions for 84 yards, including a touchdown. Jakobe Lane was the standout receiver of the day, making a statement with 5 receptions for 80 yards and not one, but two touchdowns.
 
Chowan's defense made a game-changing play, as Cameron Richardson intercepted a pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 27-10 after Conord's successful kick.