CLEVELAND, Miss. – The No. 24 Statesmen football team held on to win a close 27-24 contest against the Fort Valley State Wildcats on Saturday night,
Todd Cooley's 70th career win at the helm of the Delta State University football program.
Fort Valley wasted no time offensively, scoring on three plays in the opening drive to take the early 7-0 lead.
The Statesmen answered by tying the game 7-7 with a rushing touchdown courtesy of
Kelvin Smith on Delta State's first drive of the game that consisted of 10 plays for 62 yards.
DSU's offense struggled to gain momentum in the first half with only eight first downs in the first 30 minutes of play.
Fort Valley scored twice more on a field goal and a 28-yard reception to reclaim the lead, 17-7.
Nick Herber found the uprights on a 26-yard field goal to close out the first half, as Delta State trailed Fort Valley 17-10 at halftime.
Both teams traded possessions to start second-half play, but the Statesmen opened scoring, tying the game 17-17 at the 5:01 mark in the third quarter, when
Cole Kirk found
Adam Duncan over the middle, scoring Duncan's first touchdown since 2021 and Kirk's first passing touchdown of the night.
Solid defense stumped the Wildcats well into the second half which helped Delta State take its first lead of the game, 24-17, when Kirk connected with tight end
Michael Carley on a 38-yard reception early in the fourth quarter- Carley's first career touchdown.
Fort Valley went 29 yards on five plays to tie the game for the third time at 24-24 with just over four minutes to play.
Herber gave Delta State the lead back, kicking a 22-yard field goal with 1:16 left in the game.
The Wildcats threatened late in the fourth quarter, but
Jairus McFarland's second career interception came at the perfect time, securing the 27-24 win for Delta State.
Ten receivers combined for 24 catches and 241 yards, while
Marlon Windham devastated the Wildcat offense with 9 tackles.
Delta State opens conference play on the road against Erskine College on Saturday, September 28 at 2 p.m.
