ITTA BENA, Miss. — The Delta State University football used a strong second-half performance to pull away from Mississippi Valley State, defeating the Delta Devils, 21-6, Saturday evening at Rice-Totten Stadium.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Mississippi Valley State broke through with a 52-yard field goal from Luka Sari with 9:34 remaining in the second quarter, taking a 3-0 lead into halftime.
The Statesmen answered in a big way after the break.
Delta State's special teams sparked the comeback early in the third quarter when
Jordan McKnight recovered a blocked punt and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown.
Price Nixon added the extra point to put the Statesmen ahead, 7-3, with 9:45 remaining in the quarter.
Mississippi Valley State responded with another Sari field goal, this time from 31 yards, trimming the deficit to 7-6.
Delta State quickly regained momentum.
Emile Picarella connected with
Lawrence Armstrong on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 5:10 remaining in the third quarter, capping a seven-play, 75-yard drive. Nixon's extra point extended the Statesmen's advantage to 14-6.
The Statesmen added the game's final points in the fourth quarter, taking advantage off a second blocked punt.
Nick Clark powered his way into the end zone on an 11-yard touchdown run with 8:10 remaining, giving Delta State a 21-6 lead.
Clark led the Statesmen's rushing attack with 96 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, averaging 5.1 yards per attempt.
Zamariyon Kendall added 50 yards on nine carries.
Delta State finished with 284 yards of total offense, including 189 yards on the ground. The Statesmen also held a 19-12 advantage in first downs and controlled the clock for 32:56.
Picarella completed 5-of-6 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, while
Jayvon Gilmore added 34 passing yards and 18 rushing yards. Armstrong finished with two receptions for 33 yards and the touchdown.
Defensively,
Alonzo Jackson II paced the Statesmen with eight tackles, while
Jordan Bradley added seven. Delta State's defense recorded three tackles for loss and helped limit Mississippi Valley State to 180 total yards and 75 rushing yards.
The Statesmen enter a bye week before returning to McCool Stadium on Saturday October 3
rd as they take on the Hawks from Shorter at 6:00 p.m.
