Major Offense Shreds Skyhawks in Blowout Victory
VALLEY, Ala. - The Millsaps Majors Football Team went into Valley, Ala. to take on NAIA foe Point University on Saturday afternoon. The Major Offense was terrific all day as they went into the record books with 582 total yards on the afternoon (5th in school history) en rout to a 54-28 blowout.
The Majors (3-0) started things off with a bang as they received the opening kickoff and freshman Zach Cart took it 91 yards to the house to put Millsaps on top 7-0 early on.
Point (0-3) went three and out on their first possession as the Majors defense swarmed around the Skyhawks including a sack from sophomore Alex Jackson.
Millsaps went forward on their first offensive drive as senior Garrett Pinciotti completed passes to senior Kegan Joplin, sophomore Trevor King, and sophomore Mike Barthelemy to get into Skyhawk territory. The Major drive stalled around the 20 and sophomore Beau Brady came on to attempt a 36 yard field goal that sailed wide left.
Both teams exchanged three and outs as Point took over at their own 18 yard line and put together an 11-play drive; however, it ended with sack by sophomores Jeff Milner and Leland Elchos to force a Skyhawk punt.
The Majors got the ball back and complete passes to Cart and Joplin, but couldn't do much else and punted back to Point.
The Skyhawks struck two play into the second quarter to even the score as they connected on a 79 yard touchdown to make it 7-7.
The Majors responded with a beautiful 15-play, 72 yard drive as Barthelemy was the work horse, carrying eight times for 31 yards and the eventual touchdown to put Millsaps up 13-7.
The Skyhawks went three and out as the Major offense went to work again. Pinciotti started the drive off with a nine yard completion to sophomore Charlie Strauss. After no gain from Pinciotti, Barthelemy bursted into Point territory with a 27 yard run to put Millsaps in business.
After a short run, Pinciotti completed a 13 yard pass to Strauss and a nine yard pass to sophomore Trevor King to put the Majors on the five. Freshman Taz Watson capped the drive with his first career rushing touchdown to make it 20-7.
The Skyhawks received the ball back late in the second to only turn it back over to Millsaps as sophomore Nick Arnold came away with an interception.
The offense with back to work as the throwing of Pinciotti and the running of Barthelemy and Watson got Millsaps into Skyhawk territory again.
After getting the defensive line to jump, Pinciotti took the quick snap and found King down the sideline as he made the catch and juked by a defender for a 44-yard touchdown and a 27-7 lead going into half.
Point took the opening kick of the second half and went 66-yards down the field in nine plays to cut the Major lead to 27-14.
However, the Major offense responded as Barthelemy exploded out of the gates with a 46 yard rush down to the Point 30 to start the first drive of the second half. The Majors got inside the redzone, but faced a 4th and 6 from the 11 yard line. Pinciotti went back to pass and found Joplin in the endzone, who made spectacular catch to push the Majors lead to 34-14.
The Major defense then caused their second turnover of the day as sophomore Zach Bell notched his fourth sack of the season and forced the football loose where Elchos recovered to give Millsaps 1st and 10 at the Point 26.
This time it only took one play as they Majors ran a flea-flicker and Pinciotti found Joplin again for his third touchdown pass of the game and a 40-14 lead.
Millsaps continued to harass the Skyhawk offense as the defensive front of Alex Stewart, Joiner Stewart, Milner, Bell, Elchos, and junior Blake Price were in the backfield most of the afternoon.
The Majors got the ball back midway through the third and again put together a balanced drive with Pinciotti completing passes to freshman Jamie Edwards, sophomore Matt Wahl, and Joplin, while Barthelemy and Watson steadily drove Millsaps deep into Skyhawk territory.
Barthelemy capped the drive with his second touchdown of the day from five yards out and the Majors were in control 47-14 as the third quarter came to a close.
Point added a touchdown, but Millspas responded as backup quarterback Konner Joplin came into the game and finished off a four play, 78-yard drive with a touchdown to his brother, Kegan, his third receiving touchdown of the day, to make it 54-21.
Point added a touchdown with just over a minute left, but the Majors took their third straight victory, 54-28.
Pinciotti finishes his afternoon going 21-for-31 for 273 yards and two touchdowns while Konner Joplin added 4-for-7 for 50 yards with a touchdown. Barthelemy rushed 21 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns and Watson added 10 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. Joplin was impressive and led all receivers with nine catches for 100 yards and a career high three touchdowns. He now has five touchdowns so far this season. King added three receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown.
The Majors rushed for 259 yards as a team and passed for 323. They also added 182 kick return yards and were 7-for-13 on third down conversions
Defensively the Majors were led by junior Dustin Harscher with eight tackles. Bell added seven to go along with a sack, a forced fumble, and 1.5 tackles for loss. Joiner Stewart got to the quarterback 2.5 times on the afternoon to go along with five tackles. Milner and Jackson each added a sack while Elchos had 0.5 sacks.
The Major starters were terrific again defensively as they held Point to only 254 yards of total offense before being subbed in by the second team in the fourth quarter.
Millsaps now heads into its bye week this upcoming Saturday, but return to action on the 29th as they travel to Danville, Ky. for their opening Southern Athletic Assocation game against the Centre Colonels. Kickoff will be set for 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time from Danville and 12 p.m. for those watching it on College TV Ticket in the Central Time Zone.
