Jackson Free Press

Mississippi College and Millsaps College have met on the gridiron 48 times. The first meeting was in 1920, when Millsaps fielded its first football team.

This series has become intense rivalry, given the name "The Backyard Brawl." A little over 16 miles separate these two teams, which battle each year for the bragging rights of the Jackson area.

Last season, Mississippi College defeated Millsaps 47-44 in double overtime. The game was the highest scoring game in the rivalry as the two teams combined for 91 points.

The Majors hold the modern record for largest margin of victory in 2008, when they stomped the Choctaws 42-6. Heading into the 2010 season, Mississippi College leads the modern series 5-4.

While both teams play Division III football, they currently reside in different conferences.

Mississippi College plays in the American Southwest Conference where they finished with a 9-3 overall record and a 7-1 conference record. The Choctaws reached the second round of the Division III play-offs last season.

Millsaps finished with a 7-3 overall record and 5-1 in the Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Majors failed to make the play-offs in 2009.

The Choctaws turn the quarterback reins over to Tommy Reyer after the departure of Adam Shaffer. Reyer does not have to be stellar at quarterback, because the offensive load will fall on the shoulders of running back Steven Knight.

Nearly every media outlet named Knight as a preseason Division III All-American at running back. Mississippi College returns seven starters on defense in hopes of winning two straight in this series.

The Majors enter this season needing to break in a new starting quarterback. The job will fall to junior Sean Murphy, but if he falters, sophomores Konner Joplin and Garrett Pinciotti could get the nod.

Mississippi College does not have the monopoly on Division III All-American candidates. Millsaps biggest offensive weapon wide receiver and kick returner Michael Galatas has received as much preseason recognition as Knight. On defense, linebacker Will Hawkins and defensive back Kevin Petters made several preseason All-American lists as well.

Mississippi College has the luxury of head coach Norman Joseph entering his sixth season at the helm of the Choctaws. Joseph has a 3-1 record against Millsaps.

The Majors enter this season without head coach Mike DuBose, who left Millsaps to become a defensive line coach at Memphis. While in Jackson, he compiled a 33-10 record for a program that had won only 37 games in the past 10 seasons before DuBose took over.

Now the job of maintaining the success started by DuBose falls to Aaron Pelch. He returns to Millsaps after a stint as the Oakland Raiders as assistant special teams coach in the NFL.

Last time Pelch was with the majors he was the associate head football coach under DuBose. Thanks to past experience, Pelch is no stranger to the "Backyard Brawl."

Both of these teams hope to have success in the 2010 season. Mississippi College and Millsaps will get to test themselves in a tough test to open the season as well as the "Backyard Brawl" rivalry.

Mississippi College enters the season ranked 22nd by D3football.com in their preseason poll. Fans looking for a great matchup to start the college football season do not have to look very far.

Jackson State vs. Delta State

The "Backyard Brawl" between Mississippi College and Millsaps is not the only college football game featuring two Mississippi teams going head to head. Jackson State hosts Delta State at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Neither of these proud programs performed well last season. That makes the 2010 season all the more important.

Jackson State's Rick Comegy enters his fifth season as the Tigers head coach. Last season was his first losing season (3-7) at JSU, and he has a 24-21 overall record with one SWAC title in 2007.

Comegy will start to feel some major heat if he suffers a consecutive losing season. Finding a starting quarterback could be the key to how long he stays as the lead Tiger.

The quarterback battle is between Casey Therriault, who has a well-documented past, and Dedrick McDonald who was inconsistent last season. It looks as if the job is Therriault's to lose but both quarterbacks could get playing time against Delta State as this team switches to the spread offense.

No matter who the quarterback is this season it will be the defense that matters most. Last season, Jackson State was 1-5 in games decided by eight points or less.

If the Tigers want to win some of those close games, they will need stops by the defense. That should not be a problem, since Consensus Draft Services named five Jackson State players to their All-American team. Three of the four Tigers named were from the defensive side of the ball. Defensive backs T. J. Heath (1st team) and Anthony Johnson (2nd team) will make passing on the Tigers difficult for opposing offenses.

It will be up to Donovan Robinson (honorable mention) to stop the run and rush the quarterback on the defensive line. If the defense comes through for Jackson State, teams will be punting to Alan Bonner, a first team All-American, as a punt returner.

Jackson State received votes from several media outlets but begins the season unranked in the 2010 preseason polls.

Delta State finished last season at 5-5, the worst season for the Statesmen since 2002. Head coach Ron Roberts had led DSU to back-to-back Gulf South Conference Championships before the program took a step back in 2009.

The Statesmen turn the offense over to Micah Davis now that Garrett DeWitt has moved on. Davis is a senior transfer who has looked impressive during offseason workouts. He won't have to carry the load offensively; he will have Trevar Deed at running back (D2football.com named this All-American to the second team as an all-purpose player.) Deed is a two-time First Team All-GSC and led the league in rushing, all-purpose yards and was second in rushing last season. The Fighting Okra also have a trio of talented wide receivers for Davis to target in the passing game.

If Delta State is going to turn the 2010 season into a success it will need better play on the defensive side of the ball. DSU has eight starters returning on defense with linebackers Hollan Fiu and Robert Hogan leading the front seven. In the defensive backfield, Dominique Davenport returns at cornerback and is a three-year starter.

Making expectations even higher for 2010 is that DSU entering the season ranked 24th by the American Football Coaches Association and ranked 21st by D2football.com. Opening against a FCS team like Jackson State will give this team an early test.

The 2010 meeting is not the first time these two teams have played each other. In 2007, Delta State, a Division II program, defeated the Tigers 27-15 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The score was not as close as one might think. DSU had a 20-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. Jackson State scored on a 97-yard kickoff return to cut the lead to 20-7. The Fighting Okra would score again in to take a 27-7 before the Tigers scored a garbage touchdown and two-point conversion to make the game look close.

Bryan Flynn is a lifelong Mississippi native who resides in Richland. When not working for the JFP, he writes a national blog, playtowinthegame.com. He lives with his wife and their four cats.

Previous Comments

ID

159635

Comment

A prediction is need on the games above. So, here goes. I will take Mississippi College over Millsaps with a score of 35-27. The Choctaws score late to put the Majors away. Also, I will take Delta State to upset Jackson State for the second time in three years. I am thinking the score will be 28-14 with the Statemen jumping on the Tigers early once again.

Author

Bryan Flynn

Date

2010-09-02T16:36:43-06:00

ID

159636

Comment

Welcome new sports writer/blogger Bryan Flynn!

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2010-09-03T08:50:55-06:00

ID

159639

Comment

Glad to be a part of the team, Donna.

Author

Bryan Flynn

Date

2010-09-03T10:59:49-06:00

ID

159647

Comment

I don't wanna talk about the USM game last night. Sigh.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2010-09-03T16:06:23-06:00

ID

159648

Comment

Golden Eagle, That was a guaranteed loss. On the road against a very good South Carolina team that has not lost a season opener in nearly forever. Southern Miss was facing a team many think will chanellenge the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs for the SEC East Division title. Yes, it was a bigger blowout then even I thought but the offense looked good at times and the defense still needs work. The Eagles get to take their frustations out next week against Prairie View A&M next week. As long as this team plays well in C-USA, something they have not done lately, you have to be happy. Do not worry it is just the first game of the season and USM was not a national title contender so all their teams goals are still in play.

Author

Bryan Flynn

Date

2010-09-03T16:11:40-06:00

ID

159649

Comment

But I didn't think it would be that bad. We made Stephen Garcia look like the poor man's Tim Tebow. Given how much he was interception-prone last year, my hope was that we could shut down their run game and force them to throw. We were run over for more than 200 yards on the ground. I'm not worried about the season though. One game doesn't ruin it.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2010-09-03T16:35:32-06:00

ID

159653

Comment

Steven Garcia will play in the NFL but I never knew South Carolina had a freshman running back like the one who played last night. Your right about one game not ruining the season.

Author

Bryan Flynn

Date

2010-09-03T18:27:24-06:00

ID

159656

Comment

But what about Ole Miss losing to 1-AA Jacksonville State? I listened to some of the game on the radio when it started getting real close and when I got home, ESPN News did a live look-in and that's when I saw JSU score the TD and two-point conversion. Ole Miss had a 3-TD lead at halftime. Like I said about USM, one loss doesn't make a whole season, but it was setting up nicely for Ole Miss to start out 5-0 heading into the Alabama game. If a AA program can expose their defense like they did, how will they look against Fresno State (whose defense looked impressive against Cincinnati) and Kentucky, which did fairly well against Louisville? The Rebels may be fortunate to go 3-2 in that stretch. Tulane and Vanderbilt are horrible, so the Rebs should be able to bounce back against them.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2010-09-06T11:08:02-06:00

ID

159657

Comment

Jacksonville State is a very good football team. The problems is that Ole Miss did not come out early in the second half, third quarter, and put them away. They let Jacksonville Sate hang around and gain confidence the longer the game went. I was surprised that Ole Miss lost the game but last season Jacksonville State had Florida State on the ropes until late in the fourth quarter. Plus, this JSU team is ranked in the top 25 of the FCS poll. Ole Miss still could go into the Alabama game 4-1. Kentucky played a bad Louisville team that will struggle to win three to four games in the weak Big East. Yes, Fresno State looked good beating Cincinnati but that was not the same Cincinnati team from last year. One thing Ole Miss has in its favor is Masoli. Last season in the first game of the year Oregon lost to Boise State and had the LeBlount Punch. The Ducks went from a possible national title contender to being written off. Oregon righted the ship and represented the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl. Look for Ole Miss to go to a ball control offense and run the ball more. Masoli will run a spread option and try to keep the Rebel defense off the field until they jell. I would not hit the panic button yet but I would if the Rebels go 0-2.

Author

Bryan Flynn

Date

2010-09-06T20:23:35-06:00