Score: Mississippi College 17, No. 2 Keiser 14
Records: Keiser (0-1), Mississippi College (1-0)
Location: Keiser Multi-Purpose Field (1,500) - West Palm Beach, Fla.
Time of Game: 2:28
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 87 degrees.
The No. 2-ranked Keiser football team fell to the Mississippi College Choctaws in the season opener, 17-14, on Thursday night.
Touchdowns by freshman
Armani Norcius and junior
Wendol Philord gave the Seahawks a 14-7 lead with under eight minutes left in the third. However, the Choctaws scored 10 unanswered points, including a 46-yard field goal by Ben Pledger as Keiser moved to 0-1 on the season.
Mississippi College 7, Keiser 0
- After picking off Keiser quarterback Bryce Veasley, the Choctaws had the ball in Seahawk territory with 14:12 left in the first.
- Nine plays later, Mississippi College took a 7-0 following a seven-yard touchdown run by Marcus Williams at the 8:42 mark.
- On their second possession of the game, MC drove into Keiser territory but a forced fumble by linebacker Jaelin Willis gave the ball back to the Seahawks with 3:46 remaining in the quarter.
- The Seahawks put together a seven play drive going 35 yard but stalled at the MC 43-yard line following the team's second turnover (a fumble).
Keiser 7, Mississippi College 7
- Willis forced his second fumble of the night with nine minutes left in the half, stripping the ball lose from the Choctaw's Ron Craten at the Keiser three-yard line.
- The ensuing drive saw Keiser go 97 yards on 16 plays to take a 14-7 lead.
- Freshman Armani Norcius recorded his first touchdown as a Seahawks, grabbing a 15-yards pass from Veasley.
- The made extra point by kicker Matthew Disisto gave Keiser a seven-point lead with 0:52 left in the half.
Keiser 14, Mississippi College 14
- Wendol Philord gave Keiser a 14-7 lead with his first punt return for a touchdown as a Seahawk.
- The native of Miramar, Florida, returned a punt by MC's Michael Shine 58 yards for a score, giving Keiser a seven-point lead with 7:59 left in the third.
- On the next drive, the Choctaws tied the game at 14-14 with an 11-play, 65-yard drive that took 6:17.
- Quarterback John Henry White scored on a three-yard run to tie the game with 1:42 left in the third.
Mississippi College 17, Keiser 14
- A muffed punt by the Choctaws opened the final stanza but Mississippi College was able to fall on the ball and start the drive from their own 32-yard line.
- Later in the drive, Keonn James forced a fumble, punching the ball out of a scrambling John Henry White's hands. However, the MC quarterback fell on the loose ball and the Choctaws again regained possession on a potential turnover.
- Ten plays later, kicker Ben Pledger gave the Choctaws a 17-14 lead on a 46-yard field goal with 8:08 left in the game.
- Keiser had two more chances to either tie the game of take the lead but the Seahawk's attempts fell short, dropping the game, 17-14.
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- The loss moves the Seahawks to 43-14 all-time.
- Thursday marked the third time Keiser has faced an NCAA Division II team (0-3).
- Keiser is now 0-2 all-time versus the Choctaws.
- On Thursday, Jaelin Willis registered a career-high two forced fumbles versus MC.
- Willis tallied six forced fumbles during the 2022 season.
- Willis also reached double-digit tackles for the second straight time versus the Choctaws and the sixth time in his career.
- With 12 tackles, Willis has now registered 174 for his career - No. 3 all-time at Keiser.
- With the loss, Keiser moves to 5-1 in season openers all-time.
- The loss also moved the Seahawks to 4-2 all-time in home openers.
- With the loss, Keiser is now 21-4 all-time at the Keiser Multi-Purpose Field.
- Wendol Philord recorded the first punt return for a touchdown in his Keiser career.
- The native of Miramar, Florida, has now returned a punt, a fumble, and an interception for a score as a Seahawk.
- Jertavis Black (9) and Hunter Hargrave (8) each recorded career highs in tackles on Thursday.
- Freshman Christian Ware recovered two fumbles in the game.
- Freshman wide receiver Armani Norcius notched the first receiving touchdown of his Keiser career while grabbing six passes.
- Bryce Veasley: 17-of-25 passing for 110 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Seahawks will return to action on Saturday, September 9, when they travel to Columbia, Kentucky, to take on Lindsey Wilson. Game time is set for 1:00 PM (ET).
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