JACKSON, Miss. – It took every aspect of the game plan to click for the Millsaps football team to down Hendrix College during Homecoming, 27-26 at Harper Davis Field on Saturday.

Millsaps (5-2, 3-1 SAA) recorded a 28-13 advantage in first downs, while outgaining the Warriors, 418-335 in total yards.

Freshman running back Chase Jacobs powered the Majors on the ground with two rushing scores and a season-high 114 yards. Classmate and Millsaps quarterback Cole Canatella completed 30-of-54 passes for 285 yards and two passing touchdowns. The New Orleans, La., product added 28 yards with his feet.

Sophomore wide receiver Willie Elliott (eight receptions, 110 yards) and freshman Anthony James Jr. (six receptions, 52 yards) both hauled in a receiving touchdown. Senior Connor Ladner added 53 yards courtesy of six catches.

Reigning SAA Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week Connor Babin sent five kickoffs for 255 yards (51-yard average).

On the defensive front, the Majors totaled 7.0 tackles for loss, including three sacks.

Junior Nehemiah Coalson was a force yet again with 10 tackles (2.0 sacks), while sophomore Jamison Rankins garnered seven tackles and three quarterback hurries. Senior Darren Labit made his imprint with five tackles and two breakups. He was also named the Homecoming King at halftime.

The pass rush of junior Malachi Pasteur (four tackles), sophomore Nathan Johnson and junior Braylon Wills made life difficult for the Warrior offense. The trio all had three quarterback hurries each. Johnson added a sack and a crucial block of a point-after try in the fourth quarter.

Additionally, W.H. Carver was everywhere on the field with four tackles and four pass breakups.
 
Hendrix (3-5, 1-4 SAA) opened the scoring on its first possession to conclude a 13-play, 75-yard drive. Warrior quarterback Jacob Buniff scrambled and found a seam up the middle.

Millsaps answered two possessions later and only took two plays and 26 seconds to cover 69 yards. Jacobs barreled his way up the middle and electrified the crowd of 2,550 fans with a 46-yard run. Canatella found James Jr. on a post-corner route on the next play from 23 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 in the front-left corner of the end zone. Freshman Ty Miller netted his first of three point-after attempts.

The Majors ended the first quarter with a promising drive the covered three minutes. However, a Warrior interception in the end zone thwarted the opportunity on the first play of the second quarter.

Hendrix eventually made it 13-7 midway through the quarter after using a 3-play, 75-yard drive. After two short plays, the Warriors completed a 72-yard passing completion, but missed the extra point.

It was once again an immediate answer by the Majors offensively with a 10-play, 72-yard march down the field. Millsaps methodically picked up yards before Elliott raced down the left side of the field and caught a perfect throw on a 20-yard fade route. The extra point was good, giving the Majors a 14-13 advantage with 4:58 until halftime.

Defenses would lock down and the next score resulted on the Millsaps opening drive of the second half. This was the longest drive for the Majors, eating up 6:05 off the clock after amassing 15 plays and 72 yards. Jacobs rushed for a two-yard touchdown after initially bouncing off a wall of blockers before working his way to an opening in the left portion of the end zone. The lead would grow to 20-13 with a missed PAT.

The Majors added to their lead once more in the closing seconds of the third quarter. Canatella completed a crucial fourth-down conversion on 4th-and-5 from the Warrior 27-yard line. He found James Jr. to put the Majors on the doorstep with a 23-yard catch. Jacobs did the rest and scored from four yards out to build a 27-13 margin after a successful point-after attempt.

Millsaps then stood tall on the ensuing Warrior drive that reached the Major 8-yard line. A pass breakup by Labit on third down and a fourth-down incompletion stopped the Hendrix chance.

However, Hendrix began to chip away at their deficit thanks to a touchdown with 10:59 to play. Buniff found a receiver from 17 yards away to make it a 27-20 contest.

The Warriors scored another touchdown on their next drive after completing a 68-yard passing play. However, Johnson rose up in the middle of the defensive line and blocked the point-after try to keep Millsaps out front, 27-26 with 8:30 on the game clock.

Teams traded the next two offensive possessions each with the same result on the scoreboard. The Majors then received the ball with 2:12 to play, facing the two-minute timeout and three Hendrix potential stoppages.

Canatella eventually found Elliott for another clutch catch, this time for 21 yards on 3rd-and-8 at midfield. The freshman quarterback and classmate running back Jacobs followed with back-to-back runs of seven and eight yards, respectively to ice out the game. After three kneel downs, the Majors triumphed, 27-26 on Homecoming.

The Majors will be back in action next Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. against Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn. Live video and live stats for the game will be provided at gomajors.com.


To keep up to date with everything surrounding the football program this year follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.

Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.