ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University football program jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, winning its first game of the year in convincing fashion, 30-20.
 
The Basics
 

• Score: Mississippi Valley State 30 | Alabama A&M 20

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (1-8, 1-5 SWAC) | Alabama A&M (3-6, 3-3 SWAC)

 

• Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – Rice-Totten Stadium at Chuck Prophet Field

 

• Series History: Alabama A&M Leads 24-10

 

• Winning Streak: Mississippi Valley State (W1) | Alabama A&M's Last Win: November 6, 2021 (42-14)

 

• All-Time History vs. SWAC Opponents: SWAC Leads 301-136-9

 
Mississippi Valley State Top Performers
 

• Jamison Lindsey snatched his first two interceptions of his career, returning them 42 yards in the process. He is the second Delta Devil to accomplish the feat this year joining Abdural Lee's two-pick performance at Alabama State.

 

• Jalani Eason returned from injury with a vengeance, tying his career-high with three scores en route to a season-best 194 pass yards, 88 rush yards (game-high) and 121.8 quarterback rating. The grad student led the Devils in both passing and rushing while combining for 282 scrimmage yards.

 

• Orlando Fernandez got back on track with a season-best trio of field goals, including a season-long 48-yarder, and had a perfect 3-for-3 day on point after tries. He also boomed a 50-plus yard punt while downing a pair in the red zone.

 

• Caleb Johnson rushed for 51 yards, Jared Wilson came into the day with ten yards on the ground and left with 64 after nine carries (6 YPC), and DePhabian Fant made his presence felt on special teams with a pair of tackles, one of which popped the ball loose with Wilson recovering.

 

• Sylvester Campbell has a nose for the end zone, scoring his third touchdown from 15-yards out, on just his 11th reception, accounting for points on 27% of his catches.

 

• Jayren Fox set a new personal-best with a game-high 13 takedowns, two tackles for loss, and his first career forced fumble.

 

• Destin Refuge made a new tackle benchmark of his own with five.

 

• Cameron Gardner collected his first career touchdown in Green and White after transferring in from Mississippi State, going for a season-high 30 yards on two catches.

 

• Malcom Johnson and Demonte Holliman each broke up their first passes as Devils, and Anthony Turnage booted his first touchback on kickoff.

 
Notes:
 

• Defensive Coordinator Javier Gonzalez's were ball hawks and stepped up in key situations, forcing a season-best four turnovers with a pair of fumble recoveries and interceptions which contributed to a season-high plus-three turnover margin.

 

• MVSU also limited the Alabama A&M offense to zero third down conversions throughout the entire first half of action.

 

• The offense did its part as well, dominating the time of possession battle against the fourth-best team in the FCS coming in, controlling the ball for more than 14-and-a-half minutes over the Bulldogs.

 

• Valley also had its running game in top form with its third game with 200-plus yards on the ground, going for 201 yards while outrushing A&M by 91 yards, as well as tossing three touchdowns through the air.

 
The Green and White well travel to Baton Rouge in search of its first winning streak of the season when it faces the Southern University Jaguars at 2 p.m. next Saturday.
 
Follow the Mississippi Valley State football program on Twitter (@ValleyStateFB) and Instagram (@ValleyStateFB).
 
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