State Puts On A Show In Maroon And White Game
April 20, 2024 | Football, Joel Coleman
STARKVILLE – It was exciting. It was action-packed. Mississippi State's annual Maroon and White Game served as the perfect introduction to what new head coach Jeff Lebby means when he talks about it being showtime at State.
Using a unique scoring system, MSU's offense claimed a 67-53 victory over the defense on Saturday afternoon at Davis Wade Stadium. Both sides of the football provided highlights, standouts and reasons for Bulldogs everywhere to be excited about what's to come once the Lebby era officially kicks off this fall.
Quarterbacks Blake Shapen and Chris Parson each had tremendous days. Shapen completed 18 of his 22 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, while Parson was 7-of-13 through the air for 124 yards and a pair of scores.
Both had completions of 60 yards or more. In fact, explosiveness was the theme of the day with four different State receivers catching passes for 40-plus yards.
"It was good to see," Lebby said of his offense. "That's going to be a big part of who we are, creating explosive plays. I think that's obvious. But we've got to continue to get a lot better and we've got to get better in a lot of different areas. But was proud of our guys to be able to make some competitive plays and then there were a couple of others I thought we could've made that we've got to make."
Bulldog veterans, rookies and transfers all found success. Freshman Mario Craver led the way for the receiving corps with 96 yards on five catches, including a 65-yard touchdown grab. Transfer Kelly Akharaiyi hauled in five passes as well, tallying 86 yards and a score.
Two others had at least 65 yards receiving with another transfer, Kevin Coleman, mounting 76 yards and a touchdown. State vet Jordan Mosely notched 65 yards.
Another Bulldog that found the end zone through the air was tight end Justin Ball, who had a pair of touchdown catches.
Not to be overlooked was the State ground attack. Three Dawgs rushed for at least 50 yards, led by Johnnie Daniels' 64.
Jeffery Pittman added 58 yards and a score while Javaris Bufford ran for 50 yards. Keyvone Lee rushed for 30 yards and also added a touchdown.
For as much as the offense had to celebrate, the Dawg defense flexed its collective muscles as well. Tyler Woodard forced a fumble and 13 different MSU defenders had at least half a tackle for loss.
State also had a pair of sacks as Branden Jennings recorded one, with brothers De'Monte Russell and Donterry Russell combining for the other.
Elijah Cannon paced his side of the ball with seven tackles.
All in all, it was a fantastic preview for what lies ahead under Lebby. But even though spring ball is now over, MSU's leader insists the job has only just begun and the future depends on everyone, absolutely everyone, that loves the Maroon and White.
"For us, it's still about climbing this thing one day at a time and finding ways to get better and everybody involved understanding we're going to be better together," Lebby said. "We need everybody. In the world we live in today as we go out and talk to different groups all over the southern part of the United States, I want people to understand we need them. We need their support every single day to be able to get done what all we're trying to get done."
Individual Stats
| Passing | C-A-I | Yds | TD | Lng |
| Blake Shapen | 18-22-0 | 312 | 3 | 60 |
| Chris Parson | 7-13-0 | 124 | 2 | 65 |
| Michael Van Buren Jr. | 3-4-0 | 46 | 0 | 22 |
| Jake Weir | 1-1-0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Asher Morgan | 1-1-0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Vic Sutton | 1-1-0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
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| Rushing | No. | Gain | Loss | Net | TD | Lng. | Avg. |
| Johnnie Daniels | 6 | 64 | 0 | 64 | 0 | 22 | 10.7 |
| Jeffery Pittman | 10 | 61 | 3 | 58 | 1 | 21 | 5.8 |
| Javaris Bufford | 8 | 53 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 21 | 6.2 |
| Ashtanyrein Duncan | 4 | 31 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 17 | 7.8 |
| Keyvone Lee | 7 | 30 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 8 | 4.3 |
| Brinston Williams | 8 | 31 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 11 | 3.5 |
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| Receiving | Targets | No. | Yds | YAC | TD | Lng. |
| Mario Craver | 6 | 5 | 96 | 27 | 1 | 65 |
| Kelly Akharaiyi | 5 | 5 | 86 | 10 | 1 | 40 |
| Seydou Traore | 4 | 4 | 33 | 22 | 0 | 11 |
| Jordan Mosley | 5 | 3 | 65 | 9 | 0 | 43 |
| Braylon Burnside | 4 | 3 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 22 |
| Kevin Coleman | 4 | 3 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 22 |
| Justin Ball | 3 | 2 | 76 | 18 | 1 | 60 |
| Logan Flinta | 2 | 2 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 19 |
| Jeffery Pittman | 2 | 2 | 15 | 24 | 0 | 10 |
| Keyvone Lee | 2 | 1 | 22 | 17 | 0 | 22 |
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| Defense | Solo | Ast | Total | Sacks-Yds | TFL-Yds |
| Elijah Cannon | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| TB Hinton | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Nic Mitchell | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Stone Blanton | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.0-0 | 0.5-2 |
| Cyrus Reyes | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Jordan Morant | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Joseph Head Jr. | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.0-0 | 1.0-1 |
| John Lewis | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Javae Gilmore | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Ty Cooper | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Tyler Woodard | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 1.0-2 |
| Brylan Lanier | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Branden Jennings | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1.0-6 | 1.-0-6 |
| Jalin Shephard | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 1.0-1 |
| Kai McClendon | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0.0-0 | 0.5-1 |
| Khamauri Rogers | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Chris Keys Jr. | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Deonte Anderson | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.5-1 |
| Duke Johnson | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Michael Robinson | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.5-1 |
| Kedrick Bingley-Jones | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.5-1 |
| Ashun Shepphard | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Hunter Washington | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Kelley Jones | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Avery Sledge | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Gabe Moore | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Donterry Russell | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.5-4 | 0.5-4 |
| De'Monte Russell | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.5-4 | 0.5-4 |
| Trevion Williams | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.5-1 |
| Wilky Denaud | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Marcus Ross | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
| Isaac Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.0-0 | 0.0-0 |
Players Mentioned
