Cleveland, MS – North Greenville drew first blood on Saturday in Mississippi but the #8 Delta State Statesman Bounced back for a 49 – 27 Gulf South win. 
 
North Greenville capitalized on its opening drive with a 31 – yard touchdown pass from Dylan Ramirez to Ahmari Coats. Coats led North Greenville with 57 – yards on three receptions. 
 
Delta State answered with the next three touchdowns to take a 21 – 7 lead. Patrick Shegog scored a pair of rushing touchdowns while Kelvin Smith added a four yard touchdown run to put North Greenville in a 21 – 7 hole.
 
Colik Karhu would add a pair of field goals  for North Greenville in the second quarter to pull the Crusaders to within eight points of the Statesman at halftime. 
 
Delta State scored on its opening drive of the second half but the Crusaders countered with their second score of the day to cut the deficit back down to eight. Corey Watkins scored from two – yards out to make it 28 – 20.
 
The offenses once again traded blows with DSU extending the lead to 35 – 20 before Corey Watkins scored his second touchdown of the day to make it 35 – 27. 
 
The Statesman put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter with two unanswered scores including Patrick Shegog's game high third rushing touchdown. 
 
Box Score 
 
Dylan Ramirez finished with 189 – yards on 19 completions with a touchdown and an interception. He also had 57 – yards rushing. 
 
Corey Watkins led the Crusaders with 62 yards on 21 carries and a pair of scores. 
 
Fred Billy led the Crusaders with eight tackles including one tackle for a loss. 
 
EJ Bradford led North Greenville with two pass breakups. 
 
Next Up 
 
North Greenville heads to West Georgia next weekend.