Mississippi Valley State has named quarterback Jamari Jones and goalkeeper McKenzie McCarthy as their Student-Athletes of the week. Both Delta Devils experienced record-setting and career-defining performances. The native Mississippians represented their state and their university extremely well.
Quarterback Jamari Jones
Jamari Jones has been in Mississippi for his entire football journey. He played at Northwest Rankin in Flowood, Mississippi as a true dual-threat quarterback. He then moved to East Mississippi Community College, one of the most successful community college programs in the country with several national titles in its halls. Jones now finds himself as the starting quarterback for Mississippi Valley State.
Jamari Jones, now a junior, led the Delta Devils to their highest scoring game this season on October 22. MVSU lost to Bethune-Cookman 35-45, but Jones showed out in the loss. The Mississippi native had 218 passing yards and tacked on 3 touchdowns. Jones also produced on the ground, rushing for 101 yards.
Jones has been the starter for MVSU since late September when the Delta Devils took on the Tigers of Jackson State. This past game against Bethune-Cookman was Jones’ best performance by far. He recorded season-high numbers in completions, passing yards, rushing yards and touchdowns.
The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils will take on Alabama A&M on November 3 at 6:30 pm on ESPNU.
Goalkeeper McKenzie McCarthy
McKenzie McCarthy, a senior from Olive Branch, Mississippi, is the goalkeeper for the Mississippi Valley State Devilettes. McCarthy has been at MVSU for her entire college career after finishing high school at Olive Branch High School. McCarthy has been excellent for the Devilettes. She owns many impressive school records, including the school record for career saves, saves per game and saves in a match. She also leads the NCAA in career saves with 482 saves. This year, McCarthy has been named SWAC goalkeeper of the week 3 times and currently leads the NCAA in saves per game with 11.36.
McCarthy can now add MSVU player of the week to that impressive row of accomplishments. On October 21, the Devilettes took on Alabama A&M, McCarthy was on fire, and it showed. She finished the game with 14 saves and did not allow a single goal. The game ended in a 0-0 tie.
Two days later, October 23, MVSU took on Alabama State for their fourth away game in ten days. McCarthy had another great game, allowing only a single goal and recording 9 saves. The Devilettes lost the game 1-0. All in all, McCarthy held teams to just 1 goal over the course of 2 games, despite facing 54 shots from the opposition.
McKenzie McCarthy will play her final game as a Mississippi Valley State Devilette against Alcorn this Friday, October 28 at 2:00 pm.
