College football is back across all levels, and one of the first games to kick off the Division III season will happen in Jackson between crosstown rivals Millsaps College and Belhaven University.
With one road – Riverside Drive – dividing the two schools and a shared neighborhood footprint, the annual Riverside Rumble is a rivalry that couldn’t be much closer in distance or record.
Kickoff from inside the Belhaven Bowl is Thursday at 7 p.m. It’s free to get in, but before you go, here’s what to know.
What to know about Millsaps
Brandon Lechtenberg heads into his second season as head coach and is avidly working to move Millsaps away from over a decade of also-ran status. His first year as frontman was a good start with the team pulling out a win in the Riverside Rumble before finishing 5-5 – the program’s most wins since 2019. Lechtenberg was rewarded at the end of the season with the honor of Southern Athletic Association Coach of the Year.
Heading into 2025, quarterback is a question mark with the departure of All-SAA signal-caller Cole Canatella. With returning sophomore Ian Burleson, freshman Grant Bizjack, and Southwest Mississippi Community College transfer Quez Goss competing during preseason camp, Lechtenberg feels good about all three.
“I think we’ve had a very good quarterback battle,” he said. “I’m really confident that whichever one of those guys you see out there on Thursday night is going to make plays for us. If you see more than one out there, then they’re both or all three going to make plays.”
No matter who lines up behind center, he will have plenty of weapons with depth being added at every offensive skill position, per Lechtenberg.
On the outside, All-SAA wide receiver Willie Elliott returns as a junior after a team-high 536 yards in 2024. Senior Blake Wiley will also take the field with a career average of 17 yards per catch.
Another position sure to help the quarterback out is running back. Chase Jacobs, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product who led the Majors with 391 yards and seven touchdowns a season ago, returns as a sophomore and redshirt junior Mitch Taylor is back after missing 2024 with injury. Sprinkle in a few freshmen and transfers, and it may be the team’s deepest offensive group.
“More importantly is the depth that we’ve added to the running back position,” Lechtenberg said. “[Mitch] is a really talented football player. Chase Jacobs is back. And then, there’s been a couple freshman and transfers that have been added to the mix that have looked good here in fall camp. We’ll see what they can do when the lights are back on.”
On defense, senior linebacker Nehemiah Coalson is expected to show the way. The Belzoni native has triple-digit tackles and a handful of All-SAA honors to his name, and with a special type of leadership Lechtenberg likens to Batman, another breakout season is on the horizon.
“He shows no emotion ever. You’ll coach him up on something or you’ll yell at him over something, and he just looks at you like he’s staring through your soul,” Lechtenberg said, laughing. “But then, he’s got really good questions and really good feedback. He takes coaching really, really well. He’s led this football team by example over the course of the last two years. That quiet confidence in the meeting room turns into a loud confidence on the field.”
Holding down the trenches will be a pair of All-SAA defensive linemen in sophomore Myles Johnson and junior Nathan Johnson. All-SAA senior offensive lineman Larry Francois is also back, as well as All-SAA sophomore defensive back and wide receiver W.H. Carver.
What to know about Belhaven
Going into year two of the CJ Nightingale era, the Blazers will take the gridiron with a squad anchored by veterans. Belhaven’s roster consists of 28 seniors and a litany of returners who earned significant playing time in 2024.
“We lost some guys from last year who were seniors and fifth years who used up their eligibility,” Nightingale said. “But the fact that we have so many returners who have played meaningful snaps and have been thrown into the fire is really encouraging.”
Like the Majors, the Blazers broke even a season ago with a 5-5 record. Nightingale made his way to Jackson in January 2024 and had to hit the ground running quickly to solidify the roster before opening kickoff. But now, with a full year of recruiting and player development to work with, the Belhaven frontman is more confident in the product that will be on display in his second campaign.
“I thought, last fall, there was a lot of maturation in this role for me and a lot of maturation for our players in understanding who I am and what we are expecting,” he said. “The continuity we have now versus even a year ago is night and day different. Nothing was wrong last yar. There’s just more trust [now] in building the foundation.”
Among the most productive returners from last year’s team are senior wideout RJ Garrison, senior running back Caleb Gallashaw, senior linebacker Wyatt Beck, and senior defensive backs Icarius Hodgin and Dee Gray.
In 2024, Garrison was the team’s second-leading receiver with 375 yards and six touchdowns. Gallashaw was second in rushing with 472 yards and four scores. Beck was the top guy in tackles, logging 89. Hodgin was a ballhawk with a team-leading three interceptions while Gray had 14 pass break-ups. Beck, Hodgin, and Gray each earned All-USA South honors at season’s end.
“Defensively, we’ve returned a lot of guys who have played a lot of football,” Nightingale said of his returners. “Offensively, the same deal applies, whether it’s the offensive line or running backs or tight ends. It’s really encouraging to have guys on that depth chart who have played football here.”
But as is the case in football, the face of any team is more often than not the quarterback. While Nightingale preached that the success of his group would be a collective effort, he did note that having the right quarterback would help put the team in a winning position. As of now, he has not named a starting quarterback but has senior Brock Morris back on campus after backing up Blake Kirby a season ago.
“In terms of who our quarterback is, we’re still competing and we’re still working through it,” he said, expressing confidence in whoever will take the bulk of snaps.
While Belhaven had to replace All-USA South offensive tackle Gave Rankins in the offseason, the effort to protect whoever the quarterback is will be led by a unit that boasts six upperclassmen, many of whom played last year.
In the special teams room, Nightingale did not reveal who would be taking over for All-USA South placekicker Constantine Hontzas. However, the new field goal kicker will have large – or at least accurate – shoes to fill as Hontzas connected on 24 of 28 career attempts.
Taking a closer look at the rivalry
While Millsaps has an extensive history with this season marking the 105th year since the Majors fielded their first team in 1920, Belhaven is still the metaphorical new kid on the block with its program beginning in 1997.
The overall record between the two is 8-6 in favor of the Blazers, who have won three of the last four contests dating back to 2021. Millsaps won last year’s game 24-21.
Both teams have had success at times. Belhaven advanced to the Division III playoff under now-Northwestern State head coach Blaine McCorkle in 2023, while Millsaps has cracked the bracket three times (1975, 2006, and 2008).
