1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2010 Gulf South Conference Champions 1 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2010 Gulf South Confere
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BLAZER GAME DAY WEST ALABAMA - GAME 8 Saturday, October 31 • 12:00 p.m. vs. Valdosta, Ga. • Bazemore-Hyder Stadium VSU Media Relations • (229) 333-5903 • www.vstateblazers.com Football Contact: Matt Malone ([email protected]) VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS BEGIN FINAL PUSH FOR PLAYOFFS AGAINST LONG-TIME RIVAL UWA Head Coach David Dean has repeatedly referred to the second half of the 2015 as a “new season”, and one in (5-2, 2-2 GSC) which the Blazers must run the table in order to have hopes of a postseason appearance upon the conclusion of regular Sept. 5 at Albany State W, 21-13 season play. So far, the Blazers have responded in positive fashion with wins in each of their last two games. Valdosta State’s Sept. 12 ^vs. Winston-Salem State W, 31-3 last victory came against the Shorter Hawks on a Thursday night in Rome, Ga., where the Blazers outlasted the Sept. 26 CUMBERLAND W, 56-22 Hawks in a fourth quarter shootout that included three 80-plus yard touchdown carries. Devante James and B.J. Oct. 3 *NORTH ALABAMA L, 12-34 McCoy accounted for two of those carries, but Cedric O’Neal delivered the biggest blow to seal the win, a 91-yard Oct. 10 *at West Georgia L, 28-49 touchdown dash in the closing minutes that marked the fourth longest rush in Gulf South Conference history and the Oct. 17 *MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE W, 34-7 second longest rush in Valdosta State history. The victory was deemed all the more critical after Monday’s release of the NCAA Division II Football Super Region Oct. 22 *at Shorter W, 37-22 II rankings, in which the Blazers found themselves in the No. 10 position. Valdosta State represents one of five GSC Oct. 31 *WEST ALABAMA 12:00 p.m. teams with a position in the region’s top 10, and with West Alabama outranking the Blazers at No. 9, many eyes will Nov. 7 *at Delta State 5:00 p.m. be on Bazemore-Hyder this weekend for Saturday’s important GSC matchup. Nov. 14 *FLORIDA TECH (HOMECOMING) 3:00 p.m. West Alabama enters the contest riding high off of an important conference victory over Delta State in Cleveland, Miss. The Tigers trailed 35-17 entering the fourth and final quarter, but freshman quarterback Harry Satterwhite stepped up in just his second collegiate start stayed calm and composed to lead UWA to a 24 point fourth quarter. all times Eastern; *GSC; ^Cobb County Clash Satterwhite’s three touchdown passes and 285 passing yards set stage for Mark Grant’s field goal, which lifted the WEST ALABAMA Tigers to a 41-38 advantage in the closing seconds of UWA’s victory. The rivalry between the Tigers and the Blazers is one of the GSC’s longest existing rivalries. The history between (6-2, 2-2 GSC) the two teams dates all the way back to Valdosta State’s first year in 1982, when VSU defeated West Alabama in a Sept. 5 STILLMAN COLLEGE (TIGER BOWL) W, 52-9 thrilling 22-21 win. Since then, Valdosta State has been dominant in the all-time series, holding a 30-4 record against Sept. 10 CUMBERLAND W, 34-8 the Tigers. The pair last met on October 30, 2014, and Valdosta State escaped Livingston with a 24-17 victory. Sept. 19 Miles College W, 13-10 Sept. 26 Texas A&M Kingsville W, 31-22 GAME CENTER Oct. 3 WEST GEORGIA L, 14-32 VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS WEST ALABAMA Oct. 10 Florida Tech L, 13-24 Record: 5-2, 2-2 GSC Record: 6-2, 2-2 GSC Oct. 17 SHORTER W, 52-27 Ranking: No. 24 Ranking: Not Ranked Oct. 24 Delta State W, 41-38 Last Game: Shorter (W, 37-22) Last Game: Delta State (W, 41-38) Oct. 31 Valdosta State 12:00 p.m. Nov. 7 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE 2:00 P.M. Coach: David Dean (Georgia State, 1986) Coach: Brett Gilliland (West Alabama, 2004) Nov. 14 North Alabama 1:30 p.m. Record: 75-25 (9th season) Record: 11-8 (2nd season) at VSU: 75-25 (9th season) at UWA: 11-8 (2nd season) all times Central; *GSC vs. GSC: 40-18 vs. GSC: 4-7 ABOUT THE GAME vs. UWA: 4-3 vs. VSU: 0-1 QUICK NOTES TV • None • Valdosta State is in its 34th year of intercollegiate football and owns an overall record of 262 wins, 117 losses and four ties. RADIO • VSU RADIO NETWORK • After last week’s win against Shorter, David Dean tied Chris Hatcher’s total of 75 career wins. Dean’s next Play-by-Play Dick Rockey win will make him the winningest coach in Valdosta State football history. His win total, against just 25 losses, Analyst Spencer Van Horn gives him a .750 career winning percentage. Sideline Tom Odom • The Blazers have scored in 288 straight games, tops among all DII schools. Network Stations WDDQ Talk 92.1 FM (Valdosta) • Cedric O’Neal ranks among the top three in Valdosta State history in rushing yardage. With a touchdown two WJEM 96.1 FM / 1150 AM (Valdosta) weeks ago against Mississippi College and two more last week vs. Shorter, O’Neal has extended his career WSFB 97.7 FM / 1490 AM (Quitman) touchdown total to 40, which represents an all-time school rushing touchdown record. With 191 yards last WJHC 107.5 FM (Jasper, Fla.) week, he is currently in second place in the VSU record books with 3,609. For O’Neal, 251 yards will push the WKZZ 92.5 FM (Tifton) senior past Aaron Jenkins’ (2000-03) total of 3,859 and will establish a new school record for total rushing yardage. • Today’s big matchup became a huge matchup following the first release of the 2015 South Regional Rankings. INTERNET RADIO • Gavin Wilson delivered a breakout special teams performance last week. The freshman began his night with the Live Audio talk921.com first two field goals of his career to give VSU a 6-0 lead, and added a critical 45-yarder in the 4th. Scattered Live Stats sidearmstats.com/valdosta/football/ in were three punts, including a 57-yard boot to pin SU at their own 1-yard line. Wilson averaged 40.0 yards Live Video ESPN3/Watch ESPN App punting on the night. SERIES HISTORY AGAINST WEST ALABAMA One of the longest running series in Valdosta State history, the Blazers owns a 30-4 advantage over the Tigers in 34 games. After VSU dominated the series for many years, during which Valdosta State won 27 of the first 28 meetings, West Alabama evened things as of late with an even split over the last six meetings. In the two team’s most recent matchup, Valdosta State snuck away from Livingston, Ala. with a 24-17 victory over the Tigers almost exactly one year ago on October 30, 2014. 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 AND 2010 GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS 1 SERIES HISTORY VS. WEST ALABAMA TALE OF THE TAPE ALL-TIME HIGHS & LOWS VS. UWA VSU Category UWA Most Points Scored Fewest Points Scored VSU 31.3 Scoring Offense 31.3 1994 63 1985 5 Year Record Streak Site Score 21.4 Scoring Defense 21.3 2003 58 2006 16 1982 1-0 Won 1 Valdosta, Ga. W, 22-21 162.4 Rushing Offense 170.8 2001 56 1984 17 1983 2-0 Won 2 Livingston, Ala. W, 29-14 193.1 Rushing Defense 118.1 1996 52 1986 17 1984 3-0 Won 3 Valdosta, Ga. W, 17-16 2000 50 1989 17 1985 3-1 Lost 1 Livingston, Ala. L, 10-5 223.7 Passing Offense 185.5 1986 4-1 Won 1 Valdosta, Ga. W, 17-12 153.8 Passing Defense 234.8 1987 5-1 Won 2 Livingston, Ala. W, 19-9 386.1 Total Offense 356.3 Most Points Allowed Fewest Points Allowed 1988 6-1 Won 3 Valdosta, Ga. W, 20-7 347.0 Total Defense 353.0 2013 49 1994 0 1989 7-1 Won 4 Livingston, Ala. W, 17-6 2012 39 2007 0 1990 8-1 Won 5 Valdosta, Ga. W, 46-7 THE BLAZER-TIGER COMPARISON 2002 31 1998 3 1991 9-1 Won 6 Livingston, Ala. W, 20-7 VSU UWA 2010 24 1989 6 1992 10-1 Won 7 Valdosta, Ga. W, 42-15 Roster Breakdown 91 players 75 players 1982/2011/2012 21 2009 6 1993 11-1 Won 8 Valdosta, Ga. W, 42-13 Seniors 21 20 1994 12-1 Won 9 Livingston, Ala. W, 63-0 Juniors 20 18 Largest Margin of Victory Largest Margin of Defeat 1995 13-1 Won 10 Valdosta, Ga. W, 27-20 Sophomores 23 13 1994 63 2013 19 1996 14-1 Won 11 Livingston, Ala. W, 52-16 Freshmen 27 24 2001 48 2012 11 1997 15-1 Won 12 Valdosta, Ga. W, 33-20 Starting Offensive Line 2003 45 1985 5 1998 16-1 Won 13 Valdosta, Ga. W, 19-3 Height, Weight 6-4, 301 6-3, 295 1990 39 2010 3 1999 17-1 Won 14 Livingston, Ala. W, 21-19 Starting Defensive Line 2008 37 2000 18-1 Won 15 Valdosta, Ga. W, 50-20 Height, Weight 6-1, 267 6-1, 297 2001 19-1 Wno 16 Livingston, Ala. W, 56-8 Run-to-Pass Ratio 249-224 320-230 2002 20-1 Won 17 Valdosta, Ga. W, 43-31 Run-to-Pass Percentage 52.6% run 58.2% run Most Rushing Yards Fewest Rushing Yards 2003 21-1 Won 18 Livingston, Ala.