1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2010 Gulf South Conference Champions Blazer Game Day Blazer Game Day Delta State
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BLAZER GAME DAY BLAZER GAME DAY DELTA STATE - GAME 7 Saturday, October 22nd • 3:00 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 Still deep in the hunt for a Gulf South Conference title, the Valdosta State Blazers’ annual homecoming celebra- tion culminates on Saturday, as the Blazers welcome the Delta State Statesmen to TitleTown, USA for VSU’s first (5-1, 3-1 GSC) afternoon home game of the 2016 season. Sep. 3 ALBANY STATE W, 16-7 The two teams will go to battle for the 36th time in program history with the Delta State holding a 20-14-1 ad- Sep. 17 North Alabama* L, 44-19 vantage. Considering the two program’s knack for epic clashes, it should come as no surprise that the last matchup Sep. 24 WEST FLORIDA* W, 40-28 between the two teams took three overtime periods to determine a winner. Valdosta State outscored the Statesmen 13-7 during the extended series of frames to claim a 40-34 win, which represented one of just two wins for VSU Oct. 1 Kentucky State^ W, 48-10 over the course of the last 10 meetings between the two programs. Oct. 8 WEST GEORGIA* W, 38-27 In order to overtake the Statesmen, the Blazer defense will be forced to solve the reigning GSC Offensive Player Oct. 15 Mississippi College* W, 42-41 of the Week, Chris Robinson. Robinson, a junior running back for DSU, is currently making a strong case for the Oct. 22 DELTA STATE* (HOMECOMING) 3:00 p.m. prestigious Harlon Hill trophy. He currently leads the nation in rushing touchdowns with 16, total touchdowns with Oct. 29 Florida Tech* 7:00 p.m. 20, and scoring with an average of 17.1 points scored per game. His most recent GSC Player of the Week honor Nov. 5 West Alabama* 3:00 p.m. represented his third of the season. Robinson currently leads the league with 692 rushing yards on the season and Nov. 12 SHORTER* 7:00 p.m. average yards per game with 98.9. all times Eastern; *GSC; ^Okefenokee Gridiron Classic For Valdosta State, the Blazers will look to build on their first shootout of the season, a 42-41 conference win over Mississippi College on the road last weekend in Clinton, Miss. In the contest, Roland Rivers performed extremely well at quarterback, throwing for a career high five touchdowns. In addition, Cedric Hollingshed continued his impres- DELTA STATE STATESMEN sive growth as a freshman and put together a week good for his third GSC Freshman of the Week honor. Hollingshed (4-3, 3-2 GSC) racked up 65 yards on 13 carries and scored the game-deciding touchdown late in the fourth quarter. In addition, the SEP. 1 KENTUCKY WESLEYAN W, 50-29 Macon, Ga. native tallied 41 receiving yards on five catches. SEP. 10 TEXAS A&M COMMERCE L, 28-40 VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS GAME CENTER DELTA STATE Sep. 17 West Georgia L, 24-34 Record: 5-1, 3-1 GSC Record: 4-3, 3-2 GSC SEP. 24 SHORTER W, 47-7 Ranking: No. 16 AFCA Ranking: NR SEP. 29 MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE W, 61-31 Last Game: vs. Mississippi College (42-41) Last Game: West Florida (W, 23-24) Oct. 8 West Alabama L, 42-54 Coach: Kerwin Bell (Univ. of Florida, 1988) Coach: Todd Cooley (Arkansas Tech, 1999) OCT. 15 WEST FLORIDA W, 55-51 Record: 69-36 (9 years at Jacksonville Univ.) Record: 26-13 (4th Season) Oct. 22 Valdosta State 2:00 p.m. at VSU: 5-1 (1st season) at UWG: 26-13 (4th Season) OCT. 29 NORTH ALABAMA 2:00 P.M. vs. GSC: 3-1 vs. GSC: 15-10 Nov. 12 Florida Tech 1:00 p.m. vs. DSU: 0-0 vs. VSU: 2-1 QUICK NOTES all times Eastern; *GSC • Valdosta State is now in its 35th year of intercollegiate football and owns an overall record of 270 wins, 120 losses and four ties. ABOUT THE GAME • The Blazers’ mantra this year is “New era. Same tradition.” With the exception of Jeremy Darveau, the Blazer coaching staff features an entirely new lineup, consisting of four new assistant coaches. The group is led by TV • Not Televised Kerwin Bell, who was named the program’s new head coach in January, and will serve as the eighth head coach in a line of Valdosta State Football head coaches. RADIO • VSU RADIO NETWORK • The Blazers have scored points in 299 straight games, which represents a Division II Football record. The last Play-by-Play Dick Rockey time the Blazers were shutout was in the 1991 season opener against Central Florida. Analyst Spencer Van Horn • With their 3-1 GSC record, the Blazers now sit in third place in the league standings. West Alabama currently Sideline Tom Odom ranks second with a 4-1 record, and North Alabama continues to hold the top position with an unblemished Gulf Network Stations WDDQ Talk 92.1 FM (Valdosta) South Conference Record. WJEM 96.1 FM / 1150 AM (Valdosta) • Cedric Hollingshed scored his second consecutive GSC Freshman of the Week honor on Monday of last week WSFB 97.7 FM / 1490 AM (Quitman) after rushing for 65 yards and scoring the game-winning touchdown last week against Mississippi College as WJHC 107.5 FM (Jasper, Fla.) the final minutes rolled down in Clinton, Miss. The honor is Hollingshed’s third of the season. WKZZ 92.5 FM (Tifton) • Valdosta State football’s winning percentage of .686 places them second all-time at the Division II level. The only program with a higher winning percentage is Grand Valley State. The Lakers have a record of 376-137-3, INTERNET RADIO which tops Division II with a .730 winning percentage. Live Audio talk921.com • Roland Rivers threw for a career high five touchdowns in Saturday’s win over Mississippi College. The sopho- Live Stats www.vstateblazers.com more tallied 330 passing yards on 23 completions, and he added 50 rushing yards on a team-high 13 carries in Live Video ESE Networks; www.vstateblazers.com the game. Three of Rivers five touchdown passes came in the first half. SERIES HISTORY AGAINST DELTA STATE The two teams will go to battle for the 36th time in program history with the Delta State holding a 20-14-1 advantage. Considering the two program’s knack for epic clashes, it should come as no surprise that the last matchup between the two teams took three overtime periods to determine a winner. Valdosta State outscored the Statesmen 13-7 during the extended series of frames to claim a 40-34 win, which represented one of just two wins for VSU over the course of the last 10 meetings between the two programs. 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 AND 2010 GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS SERIES HISTORY VS. DELTA STATE TALE OF THE TAPE ALL-TIME HIGHS & LOWS VS. DSU VSU Category DSU Most Points Scored Fewest Points Scored VSU 33.8 Scoring Offense 43.9 2001 70 1982 0 Year Record Streak Site Score 26.2 Scoring Defense 35.1 2012 59 1999 6 1982 0-1 Lost 1 Cleveland, Miss. L, 27-0 113.7 Rushing Offense 182.7 1994 57 1984 11 1983 0-2 Lost 2 Valdosta, Ga. L, 24-16 143.7 Rushing Defense 155.4 2013 55 1990 11 1984 0-3 Lost 3 Cleveland, Miss. L, 17-11 347.8 Passing Offense 289.9 2004 51 2000 12 1985 1-3 Won 1 Valdosta, Ga. W, 39-20 195.7 Passing Defense 279.1 1986 2-3 Won 2 Cleveland, Miss. W, 31-8 461.5 Total Offense 472.6 Most Points Allowed Fewest Points Allowed 1987 2-4 Lost 1 Valdosta, Ga. L, 24-21 339.3 Total Defense 434.6 2013 63 2002 0 1988 2-4-1 Tied 1 Cleveland, Miss. T, 28-28 2014 49 1992 7 1989 2-5-1 Lost 1 Valdosta, Ga. L, 24-16 INDIVIDUAL BLAZER HIGHS VS. DSU 2004 48 1986 8 1990 2-6-1 Lost 2 Cleveland, Miss. L, 26-11 2000 45 1993 8 1991 3-6-1 Won 1 Valdosta, Ga. W, 34-27 Rushing A-YDS Year 2000 45 1999 9 1992 4-6-1 Won 2 Cleveland, Miss. W, 45-7 Cedric O’Neal 29-190 2015 1993 5-6-1 Won 3 Cleveland, Miss. W, 33-8 Theseus Jackson 17-177 2011 1994 6-6-1 Won 4 Valdosta, Ga. W, 57-10 Dominique Ross 18-160 1993 Largest Margin of Victory Largest Margin of Defeat 1995 7-6-1 Won 5 Valdosta, Ga. W, 37-19 Cedric O’Neal 33-160 2012 2001 58 2000 33 1996 7-7-1 Lost 1 Cleveland, Miss. L, 34-28 Aaron Jenkins 20-141 2001 1994 47 1982 27 1997 7-8-1 Lost 2 Valdosta, Ga. L, 27-23 Vontrell Mitchell 19-131 1997 2002 42 2014 17 1998 7-9-1 Lost 3 Cleveland, Miss. L, 20-17 1992 38 1990 15 1999 7-10-1 Lost 4 Valdosta, Ga. L, 9-6 Passing C-A-I-YDS Year 1993 25 2000 10 2000 7-11-1 Lost 5 Valdosta, Ga. L, 45-35 Dusty Bonner 43-62-1-477 2000 2000 7-12-1 Lost 6 Cleveland, Miss. L, 45-12 Cayden Cochran 25-36-1-412 2012 Most Rushing Yards Fewest Rushing Yards 2001 8-12-1 Won 1 Cleveland, Miss.