VALDOSTA —
Motivation has been the key to Valdosta State University Blazers’ success so far this season. On Saturday, the Blazers’ motivation will continue as the team plays for the Division II national championship against Winston-Salem State Rams in Florence, Ala.
Throughout this season, the Blazers have transformed their motivation into momentum as the team has moved win by win to the championship slot. Saturday’s game marks the fourth national championship appearance for VSU and the team’s first championship game in five years. VSU head coach David Dean led the Blazers to its 2007 national championship victory. It was his first season as head coach.
Earlier this week, the Blazer players discussed wanting to create a different result this season, following what has been described as last year’s collapse near the 2011 season’s end. Then, VSU lost three of its final games within the last minute of play.
“As a team, we didn’t end (2011) like we wanted to,” quarterback Cayden Cochran told The Times this week. “The seniors, especially, they won’t want to end this (season) with a loss. It was a big deal to us in the offseason, and it has been like that the whole season.”
Last season spurred this season’s motivation. There were wake-up calls this season, as with VSU’s regular-season loss to West Alabama, but the team used this loss to fuel its motivation to play better ball the following week and the week after that ...
Since that game, VSU has won by an average of 23 points per game.
We wish the Blazers the best of success this weekend. We hope VSU brings home another national title for the city known as TitleTown.
Go, Blazers!
What We Think
Good luck, VSU Blazers!
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Historic day celebrated
On January 1, 1863, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious areas are and henceforth shall be free.
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How this garden grew
A special-needs couple wanted a garden. A teacher not only wanted to teach gardening skills but she also wanted to instill a sense of community purpose within her young students.
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Happy Father’s Day
He beamed with pride on our birth. He understood worry upon our birth. He is the giant by which we would judge all men. He protected us. He provided for us. He often sacrificed time with us to provide for us. He spent time with us.
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Thumbs up
THUMBS UP: To Stevie Young of Valdosta. The owner of Artistic Taxidermy, Young won Best in the World, Turkey, in the 2013 World Taxidermy Championship. His eastern wild turkey display dominated the competition, earning him the distinction of best in the world. Another title for TitleTown!
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Canning preserves food, way of life
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PSST!: Round Two!
With tonight’s opening of “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” Peach State Summer Theatre presents its second show of the 2013 season.
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A responsible fix for pets
The photo and story in Sunday’s paper about the dog whose owners had left him tied up with an electrical cord elicited a tremendous response from readers, outraged at the dog’s treatment.
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A band-aid in a crisis?
The announcement Monday by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities that a crisis stabilization center will be built in Lowndes County is good news for some, not so great for others.
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Slowing down for summer
Twenty-some years ago, it seemed Valdosta and South Georgia slowed down for the summer. School was out. Controversies seemed to dwindle. People seemed to work shorter hours despite the longer days.
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Charity never tasted so good
