VALDOSTA —
Valdosta State football players Gerald Ford and Quin Roberson were named Gulf South Conference Players of the Week for performances in the Blazers’ 62-14 win over Fort Valley State Saturday night.
Ford, a 6-foot-3 junior wide receiver, hauled in three touchdowns on just five catches for a game-high 152 yards receiving and was named the Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
With the game tied at 7-7 in the first quarter, Valdosta State quarterback Graham Craig found Ford for a 36-yard touchdown that gave the Blazers the lead.
Just minutes into the second quarter, Ford and Craig hooked up again for a 12-yard touchdown connection, giving the Blazers a 13-7 lead.
The duo connected again just minutes into the third quarter, when Craig found a wide-open Ford across the middle for a 50-yard scoring play, their longest of the day.
The game was Ford’s first at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium since the end of the 2010 season. He missed the entire 2011 season due to academic issues.
More importantly, the win ended Valdosta State’s four-game losing streak, the second longest streak in school history.
“It was a great way to bounce back,” Ford told reporters after the game. “We have bigger things on our mind. This is just a stepping stone to the bigger goal. So we just take it one step at a time.”
Roberson was named the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week after racking up 129 punt return yards (a 32.3-yard average), the 10th most in conference single-game history.
The largest chunk of return yards came in the fourth quarter when Roberson broke free for a school-record 94-yard punt return, which extended the Blazers’ lead to 55-14. The return broke the previous school-record of 81 yards, which was also held by Roberson.
The punt return was simply a way for Roberson to contribute after not recording a reception in a game for just the second-time in his two-year VSU career.
Blazers move up two spots in poll
The Blazers moved up two spots to 18th in the latest release of the American Football Coaches’ Association Division II poll.
Pittsburg State received 29 first place votes and remains the nation’s top-ranked team. Minnesota-Duluth, Colorado State-Pueblo, Grand Valley State and Winston-Salem State round out the top five.
VSU’s first opponent of the season, Saginaw Valley State, moved up eight spots and is now ranked 10th. The Blazers’ 10th opponent of the year, Texas A&M-Kingsville, made the biggest jump in the poll, going from 24th to 14th.
West Alabama dropped from 13th to 24th and Delta State is ranked 25th.
West Georgia (2-0) is receiving votes for the top 25.
The Blazers (1-1) face Angelo State Saturday at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game is part of the Lone Star Football Festival, a three-day event featuring six games college games. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Eastern.
Local Sports
Ford, Roberson named Players of Week
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VSU eliminated
Valdosta State softball’s bid for a national title repeat came up short this season.
The Blazers were eliminated from the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament Saturday with a 7-5 loss in nine innings to Armstrong Atlantic University, a school based off the Georgia coast in Savannah. -
Win or go home
The Valdosta State softball team faces Armstrong Atlantic University in an elimination game for the 2013 Division II Softball Championship Tournament today at noon.
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HOOPER: An early look at the 2013 football season
I haven’t written a column in quite some time, largely because there has been so much going on and we haven’t always had the space, nor have I felt up to it after writing so many other stories.
But today, I am writing this column and taking up the inches in the daily sports section and giving a little love to the upcoming football season. -
Blazers fall to Molloy in eight innings
With only one out remaining and trailing by three, the Molloy Lions strung together four hits to plate three runs in the seventh followed by another run in the eighth inning to defeat Valdosta State’s softball team 5-4 in the first round of the 2013 Division II Softball National Championship Tournament on Thursday in Salem, Va.
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Albritton, Johnson earn All-America honors
Valdosta State softball players Courtney Albritton and Morgan Johnson gathered multiple All-America honors late Wednesday night.
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Golfers take course for Wounded Warriors
Local patrons participated in the Wounded Warrior Project Golf Tournament at Stone Creek Golf Club in Valdosta on Thursday.
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Valwood football hosting 4-man scramble golf tourney
Head coach Ashley Henderson and the Valwood football team will be hosting a 4-man scramble golf tournament at Valdosta Country Club Friday, June 14.
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VHS football cheerleaders to host Junior Cheer Camp
The Valdosta High School football cheerleaders will be hosting a Junior Cheer Camp June 5 through June 7 at the W.G. Nunn Elementary School gymnasium.
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Gillespie, McPherson pleased with spring practices
Valdosta’s Rance Gillespie and Lowndes’ Randy McPherson both think their football teams got better during the recent 10 days of spring practice.
Then again, both coaches know their teams have a ways to go before the start of the football season. -
Signing day at VHS
It was signing day galore at Valdosta High School Wednesday.
Six student-athletes signed national letter of intents to compete at the next level, while two VHS athletes both signed academic scholarships to Division I universities. - More Local Sports Headlines
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