VALDOSTA — Three plays, three minutes and 48 seconds. That’s how quickly the Statesmen of Delta State cut VSU’s lead from 24-0 to 31-21.
Three straight times Delta State touched the ball, they scored. The final two scores came within 58 seconds of each other.
Valdosta held a 17-0 at the half, then scored again to make it 24-0. Then the Statesmen poured it on.
The first Delta score was a 19-yard touchdown pass from Dedrick Wilson to Jeremy Ricks.
It capped off a five-play drive in which Ricks gained 30 total yards on three touches.
The first extra-point try was blocked by the Blazers, but their second personal foul penalty of the drive gave DSU another chance. They capitalized, as Trey Adams made the second kick, and DSU had its first seven points of the game.
The Blazers answered right back, and it looked like they would be in control with their 31-7 lead.
But lightning struck on the ensuing kickoff.
Ricks made the catch on his own 15-yard line, broke a couple tackles, then he was off to the races down the sideline. Kicker Chad Gallahan was the last player Ricks passed by on his way to an 85-yard kick return for a touchdown.
Still looking to hold off the surge, the Blazers took the field and went back to work.
Rashawn Robinson took the first down handoff and busted seven yards.
Then, on second-and-3, a false start penalty moved the Blazers back five yards. Now they were looking at second-and-8 from their own 40-yard line.
Copeland dropped back and felt the same pressure he had felt all night. As he tried to scramble away, he saw a chance for a short completion.
Copeland lobbed the short pass, but out from behind a defensive lineman came Delta State linebacker Jerry Evans. Evans picked off the pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.
Delta State then scored 14 more unanswered points, and eventually held on for the 35-31 win in front of a stunned Bazemore-Hyder Stadium crowd.
Local Sports
Game turns on big plays in third quarter
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