VALDOSTA — A game that was billed to be one of the best of the year wound up featuring one of the best comebacks of the year.
Down 31-7 at one point, No. 8 Delta State scored 28 unanswered points to overcome No. 5 Valdosta State, 35-31, Thursday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
The Blazers (5-1, 3-1 in the Gulf South Conference) led for all of the first half, but couldn’t hold on in the third quarter, as the Statesmen (6-0, 4-0) scored on special teams, defense and offense to pull back into the game.
Delta State overtook the Blazers with 11:22 left in the game, when Greg Betterson caught a 17-yard pass from Brett Hyatt, forcing VSU to play with its backs against the wall most of the fourth quarter.
The Blazers appeared to be in retreat mode for most of the second half, after their final score of the game with 6:38 left in the third.
Michael Terry had the Blazers’ last say in the game, running a 1-yard rush to the left side of the offensive line for six points.
Shortly after the score, the wheels came off VSU, as Delta State put up 14 points in just 50 seconds without even touching the ball on offense.
As the Blazers kicked off following Terry’s run, a lapse in their return coverage allowed DSU’s Jeremy Ricks to take the ball 85 yards to the end zone.
The Blazers were on offense for just three plays when Willie Copeland threw an interception under pressure that landed in the hands of Jerry Evans. Evans caught the ball cleanly and strutted 35 yards to silence Bazemore-Hyder Stadium and the VSU sidelines.
The Blazers offense couldn’t answer the two scores, punting after five plays to a momentum-assisted DSU offense.
The Statesmen then relied on their quarterback, Dedrick Wilson, who rushed four times on a 78-yard drive, including a 22-yard run on third down to keep the ball in his team’s hands.
The drive ended with Wilson throwing the ball, finding Ricks for 40 yards and a touchdown. Ricks was a thorn in the Blazers’ side all night, catching six passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
The Statesmen picked up 275 of their 462 yards of offense in the second half, due to the way the Blazers’ defense played in the first.
VSU’s defense and special teams allowed the Blazers to build a 17-0 lead after the first two quarters.
The Blazers opened the scoring, as Valdosta State’s Donnie Powell bounced off the line quickly, getting to punter Spencer Strickland and the ball. Powell chased the ball into the end zone and recovered for the Blazers’ first score with 12:41 left in the first quarter.
The Statesmen couldn’t get their offense to stay on the field, converting just 1-of-7 first-half third down plays and failing on both of their fourth down plays.
VSU capitalized mainly due to punter Stephen Wright. Wright’s eight punts averaged 45.4 yards, including four of them pinning the Statesmen within the 20, and three within the five.
Two of those punts resulted in four points on two safeties.
The first one came with 2:22 left in the first, as Travis Harrison and Demario Jones tackled Ben Stallings in the end zone, and the second one came when Jermel Daniels brought Hyatt to the ground in the end zone.
The Blazers were clicking on defense and special teams, and the offense got in on the fun as well with 11:55 left in the second. VSU drove 62 yards, as Willie Copeland tossed a 6-yard pass to Zach Parker. However, Zac Williams would miss a key extra point, preventing the Blazers from kicking a field goal late in the game to send it into overtime.
Copeland led the Blazers’ offense against one of the nation’s top defenses, throwing for 246 yards, as VSU finished with a total of 462 offensive yards.
Cedric Jones had 91 yards of receiving, with 24 coming on VSU’s third touchdown 10:28 in the third.
The Blazers will look to rebound as they travel to West Alabama next Saturday.
Local Sports
Valdosta State stunned
Delta State scores 28 unanswered points to topple Blazers, 35-31
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