VALDOSTA — Valdosta State is busy preparing for the most important game of its season right now.
Longtime conference rival North Alabama comes to town Saturday afternoon to meet the Blazers, and the stakes are very high for both teams. North Alabama (7-0, 5-0 region) is the No. 1 team in the South region, and No. 2 in Division II, while Valdosta State sits in third in the South.
Saturday’s game will kick off at 1 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
The winner of this game will almost be assured of a playoff berth, barring a late-season collapse. The losing team, on the other hand, will fall to third in the Gulf South Conference, and will have to hope the South region committee picks them. Valdosta State was third in the GSC last year, and the committee left them at home.
“We’re approaching this game like our backs are against the wall,” Valdosta State head coach David Dean said.
Almost immediately after the team got back to Valdosta, following Saturday’s game in Livingston, Ala., the Blazer coaches began focusing on North Alabama. The players probably started their mental preparations on the road home.
“We worked all day (Sunday and Monday) on North Alabama,” Dean said. “They are 7-0 and No. 1 in the South. We know how good they are, and we know it’s going to be a tough game.”
North Alabama knocked off Delta State 28-17 last Saturday, one week after the Statesmen beat VSU, 35-31.
Last Saturday, Valdosta State dominated West Alabama, winning 37-0. The Blazers showed little effect of the previous week’s heartbreaking loss to Delta State, scoring 24 points in the first half and holding the UWA offense in check the whole game.
“It was good for us, especially after the way we performed in the Delta State game,” Dean said. “It did wonders for our confidence to go out and start the game as well as we could have started it, and to finish as well as we could have finished it. Getting the shutout was just the icing on the cake.”
The Blazer defense, which will be tested by North Alabama this week, dominated the Tigers, shutting them out and holding them to 266 yards of total offense.
“They played very well,” Dean said. “West Alabama has gotten better each game, and we were really concerned about them coming into the game. It’s a real credit to our defense how well they played.”
The Blazers racked up 461 yards of total offense in the victory. Quarterback Willie Copeland completed 19-of-25 passes for 232 yards, with one touchdown, and ran for another score. Michael Terry gained 99 yards on 14 carries, scoring two touchdowns. Ten different VSU receivers caught a pass.
“Our offense had a good game,” Dean said. “We got a big lead, and that gave us a chance to let some of our (backups) play.”
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