VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State football team needs a win Saturday to keep the playoffs in its own hands. In order to win Saturday, Valdosta State will need to keep the ball in its own hands, and not succumb to a defense that has specialized in forcing turnovers.
When North Alabama visits VSU at 1 p.m. Saturday, it also brings with it a propensity for stealing the ball.
The No. 2 Lions (7-0, 5-0 in the Gulf South Conference) have forced 29 turnovers in seven games, picking up 20 on interceptions and nine on fumbles.
The Blazers have had that in mind throughout the week prior to their most important game of the season.
VSU has been working on picking up on the Lions’ defensive schemes and keeping focus on holding on to the ball.
“We’re just going to go out there and play our game,” VSU quarterback Willie Copeland said. “We’re going to make sure we don’t do anything out of the ordinary to cause turnovers.”
The Lions pick up a lot of their turnovers on the pass, as their secondary is constantly hawking around the ball. Chief among those in pass coverage is cornerback Evan Oglesby.
Oglesby has seven interceptions in seven games, along with eight breakups.
“They’re very opportunistic especially, in the secondary,” VSU coach David Dean said. “They break on the ball very well when the ball is in the air. They have a lot of speed, and they read the quarterback very good.”
The Blazers will look to combat that with the efficiency of Copeland. This season, the senior has throw five interceptions on 257 attempts with a 63 percent completion percentage.
Two weeks ago Copeland threw two picks in a 35-31 loss to Delta State. Last week, he bounced back and had a solid game against West Alabama.
“I think he came back last week and had a very good game,” Dean said. “I thought he played with a lot of confidence. He did very well responding off the game he had at Delta State.”
While the Blazers will be looking to make good decisions on pass plays, on running plays they will need to keep the ball high and squeeze it tight from wondering hands.
“When the ball is on the ground, for some reason they have glue on their hands, and their defense finds a way to get the ball in their hands,” Dean said. “They scoop and score a lot. Their defense has scored a lot of touchdowns this year because they have created turnovers around the pile.”
While the Blazers are looking to keep the ball from being turned over throughout the game, they know if they do cough it up to keep going.
“If we get a turnover, we’re good at helping each other out,” Dean said. “We help each other out, say it’s all right.”
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Limiting turnovers vital for Blazers
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