VALDOSTA —
— The Valdosta State Blazers beat Wingate 25-22 on Saturday, when Daniel Andersen kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired. VSU head coach David Dean said that since he came back to coach VSU in 2000, the Blazers hadn’t had a game-winning field goal until Saturday.
— Dean credited a very vocal crowd of 9,351 fans for helping the Blazers. Dean said the other crowd noise that he can remember rivaling the noise on Wingate’s two-point conversion try was when VSU returned two punts for touchdowns against North Alabama in the 2007 playoffs.
— Dean said he can’t say enough about the poise of the offense on the final drive. The unit moved the ball into field goal range in only 43 seconds, with no timeouts and a freshman quarterback.
— Dean said that when Andersen got the kick off, the first thing he did was see if it had the distance. Once he knew it was long enough, he looked to Andersen to see if his reaction was favorable. Once he saw Andersen jumping up and down, he knew it was good.
— Dean said that on the morning of the game, Andersen said he had never kicked a game-winning field goal in his life, and he hoped to do that some day. Andersen’s roommate, freshman quarterback Justin Roberts, said he hoped Andersen wouldn’t get a chance, because he thought he would miss it.
— Andersen was named the Gulf South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and the VSU Star Athlete of the Week.
— Dean said the game should not have been as close as it was. He said the Blazers made too many mistakes. One of Dean’s main issues was that VSU used five of its six timeouts substituting and getting the right personnel on the field. He said that was correctable, and the coaching staff will tell the players that they can’t substitute for each other.
— Dean addressed the wild ending to the first half, when Wingate scored a touchdown on a controversial call as time expired. Wingate quarterback Cody Haffly hit wide receiver Chris Bowden on a pass that was ruled complete for a touchdown. Replay showed that Bowden never caught the pass or had his feet in bounds. Dean said the official who made the touchdown call was 20 yards away, and it was his responsibility to see if the receiver was in bounds, not if he caught the ball. That official ruled it was a touchdown without consulting the official who was supposed to be watching for the completion.
— Dean said he’d probably get in trouble for saying it, but he said that the officials had poor mechanics. Dean stayed on the field into halftime arguing with the official. He said he told the official that when he saw the replay, and how he was wrong, then he should write a letter to every VSU player apologizing for costing them a touchdown. Dean said he told the official that it was the worst call in college football, which makes him the worst official in college football.
— Dean also addressed how VSU took a knee on fourth down with 0.7 seconds left in the second quarter, while trying to run out the clock. Dean said that if he could go back and do it all over again, he would do it the exact same way. He said quarterback Jimmy Coy knew what to do, but snapped it too soon and took the knee too soon. Dean took the blame, and said he didn’t go over that scenario with Coy before the game. Dean said if he did have to do one thing differently, he would have run the play clock down to zero and taken the five-yard penalty to get the game clock as close to expiring as possible.
— This Saturday, the Blazers travel to Newberry. It will be the third game of the series between the teams. It’s tied 1-1. Newberry beat Division II Livingstone 55-0 on Saturday. Dean said Newberry’s starters only played one series in the third quarter, and probably didn’t show much of what it plans to do against VSU.
— Dean said VSU and Newberry are similar. Both teams have big, physical offensive lines and fast skill players. Dean said he hopes VSU can find an advantage on special teams.
— Dean expects Newberry to be a hostile environment, like it was in 2008, when VSU won in Newberry, 14-9. Dean said the crowd gave the Blazers the business when they walked past them, and he hopes they hear it again, because it fired his team up.
— Dean said he hopes, but also doubts, that Newberry will have some first game-type blunders, because its starters didn’t play a complete game.
— Dean said that, on film, Newberry looks better than Wingate.
— Dean said two Blazers are questionable with injuries for the Newberry game: defensive tackle Demario Jones, with a right ankle injury, and backup guard Lance Helton, with a leg injury. Jones said on Saturday night that he’d be ready to go.
Local Sports
Notes from the David Dean Show
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Big win for Lady Blazers
Receiving little respect around the conference, region and nation, the Valdosta State women’s basketball team made a statement Thursday night.
The Lady Blazers put together an impressive defensive performance, mixed in with effective offense, to defeat the Alabama-Huntsville Lady Chargers, who entered the night tied for first place in the Gulf South Conference, 65-55. -
No. 6 Chargers rout Valdosta State, 87-65
The season-long struggles for the Valdosta State men’s basketball team hit an all-time high Thursday night, as the Blazers were blown out by sixth-ranked Alabama-Huntsville, 87-65 at the P.E. Complex.
“It was just a knockout punch from the beginning,” Valdosta State head coach Mike Helfer said. “Give (Alabama-Huntsville) a lot of credit for where they are. They are in the hunt for the league lead and they are a great program. They did what they had to do from the start, which was take control of the game.” -
Lowndes’ Chapman, Talmage named to all-star team
Lowndes softball players Ashley Chapman and Maiah Talmage have been chosen to play in the GACA All-Star Softball Showcase in June.
The GACA All-Star Softball Showcase is an annual softball game between top senior players from South Georgia and North Georgia. The game will be played on June 13 at Alto Park in Rome, Ga. -
Berrien, Cook, Lanier announce 2012 schedules
The Valdosta Daily Times has recently received the upcoming 2012 football schedules for the Cook Hornets, Berrien Rebels and Lanier County Bulldogs.
Lanier County kicks off regular season play Aug. 24 with a visit from Atkinson County. Cook and Berrien begin play on Aug. 31, when the Hornets host Worth County and the Rebels visit Calhoun. -
VLPRA group participates in Special Olympics
On the weekend of Jan. 20-22, 21 Special Olympic athletes from the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority traveled to Marietta to compete in the 2012 Special Olympics Georgia Winter Games.
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Lowndes, Valdosta close out regular season tonight
The Lowndes and Valdosta varsity basketball teams close out regular season play tonight.
Lowndes will host Coffee, while Valdosta hosts Tift County. The girls will tipoff at 6 and the boys at 7:30 p.m.
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VSU's Harris suspended indefinitely
A shortened, diminished roster for the Valdosta State men's basketball team took another blow Thursday following the suspension of senior guard Sidney Harris.
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Big weekend ahead for Lady Blazers
It might be an understatement to call this weekend’s two home games for the Valdosta State women’s basketball team a big deal, because that is exactly what they are.
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Blazers fall to Albany State, 7-3
The Valdosta State baseball team was handed a third-straight loss Wednesday night, as the Blazers fell to in-state foe Albany State, 7-3.
The Blazers were held in check for much of the night, despite being aided by nine Golden Ram walks. With runners on base, the Blazers were unable to produce enough offense to score runs, leaving 12 runners stranded in the game. -
Wildcats rally for 50-40 win over Brooks
Valdosta’s boys basketball team came alive in the fourth quarter, and rallied for a 50-40 victory over Brooks County on Wednesday night.
The Wildcats outscored Brooks 24-9 in the fourth quarter, and turned a five-point deficit into a 10-point win. - More Local Sports Headlines
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