VALDOSTA —
VALDOSTA — Valdosta State played one of its most thrilling season openers in its 29-year history last Saturday, when it beat Wingate 25-22 with a field goal as time expired.
Now it’s time to move on.
The Blazers will make their first road trip of the season on Saturday, when they travel to Newberry, S.C. to face the Newberry Wolves.
Moving on is a tough task, though. So much happened — good and bad — during the Wingate game that there’s still a buzz amongst the fans and community.
Head coach David Dean and a few of the players said they put the game to bed after reviewing film of it on Sunday. However, Dean said it was not easy.
“It’s hard when you win a big game like that to get past it,” Dean said. “That’s why college football is so tough, and the playoffs are so tough. You have a big win, and emotionally you have to put that behind you and start focusing on the next week. That’s not easy to do.”
One thing that is helping the Blazers is their senior leadership. All five captains are seniors, and the coaches have let them police the players.
“I know once Wingate was over and we got together Sunday, it was over,” defensive tackle Demario Jones said. “It’s time to get our mind refocused. The one good thing that our seniors are doing is it’s not taking coaches to remind the younger guys that this is a new week, a new team.”
Another reason the Blazers are trying to get past Wingate is because Dean and Jones agree that Newberry is a better team. The Wolves went 6-4 last year, but beat the Blazers 31-24 in the first game of the season at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. They lost several key skill players on offense, but return four of their starting five offensive linemen and an All-American safety on defense in Ron Parker, who made 10 tackles in last year’s game.
“After the game, and the way they won and celebrated, you could tell that was a big game and win for them,” Dean said. “That was (Newberry coach Todd Knight’s) first game as head coach, so they obviously wanted to win, and there was a lot of emotion. We accept that. It was a big win for them. Hopefully, if we go up and win, it’s going to be a big win for us, just like every one of them is going to be.”
Newberry cruised to a 55-0 win over Livingstone in its opener last week. The Wolves scored touchdowns on their first five offensive series, and Dean said they didn’t reveal too much of what they plan to do against VSU. There was no need to.
“Wingate and Newberry are similar in some ways, but Newberry is a much better football team,” Jones said.
Jones said that on film, Newberry appears to have a lot of confidence in what it’s doing, has a lot of speed and gets the ball in the hands of its playmakers.
“The biggest thing you see on film is they’re playing together,” Jones said. “Any time you do that, you have a chance.”
Back at VSU, there is one major question lingering heading into the latter part of the week. Dean has yet to name a starting quarterback. It will either be last week’s starter, Jimmy Coy, or the freshman who led the team’s game-winning drive against Wingate, Brett Whitmire.
“We’re still evaluating that,” Dean said. “We’ve got stuff in our game plan that they both do very well, so right now, we’re just going to evaluate it. We’ll go back and watch the film from (Tuesday’s) practice, evaluate it and make a decision after (Wednesday’s) practice of who’s going to start. When we go through our scripted stuff on Thursday and Friday, the starting quarterback is there and running it, and making all the calls.”
It might seem that the obvious choice would be Whitmire, but Dean was not disappointed with Coy’s performance. Several of his passes were dropped, including one that would have been a touchdown.
“Although he wasn’t in at the end of the game, (the players) know he played well,” Dean said. “Our guys know they didn’t help him very much with some dropped balls and bad routes and different things like that. They know it’s not on Jimmy Coy, it’s a team effort. They’re going to rally around whoever we put out there.”
VSU and Newberry kick off at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Valdosta State defensive end Marcus Nedd (49) tackles Wingate running back Nelson Woods (8) for a safety during the Blazers’ 25-22 victory on Saturday night. Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times
-
Wingate players Marquise Allen (12) and Cody Haffly (4) and Valdosta State defensive end Schneider Cineus (96) chase after a loose ball during the Blazers’ 25-22 win last Saturday. Jonathan M. Chick | The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Blazers refocusing
VSU travels to Newberry for this week’s game
- Local Sports
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
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. -
VSU soccer announces 2012 signing class
Valdosta State and Head Coach Melissa Heinz announced the signing of Blazer Soccer’s second recruiting class.
After bringing in a large class of 31 in its initial signing day, the now established program that went to the Gulf South Conference Championship match welcomes seven new players with a few more expected. -
Valdosta celebrates 2011 season
On Tuesday night, the 2011 Valdosta High football team was honored at the team’s annual awards banquet for a season that included the program’s first region championship since 2003.
The Wildcats went 8-3 in 2011, won their first Winnersville Classic in eight years and earned their 41st region title. -
Lowndes junior varsity tennis earns two wins
Lowndes High tennis opened up the 2012 season with a JV double-header in Waycross Wednesday afternoon
-
Lady Packers beat Lowndes, 55-48
The Colquitt County Lady Packers handed the Lowndes Vikettes a second straight loss Tuesday night, 55-48.
Jamesia Jones led Lowndes with 10 points, while Courtne Washington had nine. Tasia Brown finished with eight. -
Braves unveil another alternate home uniform
Hank Aaron recognized the look. Just not the feel.
The Atlanta Braves unveiled a new alternate home uniform Monday that is based on the attire worn when the team moved from Milwaukee in 1966, with Aaron as its biggest star. -
Valdosta native Garland named to Armstrong Atlantic HOF
Armstrong Atlantic State University has announced its latest induction class for the Armstrong Atlantic State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Among the six inductees and one Service Citation award winner is Valdosta native Nikki Garland, who ran cross county and track and field with the Pirates.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
VSU's Harris suspended indefinitely
