This Saturday, the Valdosta State Blazers return home to face the West Alabama Tigers in Gulf South Conference play.

The game will mark the conference opener for both teams. On the season, West Alabama sits with a 5-1 record, with the only loss coming to South Alabama on the first Thursday night of the season.

Since the season opening loss, the Tigers five straight wins have come against Tarleton State (42-35), Central State (45-7), Arkansas Tech (17-12), Harding (31-17) and Southern Arkansas (38-10), which was last week.

Saturday’s game will mark the third road contest for the Tigers, while it will mark just the third home game for the Blazers. On the road this season, the Tigers are 1-1, as they defeated Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark.

Firsy year head coach Will Hall was unavailable for a teleconference; however here is a scouting report on the Tigers:

Hall is in his first season as the head coach of the Tigers. Hall is just 30 years old, however he spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Tigers, guiding the offense to playoff berth in 2009. Prior to joining UWA, Hall was mentored 2007 Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year, Scott Buisson, at Arkansas-Monticello.

Offensively, the Tigers have used three different quarterbacks this season. Freshman Kyle Caldwell made his first collegiate start last week, completing 12-of-21 passes for 200 yards with two touchdowns. On the season, Caldwell has completed 32 passes for 464 yards with six touchdowns, compared to just one interception.

Caldwell is listed at just 5’7, 149 pounds.

Wide receiver Gerald Worsham leads the team with receptions with 38 for 498 yards with six scores. Ken May is the only other Tiger with double-digit catches, with 19 on the season.

Junior Matt Willis gets the majority of the carries for the Tiger offense. On the season, Willis has 717 yards on 111 carries (6.1 average) with five touchdowns.

Defensively, the Tigers run a base 4-3 defense, with linebacker Deon Lacey leading the team in tackles with 49. The Tiger defense is improved, holding opponents to just 335 yards per game. The Tiger defense allows 149.7 rushing yards per game while allowing 185.7 passing yards per game.