By Austin Bruce

VALDOSTA — The No. 3 Valdosta State Blazers (7-0, 3-0 Gulf South Conference) built an early 21-0 lead and then grinded away for a 35-10 win over the Mississippi College Choctaws (0-7, 0-5 GSC) in front of the homecoming crowd.

The win was a notable return home for the Blazers after a wild sequence in the past month following Hurricane Helene. Saturday’s game was VSU’s first game at home since Sept. 14 against Fayetteville State.

In that timeframe, the Blazers had a home game canceled against West Alabama due to Helene, have had to stay in Atlanta prior to playing Shorter, and wrapped things up with an upset scare against North Greenville.

For Blazers head coach Tremaine Jackson, the return home has been a culture shock of sorts but is a welcomed one.

“I didn’t really know what to do at home,” Blazers head coach Tremaine Jackson said. “Some of the things that we normally do and the way that we prepare, we hadn’t done that in over a calendar month. There were some things that I was forgetting to bring over here because we haven’t been over here in a while. It does feel good to get back in front of your own people and for after a game to be able to go home and be in your own bed and be able to watch your own TV and not have to be on the bus for hours and hours and hours.”

The Blazers started things off strong against the Choctaws, recording turnovers on back-to-back drives to open the game.

The first of those came by way of a fumble as junior safety Dallas Robinson stripped running back Preston Godfrey of the ball.

The Blazers took the ball right down the field and scored a touchdown, converting a critical fourth down along the way. Senior quarterback Sammy Edwards ended the drive with a seven-yard touchdown pass to graduate wide receiver Tyler Ajiero.

The Black Swarm kept up the pressure on the next drive. Robinson came up with another takeaway, picking off Godfrey’s first attempted pass of the game.

Much like the first drive, Valdosta State’s second drive of the game ended in points. This time, it was senior running back Alfonso Franklin getting the score, running it in for a six-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.

Though they couldn’t make it 3-for-3 on turnovers, the Blazers did get a quick three-and-out to give the ball right back to their offense.

Edwards went for the home run on the next drive, hitting graduate wide receiver Rodney Bullard for a 56-yard touchdown strike.

It wasn’t a perfect start, as penalties put the Blazers in uncomfortable situations at times, but Jackson was proud of his team’s fast start against a unique Choctaw offense.

“We probably did some things that were uncharacteristic at times,” Jackson said. “I do like the fact that we were able to go down and score and start the game with getting takeaways on defense against an offense that, quite frankly, we didn’t know what they were going to do.”

Things did go awry for the Blazers towards the end of the half as the Choctaws found the end zone to get on the board. The Choctaws scored on a big fourth-and-goal call as running back Lamonte James ran it in from three yards out.

The Blazers then started sputtering on offense, with their final three drives of the half ending in a punt, a fumble, and a turnover on downs. Still, the defense continued to keep Mississippi College at bay to take a 21-7 into the break.

Valdosta State came out stronger in the third quarter as Edwards began dealing the ball to his receivers. Edwards wound up throwing for his third touchdown pass of the day, finding graduate wide receiver Xyre Wilson for a 29-yard score.

Things did stall out again for the Blazers, though, but their defense continued to hold firm against a run-oriented Choctaw attack.

Jackson credited the numerous coaches he called as his team schemed against the ill-frequent single-wing offense the Choctaws implored.

“We don’t normally see the single-wing,” Jackson said. “We normally see the double-wing. They used to be triple option, and we’ve seen that. But what they do is they presented different options. Shout out to all the high school coaches that we called across the country that gave us tips on what to do.”

The Blazers tacked on another touchdown for good measure late in the third quarter. Edwards tossed his fourth touchdown pass for the game as he connected with Ajiero for the second time, this time from 23 yards away.

The Choctaws would go on to kick a field goal in garbage time to give the game its final score.

UP NEXT

Valdosta State is off this week before they return to action at home on Nov. 2 against the Chowan University Hawks at 3 p.m.