y Valdosta State Athletics

VALDOSTA — The NCAA Division II finals await today.

Saturday, it will be either 12-0 Valdosta State or 11-3 Minnesota State packing their bags for McKinney, Texas.

VSU reached the national semifinals by winning the Super Region Two portion of the bracket last week, 49-14 over Virginia Union. The Mavericks of Minnesota State won Super Region Four by hanging on against Bemidji State, 27-23. On the other side of the bracket Ferris State takes on Slippery Rock.

Kickoff is noon Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta. For those unable to attend, TALK 92.1 FM will broadcast, with Wade Beale and Scott James having the call on the radio.  This game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Doug Sherman and Charles Arbuckle having the call.  

The Blazers are seeking their seventh trip to the national championship game as they have four national titles (2004, 2007, 2012, 2018), while Minnesota State is seeking its third trip to the title game and first title. 

Last week, VSU dominated No. 25 Virginia Union in all facets of the game as they outgained the Panthers 560-227 for the game and rushed for 223 yards, while throwing for 337.  The 560 yards allowed by VUU was the most it allowed all season.  

More impressively is how the Blazer defense shut down the high-powered offense of the Panthers, holding VUU to just 88 yards passing and keeping Harlon Hill finalist running back Jada Byers relatively in check as he had just 109 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown. Blazer senior quarterback Sammy Edwards was 13 of 19 passing for 302 yards and four touchdowns, while senior wide receiver Rodney Bullard had a career-high 158 yards on five receptions with three touchdowns.  

Blazer running back duo of senior Alfonso Franklin and graduate Blake Hester combined for 26 carries and 125 yards with two rushing scores from Franklin. The Blazer defense held the Panthers to the 227 yards as VUU entered averaging 474.5 yards per game for sixth nationally. VSU also recovered two fumbles by the Panthers leading to a touchdown with three seconds remaining in the first half giving VSU a commanding 28-7 lead at the break.  

Minnesota State enters with an 11-3 record after going 7-3 in the Northern Sun conference this season. The Mavericks have played three playoff games decided by a combined eight points with a 20-19 win over Augustana, a 26-23 win at No. 7 Colorado State-Pueblo and then the 27-23 win over Bemidji State last Saturday. MSU used a goal line stand and a blocked extra-point to prevail in the game.  

This season, the Mavericks are playing their 97th season of football and are 517-403-27 (.561) all-time in 974 games since the program’s inception in 1922 as a varsity sport. Minnesota State had three players earn D2CCA Super Region Four honors in linebacker Antonio Alzheimer, offensive lineman Marshall Forerner and defensive back Khai West.  

Alzheimer leads the team with 102 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss for 10 yards and 1.5 sacks for five yards. West is second on the team in tackles with 69 and has four tackles for loss two interceptions and one blocked kick. All three earned All-NSIC honors, along with running back Sam Backer and wide receiver/return specialist TreShawn Watson. 

Maven Kretche along with West and Alzheimer earned first team honors on defense, while the Mavericks had six second team selections.  Backer leads the team on the ground with 908 yards and five scores, while Christian Vasser has tallied 532 yards on the ground and five scores.  

Under center, quarterback Hayden Ekern has registered 483 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns, while hehas thrown for 2,995 yards and 23 touchdown passes.  Watson leads the team with 777 yards and nine receiving scores, while Grant Guyett has 574 receiving yards and six scores.  

The defense allows 23.4 points per game and 352.1 yards per contest, along with 141.4 yards allowed on the ground.  Head coach Todd Hoffner is 142-36 at the helm of the Mavericks including seven league titles. They were national runner-up finish in 2019 versus Gulf South Conference rival West Florida.

A total of six Blazers were named to the D2CCA All-Super Region Two teams which were announced last week.  Besides Harlon Hill finalist Edwards, along with graduate offensive lineman Will Flowers and graduate safety Larry Elder earned first team honors and move onto the national ballot for All-America consideration, while junior offensive linemen Jeremiah Mawali and Kenley-Mary Asse and junior linebacker Sterling Roberts were second team honorees.  This marks the second-straight year Edwards was named first team all-region, while this marks the first all-region honors for Elder, Flowers, Asse, Mawali and Roberts.