Blazers win the battle

By Bryan Fazio

October 28, 2007 02:43 am

— VALDOSTA — Valdosta State defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen summed up perfectly why the No. 11 Blazers defeated the No. 2 North Alabama Lions, 27-24, Saturday.
“When you get down to the fourth quarter, and it’s close, and you have two evenly-matched teams, then its just a matter of who has the most will, and who’s going to make the plays.”
On this day, it was the Blazers (7-1, 5-1 in the Gulf South Conference) who made the plays, particularly late in the game.
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the game, with the Lions (7-1, 5-1) pulling ahead for the first and only time, 24-20, with 1:24 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by A.J. Milwee.
The score was the second straight touchdown for the Lions, after a 7-yard run by Brandenn Pickett. Their offense was moving almost at will, amassing 274 total yards on 16 first downs through three quarters.
However, it would be their last score. VSU’s defense clamped down earlier in the third quarter, and throughout the fourth. In the game’s final quarter, North Alabama mustered just 72 yards.
On the Lions’ next drive, they managed a first down, before earning an illegal touching penalty and then falling prey to VSU’s defense. On second-and-10 from the UNA 35-yard line, VSU’s Jermel Daniels sacked Milwee for a loss of eight yards. It was VSU’s second sack of the day, and just eighth allowed all season for the Lions.
Daniels was one of the players that made big plays for the Blazers’ defense, coming up with five tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack.
Leading the way was the defense’s captain, senior linebacker William Montford. Montford had a game-high 12 tackles, two and a half for loss, and one sack.
Maurice Leggett also came up with a big play, ending that UNA drive with a blocked put, putting the Blazers on UNA’s 28-yard line. The Blazers would spoil the opportunity, though, as Willie Copeland threw an interception — VSU’s only turnover of the game — against the nation’s best defense in that category.
North Alabama couldn’t manage a long drive from their own 14, and the Blazers took over with good field position at their own 48-yard line.
VSU then came up with its most crucial offensive play of the game. On fourth-and-two, VSU coach David Dean decided to go for the first down rather than kick. His players converted, as Copeland delivered a 16-yard completion to Clay Callaway.
“I looked over when I was in formation, and saw it was fourth-and-2,” Callaway said. “We ran that same play several times during the course of the game, and they knew it was coming because of the formation. They pointed out that we were going to do the 5-yard hitch and they played it well. The corner played loose on me, and Willie threw it out there, and I brought it down.”
The play extended VSU’s drive, which ultimately ended on a 4-yard rush to the end zone by Michael Terry for the game winning touchdown.
With the offense putting the Blazers on top, the defense continued to come up with the all-important big plays in the fourth quarter.
When UNA went for it on fourth down again, Kenneth Hale stepped in front of the pass from Milwee to Jason Messing.
“We needed the defense to step up and make plays, and that’s what we did,” Dean said.
The final big play for VSU’s defense came on the Lions’ final drive, as Greg Petty picked off a last-second desperation pass to lift VSU to the win against the No. 1-seeded team in the Southeast Region.
The defense overcame several missed tackles early, and supplied the Blazers with the big plays they needed to win.
“We really didn’t get too worried,” VSU linebacker William Montford said. “They didn’t throw anything at us we didn’t see before. It was all a matter of us playing hard and making plays. We’re capable of anything we put our mind to. As long as we play hard, there’s no one who can go out and go down the field on us.”
The Lions put together the two consecutive touchdowns in the second half after trailing in the first 13-10 and surrendering an 11-yard touchdown pass from Copeland to Callaway with 10:18 remaining in the third.
VSU marched out to the first touchdown of the game and a 7-0 lead, on one of its biggest drives of the season.
Copeland rushed into the end zone for a 2-yard score, capping a 68-yard, 10 play drive lasting 4:29.
The Blazers offense was efficient in the first half, rushing for 124 yards on 21 carries for an average of 10.3 yards per carry.
“We mixed it up on them, and felt like we could run the ball on them going into the ball game,” Dean said. “When we needed to put together drives, we did it.”
The Blazers made the plays on defense, put together drives on offense, and also came through on special teams.
VSU held the nation’s No. 1 returning team to 17.5 yards per kickoff return, 11 yards less than the Lions’ average, and also came up with the big field goals when needed.
After UNA kicked a 32-yard field goal, VSU answered with a 25-yarder of its own to lift the score up to 10-3. After the Lions scored its first touchdown on a 6-yard pass from Milwee to Joemal Campbell, VSU’s Zac Williams came up with his biggest kick of the season.
Williams knocked through a 42-yard field goal with 0:25 left in the second quarter, breaking the 10-10 tie.
Williams’ two field goals, added up with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run from Copeland, along with a rushing touchdown for Terry to outscore the Lions.
Along with his two scores, Copeland had 24 completions on 36 passes for 252 yards. Lending two hands to Copeland’s 252 yards, was Cedric Jones who had 145 yards on nine catches.
Big plays by a team needing to win to keep their playoff destiny in their own hands brought the Blazers its biggest win of the season.
“It was a very emotional win,” Montford said. “It means so much to all the seniors. I know, defensively, we just knew we had to get over this hump after falling to Delta State. Everyone picked themselves up slowly and moved forward. We had a mission, and said we can’t let this stop us from where we want to be. And that’s in the playoffs, making a run for the national championship.”

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