Football opponent outlook: Fort Valley State

Fort Valley State Athletics

The Valdosta State Blazers and Fort Valley State Wildcats meet Sept. 8 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will mark the first meeting between the two teams since 2008.
The Blazers own a 16-3 all-time advantage against the Wildcats, including an 8-game winning streak.

2011 recap

Last season, Fort Valley finished with a 2-8 record, including a 38-29 loss to rival Albany State on the final weekend of the regular season. The two teams played in front of 21,953 fans. The game was just one of four games the Wildcats played in front of more than 10,000-plus fans.
The Wildcats averaged 24.2 points per game in 2011, but allowed 28.5 points per contest. Offensively, the Wildcats played a lot of young players that showed a promise for the future. The Wildcats averaged 304 yards per game but allowed over 385. True freshman Travis Richmond led the team in rushing with 574 yards and five touchdowns. At the quarterback position, Fort Valley featured a four quarterback system, all of whom attempted at least 33 passes. True freshman Cameron Pearson finished the season with 608 yards and 7 touchdowns; junior Antonio Henton had a team-high 688 yards with 7 touchdowns. Regardless of the quarterback, wide receiver Chris Slaughters was the go-to guy. Slaughter finished the season with 49 receptions for 957 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Defensively, Courtne Daniels led the team with 95 tackles and a team-high 5 sacks. Ricky Johnson was second on the team in tackles with 90 and had a team-high 2 interceptions.

2012 outlook

The Wildcats have a lot of promise coming back on the offensive side of the football. Richmond, Pearson and Slaughter are all back this season, although Pearson will battle with Henton for the starting quarterback job during preseason practice.
Defensively, the Wildcats will look to replace last season's top four leading tacklers, all of whom were seniors in 2011.
Fort Valley will surely be tested the first two weeks of the season. The Wildcats open the regular season Sept. 1 at Delta State in Cleveland, Miss. before visiting Valdosta State the following week. Fort Valley returns home for back-to-back home games to start Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

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