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| West Alabama quarterback Gary Johnston is tackled by VSU defenders during Saturday's game. (Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times) |
Valdosta State will likely host Carson-Newman in the national quarterfinals next Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, although the NCAA will make a final decision on the location of the game today. Valdosta State, the higher-seeded team, could lose the opportunity to host the game because of a low attendance (1,984) on Saturday.
Less than seven minutes into the game, Valdosta State found itself in a 14-0 deficit behind a pair of early rushing touchdowns by West Alabama quarterback Gary Johnston. But then, the Blazers shook off their 23-day break in game action and dominated the Tigers, scoring seven touchdowns across their final 12 offensive possessions while playing dominating defense to secure VSU’s first playoff victory since 2008.
Led by a dominating performance from defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil (7 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble), the Blazers limited the Tigers to just 187 yards of total offense, including 69 yards rushing on the day.
Offensively, freshmen running backs Austin Scott and Cedric O’Neal each rushed for three touchdowns, while Scott ran for a game-high 133 yards to lead the Blazers to 458 yards of total offense on the day. Quarterback Cayden Cochran finished the day 23 of 33 for 240 yards with a second quarter touchdown pass to Seantavious Jones.
A complete game recap with quotes from coaches and players will be available in the Sunday edition of The Valdosta Daily Times.
— Follow me on Twitter at @Ed_Hooper.
