MANKATO, Minn. — The Valdosta State Blazers couldn’t help
but chant it, “We’re going to the ship.”
The Valdosta State football team clinched its fourth-ever
trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game, beating the previously
unbeaten Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks 35-19 in the national semifinals
Saturday night in near freezing temperatures.
The Blazers will face either Winston-Salem State or West Texas A&M in the championship game next
Saturday at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Ala.
“It is really surreal,” said receiver Seantavious Jones, who
smiled during the entire postgame press conference. “We have worked so hard all
year. It is amazing.”
Playing against the nation’s third best defense, which
entered Saturday’s game allowing just 267 yards per game, the Blazer offense
overcame a sluggish opening 18 minutes and a 10-0 deficit and racked up 498
yards of offense and scored on five of the final eight possessions to secure
the win.
Quarterback Cayden Cochran completed 16 of 28 passes for 278
yards, including several down the field passes to Seantavious Jones (4 catches,
122 yards with a touchdown) and Gerald Ford (8 catches, 76 yards with a
touchdown), in the win. Freshman Austin Scott ran for 158 yards with a late fourth-quarter
touchdown.
Defensively, the Blazers stepped up after allowing 118 yards
on 22 plays in the first quarter and were able to limit the Mavericks offense,
especially in the red zone. Inside the red zone, VSU’s defense rose to the
occasion, forcing a turnover on downs in the first quarter and a field goal
later in the game.
*A full preview will be available in Sunday's Valdosta Daily Times.
— Follow me on Twitter at @Ed_Hooper.
*A full preview will be available in Sunday's Valdosta Daily Times.
— Follow me on Twitter at @Ed_Hooper.
