Saginaw Valley game notes

SAGINAW VALLEY, Mich. — The Valdosta State Blazers kickoff their 2012 campaign Saturday against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

By the numbers

In 2011, Saginaw Valley averaged an impressive 31.5 points per contest, while VSU averaged 27.3. Offensively, the Cardinals produced more through the air, averaging 150 yards on the ground and 267.2 yards through the air. VSU averaged 391.5 yards per game last season.

Blazers looking for 21^st win on opening day

The Blazers are 20-10 all-time in season openers, including a 4-1 mark under head coach David Dean. The Blazers’ lone season opening loss under Dean was in 2009, when VSU lost to Newberry, 31-24. Last season, the Blazers beat Wingate University, 34-28, in double overtime.

Andersen listed as punter

Senior kicker Daniel Andersen is listed as the Blazers’ starting punter, on the latest depth chart, released by the sports information office. Andersen battled sophomore Dominic DeMasi for the starting punter position throughout training camp. He started as the Blazers’ punter in the 2011 season finale against North Alabama. DeMasi, a pitcher on the Blazer baseball team, is listed as the team’s second string punter.

Long distance, short time

The Blazers will travel 869 miles north to Saginaw Valley, Mich., the third longest trip in VSU football history. The Blazers flew to Saginaw Valley via a chartered Delta flight on Friday. The flight took just 1 hour and 45 minutes. Last season, VSU’s bus trip to Wingate was over 7 ½ hours.

Blazers non-shutout streak

The last time Valdosta State was shutout in a game, some current members of the Blazers weren’t alive. VSU has gone 245 consecutive games without being shutout. Central Florida, a former Division II school, last shutout the Blazers, in a 12-0 win on Sept. 14, 1991. The Blazers’ non-shutout streak is the longest in Division II football.

On the radio

For the third consecutive season, the Valdosta State Blazer Radio Network is the largest in Division II athletics. The Blazers can be heard throughout the state of Georgia, including in Atlanta and Macon.  In Valdosta, the Blazers can be heard on Talk 92.1 FM, 92.9 WAAC and The Jock 1150 AM, 96.1 FM. The games are also streamed live on www.thejock1150.com.

Thursday football practice notes

The Valdosta State football team held its final practice in Valdosta before Saturday's season opener against the Saginaw Valley. Here are various practice notes:

Without Reid, Blazers don't change game plan

Valdosta State head coach David Dean said the Blazers didn't change their game plan when they were informed they had lost cornerback Greg Reid for the season with an ACL injury.
"The things we were going to do with him, we just took it out," Dean said. "We didn't build our whole game plan around Greg Reid. We just put things in there that he could do for us."

Dean pleased with Wednesday, Thursday practices

After a lackluster practice on Tuesday, Dean said he thought the Blazers' practices on Wednesday and Thursday were much-improved.
"Tuesday, I thought we were very, very lethargic," Dean said. "It really concerned me. I thought Wednesday and (Thursday) we kind of got our legs underneath us and we got excited because we know the game is right around the corner. So, now, I think, the whole mental attitude has changed. It did concern me on Tuesday, but now I'm not concerned. I think these guys are ready to play."

Reid thinking over future

Dean said he is giving Greg Reid time to think over his future and what options lay ahead for the former Lowndes High and Florida State standout. Reid will take his redshirt season this year while he recovers from his ACL injury. Reid is eligible to enter the NFL Draft in April or return to any football team, at any level, including Valdosta State.
"He has had two big blows in about a month span," said Dean of Reid. "For his sake, he needs to sit back and evaluate his future. He is just starting classes here. He is just in his third week of classes here, so he is just getting used to what is going on. There is really no hurry in his decision, as for what he has to do. I am letting him, basically, take some time and evaluate what he wants to do, and whatever it is, we will move on from there."

Roelle won't travel with Blazers

After fighting an injured hamstring much of training camp, wide receiver Griffin Roelle will not travel with the Blazers this week after suffering an injury to his quad.
"The only positive thing I can say about it is that he hasn't done a lot with us this summer," Dean said. "So it is not like we had him and lost him. So, he is a factor. He does a lot of things for us. If he was playing, there would be some things that we could do that he does very well for us."
Roelle finished the 2011 season with a team-high 35 catches. Besides Roelle, the Blazers are relatively healthy heading into Saturday's game. Dean did say cornerback Manny Evans rolled an ankle in Thursday's practice and he was taken into the training room for further evaluation.

Captains named

Following Thursday's practice, Dean named the captains for the 2012 season. Linebacker Ryan Smith, cornerback Matt Pierce, defensive lineman Tyler Josey and offensive lineman Cam Short will be captains this season for VSU. Chris Pope is the fifth captain, but will not be eligible to walk on the field for the coin toss, per NCAA rules.

Five Saginaw Valley players suspended

Five Saginaw Valley State players, four of which were expected starters, won't dress in Saturday night's season opener against the eighth-ranked Valdosta State Blazers. 

The players were suspended after a hazing incident during the Cardinals' training camp in early August. All five players could face criminal prosecution, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

The five players, listed in the report, are: offensive tackle Tevon Conrad, a junior from Detroit Pershing; center Kaleb Forr, a junior from Davison; offensive lineman Jack Raymond, a senior from Macomb Dakota; defensive end Nate Snyder, a senior from Dearborn High; and offensive guard Jesse Somsel, a junior from Rockford.

All but Raymond would have started in Saturday's season opener.

The hazing victim is no longer a member of the school and is no longer enrolled at the university, according to the report.

The Blazers will be without cornerback Alex Webster and linebacker Trokon Gaye for Saturday's opener. The two are suspended for the first two games of the 2012 season. Senior cornerback Greg Reid will miss the entire 2012 season with a torn ACL.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Randall Harvey Wickes Stadium in Saginaw Valley. For updates from the game, follow @Ed_Hooper on Twitter.

Blazer volleyball ready to make title run in 2012

Katie Onushko (File Photo)

The athletic season at Valdosta State University officially begins Friday morning, when the Blazer volleyball team takes the court against Converse College at 11 a.m.

The Blazers will also face the Florida Institute of Technology at 7 p.m.
The pair of games Friday are part of the Blazers’ Fairfield Inn and Suites Azalea Classic, which features six teams, including Valdosta State, participating in a two-day tournament at the VSU P.E. Complex. Games begin at 9 a.m. both days. Albany State and Lander get the action started on Friday morning.
“I know some coaches that would rather go somewhere else on the first weekend and work out all the kinks and then come home the second weekend,” Valdosta State head volleyball coach Sia Poyer said. “But for us, for non-conference play, it is pretty hard to get teams to come here, for whatever reason. ... It is nice to start with our tournament, to play four matches on our home court. It is hard to get teams to come here, but especially with our schedule this year, we’re on the road a lot, we will take anything we can get at home.”

VSU soccer looking to avoid sophomore slump

2011 Freshman of the Year Abbi Edwards.
(Pat Gallagher | The VDT)

The Valdosta State soccer team begins its second season Friday. The Blazers will host Coker at 8 p.m. at the VSU Soccer Stadium.
After winning 11 games in the program’s inaugural season in 2011, the Blazers are looking to avoid the infamous sophomore slump, a decrease in productivity and wins from last season.
“We avoid that by staying focused,” said goalkeeper Olivia Mills. “We don’t even address the sophomore slump, because we don’t believe it is going to happen. And it is not going to happen. We are focused and we just need to focus on what we need to do to be the best in the game.”
With such a young team last season, the Blazers took the Gulf South Conference and South Region by surprise, finishing the year with an 11-6-2 record and knocking off heavily-favored West Florida in the first round of the conference tournament. The young Blazers lost in the conference championship game to more-experienced North Alabama.

Greg Reid to miss season with torn ACL

Valdosta State head coach David Dean confirmed Wednesday morning on a local radio program that cornerback Greg Reid will miss the entire 2012 season with a torn Anterior Crucitate Ligament (ACL).
On Tuesday, Dean told The Times he thought Reid would miss the first game due to his injury, but did not know the severity of the injury until later that night.
The former Florida State cornerback and punt returner, who joined the Blazers Aug. 14 after being dismissed from the Seminoles' football team for violating team rules, tore his ACL while returning a punt in the Blazers' final preseason scrimmage on Friday. He went to the ground after attempting to shake a tackler while returning a punt down the sideline. He was seen hobbling off the field after getting up from the ground. Valdosta State medical personnel escorted Reid to the medical training room, where he later reappeared with his knee heavily iced and taped.Initially, the injury was believed to be minor, as Reid was seen jogging off the field with his teammates Friday night.It was later learned that he tore his ACL."It is frustrating right now," Dean said. "He came into camp a little late and he gets injured. I know he is frustrated about it. It is was a non-contact deal." 
"Ion even know what to say... Or do?!! I never asked for all this all I wanted was to play football," Reid said in a tweet Wednesday morning. 
Reid was expected to start for the Blazers Saturday when they open their season at Saginaw Valley State. He was also in contention to be the starting punt returner, a job that will now go back to last year’s returner, Quin Roberson. With senior Alex Webster suspended for the first two games of the 2012 season, and Reid out for the season, juniors Dominique Wheeler and Manny Evans will join preseason All-American Matt Pierce in the secondary. "Dominique Wheeler, Matt Evans and Matt Pierce are all three good corners," Dean said. "I feel like we have got good secondary players. We would love to have Greg playing, he is a special-type player. But, we were going into the season without him. So that was just icing on the cake and now somebody has taken our icing from us. So we are going back with the guys that we had." Reid’s knee injury ends his opportunity for a redemption season before is ever really got started with the Blazers; a season that Reid was looking to prove that he could return to his hometown after his dismissal from Florida State and compete at a high-level while managing to stay clear of any off-the-field trouble that followed him around when he was with the Seminoles.

Greg Reid not likely to play Saturday for Blazers

Greg Reid returns a punt during Friday's scrimmage.
He injured his knee later in the scrimmage.
(Ed Hooper | The VDT)

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Valdosta State's newest football player, senior cornerback Greg Reid, is not likely to play Saturday in the Blazers' season opener against Saginaw Valley State, according to head coach David Dean.
"If I had a guess, I'd say no," said Dean of the status of the two-time Region 1-AAAAA Player of the Year with the Lowndes Vikings. "If you ask him, yes, he is going to play. It is just going to depend on what the doctor says, but I wouldn't count on it."
The former Florida State cornerback and punt returner, who joined the Blazers Aug. 14 after being dismissed from the Seminoles' football team for violating team rules, injured his knee while returning a punt in the Blazers' final preseason scrimmage on Friday. 
He went to the ground after attempting to shake a tackler while returning a punt down the sideline. He was seen hobbling off the field after getting up from the ground. Valdosta State medical personnel escorted Reid to the medical training room, where he later reappeared with his knee heavily iced and taped.
Initially, the injury was believed to be minor, as Reid was seen jogging off the field with his teammates Friday night.
Now, the injury seems much worse.
"It is frustrating right now," Dean said. "He came into camp a little late and he gets injured. I know he is frustrated about it. It is was a non-contact deal. He was running down the field and plants and kind of tweaked his knee a little bit. We will find out a little more about him. He went for an MRI (Monday) and he was going to meet with the doctors this afternoon. So we'll find out how he is."
Reid was not in attendance at VSU's practice Tuesday, thus making him unavailable to media. He did send out a string of tweets earlier in the day.
"This has been tough for me.!!... I can't quit," one of Reid's tweets read. "So many blessing came thru my life... Just hope They haven't ran out," another tweet read.
Reid was expected to start for the Blazers Saturday when they open their season at Saginaw Valley State. He was also in contention to be the starting punt returner, a job that will now go back to last year’s returner, Quin Roberson. 
With senior Alex Webster suspended for the first two games of the 2012 season, and Reid's status for Saturday, and possibly future games, uncertain, juniors Dominique Wheeler and Manny Evans will join preseason All-American Matt Pierce in the secondary. 
"Dominique Wheeler, Matt Evans and Matt Pierce are all three good corners," Dean said. "I feel like we have got good secondary players. We would love to have Greg playing, he is a special-type player. But, we were going into the season without him. So that was just icing on the cake and now somebody has taken our icing from us. So we are going back with the guys that we had. If we have him, and he is able to play, great, but if not, I feel pretty good with the guys we got."
A long-term injury to Reid’s knee would likely end his opportunity for a redemption season before is ever really got started with the Blazers; a season that Reid was looking to prove that he could return to his hometown after his dismissal from Florida State and compete at a high-level while managing to stay clear of any off-the-field trouble that followed him around when he was with the Seminoles.