CLINTON, MISS. (vstateblazers.com) — The No. 2 Valdosta State football team posted a 41-14 victory at Mississippi College Saturday afternoon. The Blazers improved to 7-0 on the year and a 4-0 mark in Gulf South Conference play. Mississippi College fell to 3-4 on the year and 2-3 in GSC play.
There were some inconsistencies in the final posted statistics, but VSU finished the game with 339 yards on the ground with junior Seth McGill recording two rushing scores and over 100 yards on the ground, while junior quarterback Ivory Durham also had a rushing score and redshirt freshman Isaiah Flowers also hit pay dirt on the ground. Sophomore kicker Estin Thiele went 2 for 3 in field goals for the game and had eight kickoffs for a 64.1 average in the game as MC had just one kick return for 21 yards. The Blazers were 10 of 19 for 107 yards passing as Durham was 9 of 18 passing for 97 yards, while freshman Sam Edwards was for 1 for ten yards. Neither team punted in the game.
McGill had 14 rushes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, while Thompkins had nine rushes for 74 yards and a score. Durham had seven touches for 55 yards and a score. Reigning GSC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, graduate student Brian Saunds, had three catches for 70 yards.
VSU recorded 23 first downs and the Blazer "D" stood strong as it turned MC over on downs three times and the Choctaws missed their first attempted field goal of the season. Blazer defensive back junior Taurus Dotson had his second interception of the season on the second pass attempted by MC.
The Blazers outgained MC 446-342 as the Choctaws had 342 yards on the ground on 53 attempts. MC didn't complete a pass in the game as it was 0 of 7 with an interception for no yards. Defensively, the Blazers were led by ten tackles each from sophomore Jaylen Jackson and junior Julian Baldi, while junior Jackson Bull had seven tackles with two tackles for loss and one of two sacks for the defense.
VSU was 6 of 10 on third down for the game and went 6 of 7 in the red zone, while it was 1 of 1 on fourth down and held MC to 6 of 11 on third down and 1 of 4 on fourth down. The Blazers now have won 11-straight meetings in the series and 12-8-1 all-time in the series, while improving to 5-4-1 in Clinton, Miss.
The victory marked the 27th-straight regular season victory and 21st-straight GSC victory dating back to the 2017 season. Moreover, VSU has won 32 of its last 33 games overall and 35 of 37 dating back to the last five games of the 2017 season.
VSU returns home to host nationally ranked West Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium for the annual Peach Basket Game.
