VALDOSTA, Ga. - Top-ranked Valdosta State stymied the high-powered offense of Angelo State as the Blazers defeated the Rams 37-3 in non-conference football action at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium Saturday evening.
With the win, Valdosta State improved to 3-0 on the year while Angelo State fell to 1-3.
ASU entered Saturday's action ranked 12th nationally at 523.3 yards of total offense per game, but saw Valdosta State surrendered just 294, 230 below the Rams' average. The Ram rushing attack, which averaged 287.0 yards per game entering the contest, tallied just 204 against the Blazers while Angelo State managed just 90 passing yards in the game. The lack of offense showed up on the scoreboard as ASU was held to 29 points under its season average.
Meanwhile, Valdosta State's offense continued to roll as the Blazers totaled 455 yards of total offense, including 200 rushing and 255 through the air.
The Blazer defense made its presence known early on a pair of big plays by cornerback Dominique Wheeler. On the first drive of the game, Angelo State moved into Valdosta State territory before Wheeler stepped in front of a Kyle Wheeler pass for an interception. Wheeler came up with his second turnover of the game on the next drive to stop a potential scoring drive as he picked up a Wheeler fumble on the Blazer 14 yard line and returned the ball 86 yards for a touchdown to put VSU in front.7-0 with 8:25 to play in the first quarter.
After the VSU defense forced a punt on the ensuing drive, Regginald Lewis returned the kick 39 yards to the ASU 25. Five plays later, Cayden Cochran found Seantavious Jones from six yards out to post the Blazers to a two touchdown lead.
Anthony Pistelli kicked field goals of 30 and 25 yards in the second quarter to push the Valdosta State advantage to 20-0 entering halftime.
Most of the ASU yardage came during the first half of play, as the Rams finished the first 30 minutes of action with 172 yards of total offense, including 144 on the ground. However, after the Washington fumble on the second Ram drive of the game, Angelo State managed just one other scoring opportunity in the half, which went for naught when Rhett Peterson missed a 30-yard field goal.
Angelo State snapped Valdosta State's shutout streak at six quarters on its first drive of the second half as Peterson kicked a 38-yard field goal to top off a 14-play, 64-yard drive that took 6:10 off of the clock. The points were the first allowed by VSU's Black Swarm defense in 104 minutes and 54 seconds, dating back to a touchdown by Fort Valley State with 7:38 to play in Valdosta State's season opener.
The Blazers wasted little time in answering the field goal as, on the ensuing drive, Cochran hooked up with Willie Downs three times for 57 yards, the last of which covered 37 yards for a touchdown that gave VSU a 27-3 lead with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter.
Pistelli added a 39-yard field goal with 11:43 to play in the game while Austin Scott scored on a 10-yard run, on a drive in which he gained 53 yards on the ground, for the game's final points with 3:59 remaining.
Downs had eight catches for 160 yards and a score in the game while Cedric O'Neal carried the ball 15 times for 103 yards. Cochran completed 25-of-38 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
Jeremy Grable led the Valdosta State defense with 14 tackles while Chris Pope finished the game with 10, which moved him into third-place on the VSU career tackles list with 305. Only former Blazer Larry Dean, who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings after finishing his Valdosta State career with 368 tackles, and former Atlanta Falcon Pro Bowler Jessie Tuggle, who had 340 tackles in his four years at Valdosta State, stand ahead of Pope in career tackles at Valdosta State.
Jermie Calhoun carried the ball 17 times for 97 yards for Angelo State while Washington, who entered the game averaging more than 93 yards per game rushing, was held to just 42 in the game. Rush Seaver had 10 tackles to lead the Rams defensively.
Valdosta State remains at home next weekend as it hosts the Gulf South Conference's newest squad, Florida Tech, at 3:00 p.m. in Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
