THE BASICS:
SCORE: #13 Valdosta State 63, Mississippi College 42
RECORDS: Valdosta State 5-0 (3-0 GSC), Mississippi College 2-2 (0-2 GSC)
LOCATION: Clinton, Miss.
THE LEAD: Behind a season-high 63 points and 614 yards, the No. 13 Valdosta State football team posted a 63-42 victory at Mississippi College Saturday evening. VSU sophomore quarterback Rogan Wells threw a career-high six touchdown passes in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- MC took an early lead with a 38-yard scamper for a 7-0 lead with 10:29 let in the first quarter.
- Sophomore Brian Saunds caught the first of six TD strikes from Wells for 10 yards and a 7-7 score on the ensuing drive.
- Early in the second quarter, which saw seven touchdowns between the two teams and 49 points combined with 35 from VSU, the Choctaws took a 14-7 lead as quarterback Detric Hawthorn called his own number for a score with 13:11 left in the half.
- Wells found junior Darrel Myers for the first of two touchdowns for Myers on a streak for 24-yards and a 14-14 score.
- On the ensuing MC drive, junior Darius Smalls stripped Choctaw backup quarterback Aaron Feazelle and recovered at the MC 33.Hawthorn left the game for a few plays after receiving a huge hit the play before the fumble.
- VSU took its first lead as redshirt freshman Jamar Thompkins scored from 43 yards out for a 21-14 VSU lead.
- Following a MC touchdown, VSU regained the lead at 28-21 as Wells found Myers for an eight-yard strike with 6:02 left in the half.
- After a MC punt and a great return by Saunds inside Choctaw territory, Wells found junior Lio'undreGallimore for a 42-yard strike and Wells' fourth touchdown of the half for a 35-21 lead.
- Thompkins wasn't finished as he scampered for 68-yards late in the half and a 42-21 lead at intermission.
- Saunds scored from 50 out for a 49-21 lead with 9:28 left in the third, but the Choctaws kept fighting and cut the deficit to 14 at 49-35.
- However, VSU dug deep and Wells called his own number for a 56-35 lead with 1:23 left in the third.
- On a dropped snap by Wells, he picked up the ball and found a streaking senior Stewart Spence down the sideline for a 37 yard touchdown and his career-best sixth touchdown pass of the game for a 63-35 lead with 9:04 left.
- MC scored one more touchdown as Feazelle rushed from two yards out for the final margin of 63-42.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- In a game that saw a combined 1,129 yards of offense and 15 touchdowns, the Blazers tallied 614 yards of offense for a season-high and the most in the Kerwin Bell era.
- VSU had a Bell era-high 63 points, 319 yards rushing and matched the Bell-era high for passing touchdowns with six.
- The 63 points by VSU marked the most in the series between the two teams as VSU improved to 10-8-1 against the Choctaws and has won nine-straight in the series.
- Wells went 13 of 21 for 295 yards six touchdowns, two interceptions, while running for a score.
- Thompkins had a career-high 180 yards on just eight carries for a 22.5 average per carry and two touchdowns, while freshman and reigning GSC Freshman of the Week, Seth McGill, had nine carries for 111 yards.
- Saunds caught three balls for 65 yards, while Myers had three catches for a game-high 81 yards and two touchdowns.
- Defensively, the Blazers were led by senior Guito Ervilus with 11 total tackles and ten solo stops, along with one tackle for loss.
- VSU tallied 77 tackles in the game, while MC dominated the time of possession 41:18 to 18:42 as the Choctaws run the option.
- The Blazers had seven scoring drives of under two minutes and four of under a minute.
- VSU entered the game leading the nation in scoring offense at 52.5 points per game and now is averaging 54.6, while allowing 17.2.
- The win gave VSU its first 5-0 start since 2007 and the first 3-0 start in GSC play since 2007, while ending the month of September unblemished for the first time since 2011 when playing four or more games in the month.
UP NEXT:
- The Blazers return home to host Delta State Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
