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Brett GIlliland
Joe Chance
34
Winner West Alabama UWA 4-2 , 2-1
31
Valdosta State VSU 3-3 , 1-2
Winner
West Alabama UWA
4-2 , 2-1
34
Final
31
Valdosta State VSU
3-3 , 1-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UWA West Alabama 7 13 7 7 34
VSU Valdosta State 14 3 7 7 31

Game Recap: #17 Football |

Tigers Rack Up over 500 Yards in GSC Win at Valdosta State

VALDOSTA, Ga. – West Alabama racked up 503 yards total offense and held on at the end to notch a 34-31 Gulf South Conference football victory over Valdosta State Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
 
The win improves West Alabama to 4-2 overall, 2-1 in GSC games. Valdosta State dropped to 3-3 and 1-2. The win was just the third for the Tigers at Bazemore-Hyder in the 36-game game history of the series. UWA's previous wins in Valdosta were 39-28 on Sept. 22, 2012, and 38-14 on Nov. 4, 2017 to clinch a GSC title.
 
West Alabama held a comfortable 10-point lead late in the game until a special teams error set the Blazers up deep in Tiger territory in the final three minutes of the game. A 14-yard run by Seth McGill with 2:51 left cut the Tiger lead to the final margin.
 
Valdosta stopped the Tigers on downs with 24 seconds left to earn one last shot, but a sack by Jamal Ellis on first down and a pair of incomplete passes led to VSU defaulting to the old Stanford lateral band play as time ran out on the Blazers.
 
Ellis' sack gave him four tackles behind the line of scrimmage, while linebacker Mike Anderson led the Tigers with 13 total tackles. Kel Williams chipped in nine stops and Trevon Stanford chipped in seven tackles and an interception.
 
"We are just trying to stack days," Ellis said. "We are out here to give it our all and if we follow our assignments we earn the spoils."
 
"If I get there, I get there, but if I have zero tackles and we win that is what matters," Anderson said. "We knew this was going to be a tough game."
 
West Alabama had seven tackles for loss and Shamar Lewis added an interception.
 
"We did almost everything we could to give it away, but our guys kept battling and I am so proud of them," UWA head coach Brett Gilliland said. "The end result is we found a way to win and refused to lose against a team that just a few months ago was playing for a national championship."
 
The Tigers and Blazers combined for 902 yards of total offense, with West Alabama rushing for 327. Demetrius Battle led the Tigers with 114 yards on 17 carries, followed by Bry Webb with 98, Tucker Melton with 81 and Antonio Brown with 54.
 
"We have a three-headed monster in the backfield," Battle said. "I have power, Tony has speed and Bry is the agility guy. We just want to win for this team and when we put all three of us together with our front, our opponents will have a hard time stopping us."
 
Melton completed 14-of-31 passing attempts for 176 yards and two touchdowns. VSU quarterback Ivory Durham completed 17-of-31 for 215 yards and two scores. McGill led Blazer rushers with 69 yards on 15 carries.
 
"This is what we have been waiting on as an offensive line," Tiger center Kordell Wyatts said. "(Offensive coordinator) Coach (Don) Bailey finally trusted us to run the ball. It was a great physical game, so we had to run the ball better and we did."
 
The Blazers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, receiving the opening kickoff and putting together a 6-play, 70-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 7-yard pass from Durham to Ted Hurst. Estin Thiele's point after was good and VSU led 7-0 with 12:26 left in the first quarter.
 
UWA then went three and out, setting up Valdosta State to increase its lead to 14-0 when Akil Lampley blocked Trey Sullivan's punt and Council Allen fell on it in the endzone for the TD. Thiele's PAT was good and the Blazers led 14-0 with 11:07 to play in the first period.
 
"Most  teams don't recover after you spot  a team with an offense like Valdosta State has 14 points," Gilliland said. "I am so proud of this football team. You will always take a win on the road in this league."
 
West Alabama took less than two minutes to answer. Webb capped a 6-play, 82-yard drive with a  6-yard scoring run at the 9:15 mark in the first quarter. Gabe Dunkle added the PAT to cut the VSU lead to 14-7.
 
Darius Nalls and Webb had TD receptions for the Tigers. Nalls was UWA's leading receiver with five catches for 82 yards. Dalton Bailey collected four balls for 47 yards.
 
"We don't have anyone in this offense that is selfish and we feed off each other's energy," Webb said. "Our plan this week was to gash them and we overcame an early setback to do that. After Sunday we flush it and move on to get ready for Delta State."
 
The Tigers and Blazers swapped field goals through much of the remainder of the first half. Dunkle made a 41-yarder with 10:42 to play in the half and then a 30-yarder at the 4:11 mark to bring the Tigers to within a point at 14-13. Thiele was good from 28 yards with1:29 left in the second quarter to extend the Blazer lead to 17-13.
 
West Alabama capped off first half scoring and took its first lead of the game with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Tucker Melton to Webb as time expired in the second quarter. Dunkle's PAT gave the Tigers a 20-17 lead at the intermission.
 
VSU capitalized on a fake punt and a fourth-down penalty by the Tigers to regain the lead at 24-20 when Durham found Victor Talley for 39 yards and a score with 7:54 left in the third quarter. Thiel's extra point was good.
 
West Alabama answered with an 8-play, 53-yard scoring drive. Demetrius Battle capped the drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge and Dunkle's point after gave the Tigers a 27-24 advantage with 5:26 left in the third quarter.
 
The Tigers stretched the lead to 34-24 when Melton and Darius Nalls hooked up on a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap a 13-play, 90-yard drive with 11:16 left in the game.

West Alabama remains on the road, playing league-leading Delta State on the road Saturday. VSU is host to Mississippi College next week.
 
 
 
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