VSU Advances To Super Regional Two Title Game

11/26/2012 1:10:12 PM

NCAA Playoff Bracket

Birmingham, AL—For the 13^th straight year, Gulf South Conference Football advanced at least one team to the NCAA Division II Playoff Quarter-Finals.
                The GSC was assured a Regional Finalist as No. 1 seed Valdosta State hosted league rival No. 4 seed West Alabama on Saturday VSU moved on to its sixth NCAA Quarter-Final contest in come-from-behind fashion, bouncing back from a home loss earlier in the season to UWA, 49-21. The triumph was the Blazers’ 16^th all-time post-season victory and was also the 97^th win for the Gulf South Conference in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
                No. 1 seed Valdosta State seeks to advance to its fourth Semi-Final round, hosting to No. 2 seed Carson-Newman on Saturday, December 1. Kickoff time is set for 11:00 am Central.

@ #1 SEED VALDOSTA STATE 49, #4 SEED WEST ALABAMA 21 (NCAA PLAYOFFS--SECOND ROUND)
                No. 1 seed Valdosta State (9-2) and No. 4 seed West Alabama (9-4) locked horns in Valdosta for the second time this season and VSU rebounded from a loss in the regular season by easing past UWA, 49-21.
                Hopes seemed bright for West Alabama in the early going, as the Tigers sprinted to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by quarterback Gary Johnson. Johnson lit the scoreboard on the game’s opening drive, running for a four-yarder and followed with a one-yard score on UWA’s second possession at 8:41. VSU pulled with two points with back-to-back touchdowns in the second frame. Running back Austin Scott ran for a 13-yard TD at 10:58, but the point-after-kick attempt failed. The Blazers settled for a 14-12 deficit at 6:10 when wide receiver Seantavious Jones’ 15-yard touchdown reception was followed by another missed point-after kick.
                West Alabama held a 21-12 halftime edge following Dakota Daniel’s 23-yard TD catch with 1:57 left in the first half, only to see Valdosta State outscore the Tigers in the last 30 minutes, 37-0. VSU piled up 23 unanswered points in the third quarter led by 16 points in just 21 seconds. Scott’s four-yard touchdown at 6:46 was followed by a two-point grab by Regginald Lewis and running back Cedric O’Neal’s 10-yard scoring scamper at 6:25 was capped by another two-point catch by Lewis. O’Neal added two more touchdown runs of nine and two yards and Scott rounded out the scoring via a 15-yard run with 4:42 remaining.
                Scott racked up a game-high 133 yards and three TDs on 20 attempts, while O’Neal added 50 yards and three TDs on 12 carries. Quarterback Cayden Cochran completed 23-of-33 passes for 240 yards and one score. The contest marked the 21^st all-time meeting between a pair of GSC members in the NCAA Playoffs dating back to 1989. Valdosta State ran its all-time lead against West Alabama to 29-3 and its home record to 17-1. Box score

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