September 22nd, 2019 10:22pm
GSC Review Week Three
Scores & Analysis
(L) Shorter (0-3, 0-1 GSC) – 23
(W) Fort Valley (1-2, 0-0 SIAC) – 30
Saturday, September 21 at Fort Valley, GA
Analysis: Shorter went into this game looking for their first win in three years along with Fort Valley looking for their first one this season. You could tell Shorter is an improved team and I had them picked to win this one, but unfortunately, they obtained a lead and then lost it by halftime and never was able to regain it back. Shorter led 13-3 early in the second quarter, then they had two turnovers that Fort Valley scored on. Shorter left I know 4 points on the board potentially by going for it on fourth and 11 when on Fort Valley’s 30 yard line, and then missing an extra point, but the name of the game was turnovers and cashing in on them. Shorter had three and Fort Valley had only one. A tough game, but turnovers is what finally did Shorter in on this one, along with those four points that they definitely left on the field that would have helped them. Notable players were quarterback Tyler Pullum who didn’t have a terrible day by throwing for 27 of 44 for 243 yards and one touchdown along with one interception. Dejon Walden had one sack and two tackle for losses and AJ Millbrooks had one interception. I still think that Shorter has potential of winning two or three games this season if they can stop these turnovers, but next week they host the number one team in the country as Valdosta State comes to town and so it might not be next Saturday when they stop the turnovers from happening.
(L) Florida Tech (2-1, 0-1 GSC) – 28
(W) Delta State (2-1, 1-0 GSC) – 30
Saturday, September 21 at Cleveland, MS
Analysis: Florida Tech came into Cleveland looking to add another victory to their road warrior resume, unfortunately, Delta State has been playing like a pretty darn good football team even with the loss to the number nine team in the country in Grand Valley State, which Delta looked to be the better of the two throughout. It was of course pig picken, so the smell of good ole barbeque was in the air and the crowd was definitely into this back and forth game. This was also the GSC game of the week on ESPN3 and wow, did it bring some excitement with it. There were eight lead changes and one GSC record broken in this one. Florida Tech was without their quarterback who has been lighting it up lately in Trent Chmelik, but freshman Mike Diliello was pretty impressive handling the adversity and getting his first start. Most of the scoring it seemed like came off the leg of Delta State kicker Taylor Crabtree who set a GSC record of making five field goals in a game. Florida Tech made some long vertical throws during this game, but were constantly getting pressure in their backfield from Delta State’s defense led by Vada King. Delta State had a little bit of quarterback maneuvering to do as well when Patrick Shegog was injured and did not return, leaving the door open for veteran Breck Ruddick to come in and lead the way. Breck made some key plays, but also had a fumble late in the game deep in his own territory that the referees ruled him already down, but it was clearly a fumble recovery per the replay. A lot of jaw jacking going on between these two teams, but in the end, Delta State’s defense and special teams was a little too much for Florida Tech in this conference matchup. Each team had about 70 plus yards in penalties and Florida Tech had the only turnover in the game. I also noticed one other thing during the game and that was the clock operator who had the referees, the coaches and the fans all fired up due to stopping the clock twice in the last minute of the game when it should have kept running, luckily the umpire fixed it both times. Notable players quarterback Mike Diliello who threw for two touchdowns but sacked three times and Tyrone Cromwell who had seven tackles with three passes broken up for Florida Tech. Delta State’s running game was on fire with Deion Dampier rushing for 121 yards and a score with a team total of 284, and Leon Green had six catches for 54 yards and a score. Defensively they were led by Marvin Terry who had nine tackles, one and a half sacks, one fumble recovery and three quarterback pressures. Just to give you an idea of Delta State’s pass rush they had as a team six tackle for losses, three sacks, and seven quarterback hurries. Next up is on the road against GSC opponent North Greenville.
(L) Virginia-Lynchburg (1-4) – 00
(W) West Florida (2-1, 1-0 GSC) – 69
Saturday, September 21 at Pensacola, FL
Analysis: I’m not even sure Virginia-Lynchburg is in the NCAA. I heard thru the grapevine they are in some other national college division called the NCCAA. Anyway, it was a game on paper, but in reality, it was a good time for West Florida to improve in areas and get a lot of reps to their backups, maybe even let some students from the stands come down and suit up for one or two plays. West Florida’s quarterback Austin Reed did throw a pick on the first play of the game, but that is about all the success Virginia Lynchburg had in this game. Notable players were Reed who threw 18 of 28 for 274 yards and three touchdowns, wide receiver Quentin Randolph who had three catches for 100 yards and Evan Mitchell who had three receptions for two touchdowns. Ten receivers caught a pass in this game for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, West Florida was led by Ian Bush who had one sack and two tackle for losses and Gael Laurent had seven tackles, two for losses and a half a sack. TJ Williams had one pick. West Florida had 28 first downs to six of the opponents, 222 yards rushing versus -12 yards, and 351 yards passing versus 139 yards. I would say if there is still any areas to work on it would be in the kicking game. West Florida missed three out of five field goals. Next week’s game will see West Florida hosting Mississippi College.
(L) #23 West Alabama (2-1, 0-1 GSC) – 27
(W) #1 Valdosta State (3-0, 1-0 GSC) – 44
Saturday, September 21 at Valdosta, GA
Analysis: A matchup of two top 25 teams and the GSC opener for both, this one sort of had you on the edge of your seat into the fourth quarter, but I imagine not many Valdosta State fans, or players for that matter were ever really concerned about this one as the game went on. You could obviously see that Valdosta State is just on a higher level right now, not just in talent, but execution, than everyone else in the league, and more than likely all of Division Two. A heavily televised game in the southeast, this game sort of started out as a surprise because both teams were coming in as high powered offensive teams averaging over 40 points a game, but this was a defensive game primarily in the first half with Valdosta State only holding a 12-7 lead with 40 seconds left in the first half, but Valdosta State’s Rogan Wells and his offense showed everyone that they don’t need 40 seconds to score because they can do it in 26 seconds off of two big plays which took them into the half leading West Alabama 19-7. Third and fourth quarter saw Valdosta extend their lead, but every time they did, they allowed West Alabama to respond and score. Unfortunately for West Alabama, they could never seem to catch up with Valdosta State. Both teams improved in the penalties compared to recent weeks with West Alabama having five for 33 yards and Valdosta State having seven for 83 yards. I also thought it was as close as it was with West Alabama having five turnovers, but that just goes to show you that West Alabama was no slouch team coming into Valdosta’s backyard. I thought the coaching on Valdosta State’s part was excellent because it looked to me they were being aggressive and focusing on the ground game, simultaneously pulling some special plays out of the bag such as that Philly Special that was thrown by gritty wide receiver Brian Saunds to Wells. Quarterback Ivory Durham who came in a couple of series also showed his speed and elusiveness. Every team needs an Ivory Durham at quarterback. I thought West Alabama’s coaching was a little too conservative and you can’t be conservative going into the backyard of the number one team in the country in my opinion. You have to throw the kitchen sink at them, and maybe the plumbing wrench at them also. Notable players were for Valdosta State which is no surprise, quarterback Rogan Wells who threw for two, ran for one, oh and just happened to catch one score as well. Not sure why he isn’t the kicker and punter as well. This young man can do it all, and humble to go along with it. Running back Jamar Thomkins almost eclipsed the 100 yard mark with 94 yards. LC Gallimore had 4 catches for 62 yards and a score and Brian Saunds had 4 catches for 48 yards and threw for another one. Defense was led by Thomas Incoom again with 1 sack and Aaron Dawson had a pick six for 80 yards while Cory Roberts had a pick as well. Both offensive lines protected well giving up only one sack each. Fernando Ramirez also was three for three on field goals. West Alabama was led by Jack McDaniels who had a good night with two touchdowns, but he also had two picks, one of those for a touchdown which really hurt them. Wide receiver Christian Saulsberry had 5 catches for 100 yards, but Qua Boyd only had one catch for 4 yards as he was mostly covered up during the game by Valdosta’s defense. West Alabama’s defense played exceptional considering how long they were on the field and technically only gave up 37 points which would have been just a ten point difference. They were led by Jordan Graddy who had two passes broken up, Jeremiah Boyd who had 12 tackles and Tavarius Hutchinson who had 10 tackles. Next up for both of these teams is Valdosta State will travel to Shorter and Tuskegee of the SIAC will travel to West Alabama.
(W) Albany State (1-2, 0-0 SIAC) – 26
(L) #13 West Georgia (2-1, 0-0 GSC) – 14
Saturday, September 21 at Carrolton, GA
Analysis: This was definitely an upset for the GSC as West Georgia is pretty much man handled by Albany State at West Georgia’s first season home opener. Albany State was also 0-2 coming into this game, while West Georgia was number 13 in the country. Have not found out if Chauncey Williams was hurt or not early in this game, but he only had five carries for 15 yards and a score after coming off a 200 plus yard rushing effort last week. Quarterback Willie Candler for West Georgia had a pretty solid day throwing for 308 yards and a score, but was picked once. Establishing the run though was the order of the day and it seemed as though West Georgia did not receive those order from coach David Dean. Albany State, however, did and executed them to the fullest by rushing as a team for 253 yards compared to only 50 yards by West Georgia. This could very well have been one of those where West Georgia just thought they could show up and Albany State would just throw in the towel, but Albany State showed they can play with anybody on any given Saturday. Besides losing the running game statistics, everything else for the most part was fairly even. West Georgia is going to have to get back on track with their running game, and if it is due to injuries, they are going to have to perhaps convert a backup linebacker or defensive back over and give them the chance. You’re not going to be able to win much in the GSC rushing for 50 yards. Notable players for West Georgia, besides Candler was LaPerion Perry who had 62 yards receiving, and 92 yards on kickoff and punt returns. Shahin O’Neal had two sacks and Chris Blackston had 10 tackles. Albany State was led by quarterback Kelias Williams who was six of seven passing for 71 yards and a score and ran for another 52 yards. Tracy Scott, the North Greenville transfer, had 93 yards on 15 carries. Michael Green led all receivers with 99 yards on seven catches and one score. Albany State’s kicker, Ballinas, was also on fire by making good on four field goals, three of them 40 or longer. Jalen Bush led the defense with a pick and five tackles. Next up for West Georgia is a road game at Florida Tech.
(L) North Greenville (1-2, 0-1 GSC) – 27
(W) Mississippi College (2-1, 1-0 GSC) – 39
Saturday, September 21 at Clinton, MS
Analysis: Both of these two teams were looking for their first GSC win, and even though North Greenville won the battle on the stats sheet, Mississippi College won the battle on the scoreboard. North Greenville took an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but then Mississippi College regained it going into the half at 26-21. No points were scored in the third and even though North Greenville took the lead back early in the fourth at 27-26, Mississippi College never let up and scored again to go up by five, and then sealed it with what turned out to be the last score of the night by either team with a pick six by Derric Hawthorn. Statistically, North Greenville had 207 yards rushing to Mississippi College’s 177, 259 yards passing to 186, total yard 466 to 363, but three turnovers to Mississippi College’s two. Mississippi College won the penalty battle also with having only five for 51 while North Greenville had 11 for 110. Notable players were for Mississippi College, quarterback Detric Hawthorn who was six of nine for 186 yards, and Jaylin Jones who ran for 39 yards and three scores. Along with Derric Hawthorn’s pick six, Josh Miller had 10 tackles with 2 for losses and one sack along with one forced fumble. North Greenville was led by London Johnson who was 21 of 38 for 259 yards and three touchdowns, but had one pick and was sacked twice in the loss. Three running backs had over 50 yards each. Wide receiver Kyle Belack had 8 catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Caleb Bynum had 5 tackles, 2.5 for losses and half a sack and Cameron Payne forced and recovered two fumbles. Next up for both these teams is Mississippi College will go on the road to West Florida and North Greenville will host Delta State.
GSC Weekly Awards
Offensive Player of the Week
Week One – Valdosta State – Junior - Quarterback Rogan Wells
Week Two – West Georgia – Freshman – Running Back Chauncey Williams
Week Three – Valdosta State – Junior – Quarterback Rogan Wells
Rogan was in on four touchdowns this past weekend in its win against West Alabama. He threw for two, ran for one, and caught one. Second time this year and eighth overall. Very cool in the pocket and has some deceptive speed. He said earlier in the year he wanted to work more on his efficiency, well, he gets another A plus on it this week. You can’t ask for much better than 22 of 29.
Defensive Player of the Week
Week One – Delta State – Senior – Linebacker Vada King
Week Two – Valdosta State – Sophomore – Defensive Lineman Thomas Incoom
Week Three – Valdosta State – Sophomore – Defensive Back Aaron Dawson
The second Valdosta State player this week to win player of the week honors, this time on defense. Aaron had five tackles and a key pick six in their victory against West Alabama this past weekend. That pick six went for 80 yards and took place in the fourth quarter to basically seal the win.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Week One – West Alabama – Senior – Punter Zach Gaines
Co-Week Two – West Alabama – Junior – Tight End Tyler Butler
Co-Week Two – North Greenville – Junior – Wide Receiver Harold Hilton
Week Three – Delta State – Senior – Placekicker Taylor Crabtree
Taylor kicked five field goals this past Saturday for Delta State in their GSC victory against Florida Tech. His field goals were from 28, 24, 33, 31, and 38. Taylor is also seven of ten for the season so far and eight of eight on extra points. Oh, and he also does kickoffs too. They just need to start calling him Taylor Crableg instead of Crabtree.
Freshman of the Week
Week One – North Greenville – Running Back Dre’ Williams
Week Two – No Players were selected by the GSC.
Week Three – Florida Tech – Quaterback Mike DiLiello
Mike, who started in place of Trent Chmelik, threw for 309 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran for another score. Mike was very impressive in Florida Tech’s road loss to Delta State, especially standing in that pocket against that aggressive front seven of Delta State’s. He took a lot of hits, but kept getting right back up. Should be a good one in the years to come.