Box Score / Event Stats

Blazers Falls 24-14 to Ouachita Baptist

VSU allows 502 yards of offense in loss

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Ouachita Baptist tallied 502 yards of total offense as the Tigers defeated No. 12 Valdosta State 24-14 at A.U. Williams Field Saturday evening.

The Tigers totaled 129 rushing yards and 373 through the air, 261 of which were hauled in by Jeremy Young. Keldrick Johnson tallied 144 rushing yards, marking the first time an opposing running back has rushed for 100 yards against VSU (1-2, 1-1) since October 20, 2007, a span of 20 straight games.

Ouachita Baptist (3-0, 2-0) opened the scoring on its first drive as Jason Fowler kicked a 35-yard field goal. After forcing a Blazer punt on VSU's first drive. Ouachita took over on its own 35 and used 10 plays to move into field goal position. The Tigers appeared to get a touchdown on the drive when Johnson broke for a 17-yard run, but a holding penalty negated the run to force the field goal.

After Valdosta State blocked an OBU field goal attempt to start the second quarter, the Blazers grabbed their only lead of the game as they marched 80 yards on eight plays for a touchdown. The drive started with a Kellen Lewis-to-Kody Case 17 yard completion while two plays later Lewis hooked up with Jackson Dean for 20 more yards. An 18 yard reception by R.J. Bastone preceded a 12-yard Lewis run, moving the ball to the OBU three. Two plays later, Ronnye Nelson scored from two yards out to build a 7-3 advantage.

The Tigers quickly responded as they marched 79 yards on six plays for a touchdown. The key play of the drive came when Eli Cranor hooked up with Jaime Harris for a 31-yard gain on a second and 33 play. The next play from scrimmage saw Johnson go 45 yards untouched for a score and a 10-7 OBU lead.

The Ouachita Baptist lead grew to 17-7 in the third quarter as Cranor and Young hooked up for a 56-yard touchdown. The Tigers held their lead into the fourth, where Lewis and Case connected for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

OBU pushed its lead back to 10 points on its next drive as Cranor hit Young on a 60-yard scoring strike off of a play fake.

Lewis completed 30-of-53 passing attempts for 288 yards while Nelson led the rushing attack with 61 yards on seven carries. Gerald Ford and Case each had five receptions each while Larry Dean led the defense with 11 tackles.

Cranor completed 24-of-36 passes, 13 of which were caught by Young. Clayton Gore tallied 11 tackles to lead the Tiger defense.

Valdosta State returns home to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium to host West Alabama next Saturday, September 26. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.

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