NCAA DII FOOTBALL SELECTION SHOW - SUNDAY, Nov. 15th at 5:00 p.m.

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Facing a must win situation in Saturday's regular season finale at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in Valdosta, Ga., the Valdosta State Blazer football team stepped up to the challenge and used a stellar performance by EJ Hilliard to defeat Gulf South Conference opponent Florida Tech 39-21.
 
With the victory, Valdosta State finished regular season play at 8-2 overall, 5-2 against GSC competition, and earned the right to continue on to postseason play. Meanwhile, Florida Tech's season likely came to an end at 7-4 overall and 5-2 in league play.

Within the first three minutes of the game, it became clear that wide receiver Chris Anderson would become a key factor throughout the afternoon. Within thirty minutes after joining his senior teammates on field for a pregame senior recognition ceremony, Anderson hauled in back-to-back receptions to cover 48 yards and record his fourth touchdown of the season. The pair of catches put VSU on top 7-0 early and kicked off a performance by Anderson that included a season-high eight receptions.
 
Florida Tech answered back quickly, with six plays that covered 82 yards in just under three minutes to tie the contest up at 7-7. Quarterback Mark Cato fueled the drive with two completions and a touchdown carry from three yards out.

The Blazers were forced to kick the ball away on their next possession, but VSU's Black Swarm defense forced a three-and-out before handing the ball back to Hilliard and the Blazer offense. Valdosta State immediately went back on the attack with a 43-yard drive that senior Austin Scott capped off with a one yard touchdown rush. Following the score, the Blazers were forced to settle for a 13-7 advantage after a missed extra point attempt.
 
Both teams found the endzone one time each in the second quarter, which sent the contest to a halftime score of 20-14 in favor of Valdosta State, but Cato struck again within the first two minutes of the second half with a 76-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Kenny Johnston.
 
Florida Tech's 21-20 advantage held for most of the third quarter, and the Panthers even managed to stick the Blazers at their own one yard line at the 9:08 mark of the third quarter after a 39-yard punt off the foot of Cato.
 
Once again, the Blazers answered the call and marched downfield to the tune of five Hilliard completions and four Hilliard carries that help compile a 13-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that lasted nearly seven minutes and put the Blazers back on top. Valdosta State elected to try for two following the 6-yard touchdown rush by Hilliard, but came up short, resulting in a 26-21 lead for VSU.
 
Florida Tech appeared poised to answer on offense, but senior O'Neil Cohen came up with one of the top defensive plays of the night on a third down situation for the Panthers near midfield. Cato dropped back to pass, but Cohen slashed through FIT's offensive line and dropped the quarterback in the backfield for a big loss, which forced the Panthers to kick it away.

Valdosta State put the nail in the coffin on the ensuing possession with another time-consuming drive that ended with Austin Scott's second touchdown carry of the night. FIT's last effort to stay in the game was thwarted inside the five-minute mark by Raymond Palmer, who picked off Cato's attempt at a deep pass and returned it 48 yards to set up Cedric O'Neal for the Blazers final touchdown carry.
 
The Blazers' 430 yards narrowly topped the Panthers' 420 total yards, but VSU came up with big plays when they needed to and converted on 12 of their 17 third down conversion attempts. As a result, Valdosta State controlled the clock in the second quarter and throughout the second half with multiple clock-eating drives.
 
Hilliard paced the Blazers all day long, and his 24 completions and 294 passing yards both represented season highs for the senior. In addition, Hilliard tossed two touchdowns and carried one in on his own to account for half of VSU's six scores on the day.
 
The Blazers will now gather tomorrow to view the NCAA Division II Football Selection Show, which will air on ncaa.com at 5:00 p.m. on November 15th. CLICK HERE or at the link at the top of the page to follow the selection show on Sunday to find out what lies ahead for the 2015 Valdosta State football team. Also, be sure to follow the official Blazer Athletics Twitter feed (@BlazerAthletics) for up to the minute info.