VALDOSTA, Ga. – A career-high and school-record 246 receiving yards by Valdosta State junior wide receiver Brian Saunds and three rushing touchdowns from sophomore running back Seth McGill, helped lead the top-ranked Blazers to a 55-28 victory on Homecoming Saturday evening at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.  The win marked the 22^nd-straight victory for the Blazers. 
 
VSU (7-0, 5-0 Gulf South Conference) also had a season-high 642 yards of total offense, tying for the fifth-most in school history with the same output on Oct. 1, 2016, versus Kentucky State.  Saunds' 246 yards came on just 10 receptions as he had one touchdown in the game.  He broke the previous school-record of 232 set by Reggie Mosley on Nov. 11, 2000, versus West Georgia.  Saunds' outing marked the tenth-most receiving yards in GSC history for an individual player and the third-most in NCAA Division II this season.    
 
The Blazers finished the game with 304 yards rushing and season-high 338 through the air.  VSU had 41 rushing attempts and went 20 of 30 passing with one interception.  McGill had 12 carries for 89 yards and a career-high three touchdown runs, while junior quarterback Rogan Wells had six carries for 83 yards and a 69-yard touchdown run.  He also went 20 of 29 passing for 338 yards and threw three touchdowns.  Senior Quahlin Patterson had five carries for 18 yards and a late touchdown run. 
 
Florida Tech (3-4, 1-3 GSC) was definitely up for the challenge in the game as it answered each VSU score in the first quarter.  After trailing for the first time all season last week, the Blazers took their opening possession 80 yards in 13 plays and 6:19 on the clock as Wells hit junior Lio'undre Gallimore for a six-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 5:30 left in the first quarter. 
 
Panther quarterback Trent Chmelik hit Daniel Richardson over the top for a 51-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive.  VSU responded in kind as McGill scored from 13-yards out for a 14-7 lead with 2:16 left in the quarter. 
 
Florida Tech used both Chmelik and redshirt freshman Mike Diliello under center as Diliello rushed for 18 yards to the VSU three after Chmelik tossed a 41-yard strike to Damien McGhee to set the Panthers up.  Diliello then called his own number for a 14-14 score with 33 seconds left in an eventful first quarter.
 
VSU went ahead early in the second quarter with McGill's second touchdown run for a 21-21 score, but FT responded, once again as the Panthers used the two quarterback system and moved down field to the VSU 33.  Chmelik hit McGhee for a 33-yard touchdown to tie the game. 
 
From there, VSU turned the game as it scored two touchdowns in five plays first with a 62-yard touchdown catch from Saunds and then Wells showed off his elusive quickness with a 69-yard touchdown run for a 34-21 lead, with 7:11 left in the half. 
 
The Blazer "D" stood tall on a 4^th and two from the VSU 19 as junior Ja'Davien Williams and senior Antonio Howard came up with a huge tackle on Corey Lane for one yard giving the Blazers the ball back with 2:48 left in the half.  
 
Wells hit Saunds again for 46 yards down to the FT six yard-line and then he hit senior Travis Taylor in the end zone for a 41-21 score at intermission.  At the half, VSU had 446 yards of offense on 40 plays, while FT had 301 yards on 31 plays.  Saunds had seven catches for 194 yards and a score in the first half alone. 
 
After all of the crazy scoring in the first half, neither team scored in the third quarter, as the rain and wind began to pick up.  On the first play from scrimmage in the fourth, McGill scampered 19-yards for his third rushing score and a 48-21 lead. 
 
The Panthers then scored on a Diliello touchdown pass to Miles Kelly for 14 yards with 8:28 left.  Florida Tech tried the onside kick, but senior Bryndan McCoy recovered sand returned the kick 29 yards to the FT 13.  Patterson scored on three-straight rushes for a 55-28 final margin.
 
Diliello had ten rushes for 50 yards and a score in the game for the Panthers, while he was 3 of 5 passing for 29 yards and a touchdown. Chmelik went 13 of 27 passing for 235 yards and two scores.  Kelly had five receptions for 70 yards and a score. 
 
VSU senior Dalton Mydell had a team-high eight tackles as the Blazers recorded three sacks in the game for 16 yards, while recording five pass breakups.  FT had one sack and four tackles for loss in the game.  Malachi Timberlake for the Panthers had an interception in the end zone. 
 
The Blazers return to the road and go for win number 23-straight to tie the Gulf South Conference record set by North Alabama (1994-95) at North Greenville on Saturday at 4 p.m.  Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the game at vstateblazers.com on the football schedule page.  The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ with Spencer Van Horn and Wade Beale having the call of the game.