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OHIO DOMINICAN NOTES

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VALDOSTA, Ga. - The top-ranked Valdosta State football team returns home to open the 2019 home slate versus Ohio Dominican Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m. for the D2 Football Showcase.  

FIRST AND TEN 

• The top-ranked Blazers open the 2019 home slate Saturday at 6:05 p.m. versus Ohio Dominican Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in the D2 Football Showcase
• Saturday marks the sixth time the Blazers have played in the D2 Football Showcase since its inception in 2006.  This will be the fourth home game in the Showcase for VSU as last season the Blazers downed Fort Valley State in the Okefenokee Classic in Waycross, Ga., 55-6. VSU is 2-3 all-time in the D2 Football Showcase. Darren Goldwater and Trai Essex will have the call of the game as the duo broadcast the Blazers' win over FVSU in the D2 Football Showcase last season.
• Valdosta State is in its 38th year of intercollegiate football and owns an overall record of 295-126-4 (.699).  VSU has the second highest winning percentage in NCAA Division II behind Grand Valley State.  Since 2000, VSU has amassed 183 wins and is tied with Minnesota Duluth for the third-most wins during that span in NCAA Division II.
• This is the first meeting in the series between Valdosta State and Ohio Dominican on the gridiron, but VSU head coach Gary Goff is no stranger to Ohio Dominican, as he was the head coach at Tiffin (Ohio) for the past eight years where he faced ODU six times.
• The Blazers are 31-6 all-time in home-openers and have won eight of the last nine home-openers since 2009, with the lone loss being in 2017 against North Alabama.  
• Saturday's game features two players who earned their respective conference weekly honors this week as VSU junior quarterback Rogan Wells was named Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Ohio Dominican sophomore placekicker Kevin Laming was named Great Midwest Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.  
• The Blazers enter Saturday's game with a 20-6 record all-time as the top-ranked team in the nation.  Prior to this year, the last time VSU was ranked No. 1 nationally was in 2013, where it began the season with four-straight wins at No. 1.  
• Ohio Dominican enters with a 1-0 record and is receiving votes for the second-straight week after a thrilling, come-from-behind, 24-21 victory at Shepherd on Saturday.  ODU was picked second in the GMAC preseason poll behind Hillsdale (Mich.).  Last season, Ohio Dominican went 9-2 and shared the GMAC title with Goff's Tiffin squad, though Goff bested ODU 24-23 last season in Tiffin.  
• This marks the fourth time VSU has played on Sept. 14 and is 1-2 all-time in the previous three games.  VSU lost to Fort Valley State at home in 1985 (17-3) and on the road in 1991 at Central Florida (12-0) in the season-opener in both years.  VSU last played on this date in 1996 with a 21-7 win over Savannah State in Valdosta.
• The Blazers own a current 16-game winning streak tying the school-record for the longest in program history as VSU won 16-straight in 2004 and 2005.  After losing the first game of 2004 at Albany State, VSU rattled off 13-straight wins en route to the program's first national championship, and won the first three games of 2005 before a heartbreaking 16-13 loss at Harding ended the streak.

 
NATIONAL NOTORIETY 
VSU has five football games to be either streamed by the ESPN family of networks or on TV this season, including three home games. The first game is the D2 Football Showcase game for the 2019 home-opener against Ohio Dominican on Sept. 14 at 6:05 p.m. on ESPN3.  The following week, VSU will host West Alabama for the first of two games scheduled to be broadcast in over 20 million homes regionally for the "College Football Down South" package.  It also includes the West Florida game on Nov. 9.  VSU also has two games part of the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week package this season as the Blazers will be at Shorter on ESPN+ on Sept. 28 and at West Georgia Nov. 16 on ESPN3.  
 
WELLS NAMED STEEL'S JEWELRY BLAZER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK 
Following his outstanding performance throwing 23 of 26 with 215 yards and two touchdowns Saturday at Albany State, Rogan Wells was named the Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athlete of the Week, the athletic department announced Wednesday. Wells' 23 of 26 performance marked the fifth-best passing percentage in a game in program history at 88.5 percent.  He was 12 of 13 passing in the first half of the game as the Blazers held a 28-0 lead and finished with a 38-3 victory.  Wells connected passes to eight different Blazers in the game and six different players had multiple receptions.  Wells also had five rushes for 50 yards in the game.  He joins the Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athlete of the Week with sophomore Brishen House of the VSU men's cross country team.  Check back with vstateblazers.com each Wednesday afternoon for the weekly Steel's Jewelry Blazer Athletes of the Week.
 
OVER 90 
VSU tallied two drives, including the initial drive of the season for over 90 yards in the 38-3 victory on Saturday at Albany State.  The Blazers went 12 plays for 97 yards and 6:04 minutes in the first drive of the game and then had an 11-play, 92-yard drive using 6:35 minutes later in the game.  The Blazers had just two scoring drives over six minutes all of last season.
 
POSSESSED
The Blazers had the ball for 37:33 minutes on Saturday, marking thelongest time of possession since Oct. 8, 2016, in a 38-27 win over West Georgia. VSU also had three drives of ten or more plays on Saturday, while the team had just 14 drives of ten or more plays all last season.  
 
BUZZED
Junior Brian "Buzz" Saunds had a team-high six catches for 73 yards for the Blazers in the opener to lead the team.  Despite not catching a touchdown, Saunds now has 10 catches for 137 yards and two scores the last two seasons versus Albany State.  
 
GOING TO THE WELL(S) 
Junior Rogan Wells went 23 of 26 passing for 215 yards and no touchdowns on Saturdayagainst Albany State.  His 88.5 passing percentage ranks fifth all-time in school history for passing percentage in a game. Wells went 12 of 13 passing in the first half against the Golden Rams. 
 
WELLS MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Junior quarterback Rogan Wells is fifth in school history in career passing touchdowns with 52, while ranking seventh in rushing touchdowns with 19, sixth in total offense (5,975), eighth in passing yards (4,695) and ninth in completions as he is 353 of 607 (58.2) for his career.  Wells earned All-America honors last season as a sophomore, leading one of the most prolific offensive teams in program history. 
 
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
Senior Alex Brown tallied his fifth interception of his career and first of the season in the win at Albany State, returning the ball 43 yards to the ASU two. He had a team-high four interceptions last season.  Brown also had a huge interception in the national championship game in December versus Ferris State.  Junior Cory Roberts tallied his second INT of his VSU career on Saturday for 11 yards. 
 
TOUGH SCHEDULE
The Blazers face six teams who are either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason AFCA Top 25 this season.  VSU's first three games all are against either teams receiving votes or ranked.  Albany State and Ohio Dominican are receiving votes, while West Alabama is ranked 24th. West Florida and Florida Tech both are receiving votes, whileWest Georgia is 15th in the poll. The second week of the poll saw VSU remain at the top spot, while West Georgia moved to 14^thand West Alabama moved to 20^th. Albany State, Ohio Dominicanand Florida Tech all still are among others receiving votes.
 
NO SHUTOUT
VSU leads all of NCAA Division II in the most games without being shutout at 329 games. The Blazers last were blanked on Sept. 14 1991, in a 12-0 loss at Central Florida.  VSU has been shutout just five times in thehistory of the program in 425 games.
 
THE GARY GOFF RADIO SHOW
This season, head coach Gary Goff will have The Gary Goff Radio Show at The Salty Snapper Restaurant in Valdosta each Monday evening from 7-8 p.m.  Matt Malone will be the host of the show as it will be broadcast on Newstalk 105.9 FM.  Come out to The Salty Snapper for prizes and a 15% discount during the show for all The Gary Goff Radio Show guests.  Listen to Goff talk about the 2019 Blazer football season.
 
NEW FACE IN THE BOOTH
Blazer fans will hear a new voice in the radio booth for the football team this season as long time football coach Wade Beale replaces VSU color analyst Scott James this season.  Spencer Van Horn will handle play-by-play duties for the Blazers for the second year in arow, and now will partner with Beale for home and away games on 92.1 WDDQ FM.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to broadcasts all season long.
 
THE GARY GOFF SHOW
In addition to The Gary Goff Radio Show, the Blazers will continue the tradition of The Gary Goff Show following each game this season.  The Gary Goff Show will be hosted by Spencer Van Horn following each game and selected players also will appear on the show. Fans can access The Gary Goff Show each Sunday at vstateblazers.com on thefootball page.  There also will be links via social media for it each Sunday. Jamie Abbot of Crash & Annie Productions produces The Gary Goff Show following each game.
 
GETTING IN THE END ZONE
Wells has thrown 52 touchdown passes in his career and has played in 24 games.  He threw at least one touchdown pass in all 14 games last season and has a string of 20-straight games with a touchdown pass.   Of his 24 games played, he has only not rushed or passed for a touchdown in one game.  Wells is 19-2 as a starting quarterback for the Blazers. Wells had his first touchdown reception in the national championship game against Ferris State last December. 
 
HURRICANE DORIAN RELIEF
Valdosta State Athletics is partnering with VSU's Caribbean Student Association to collect Hurricane Dorian Relief items that will assist the families in the Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian.  Collection boxes will be located at each gate at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, as fans and students are encouraged to bring items and drop them off prior to Saturday's football game against Ohio Dominican.  Fans who bring items to donate, will receive two (2) tickets to the Blazers volleyball match on Tuesday, September 17.  Gates for Saturday's football game are scheduled to open at 4:15 p.m., and collections will continue until halftime.  Fans and students will also have a second opportunity to donate at the volleyball match on Tuesday. The Blazer volleyball team faces Albany State in its home opener at 6 p.m. Doors will open one hour before at 5 p.m.  The donation items include toiletry items: bandages, soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, wipes, over the counter drugs, gloves (work and medical), shampoo, conditioner.  Other items needed are: mosquito repellent, water, bleach, flashlights, batteries, and trash bags.  Finally, donations can be dropped off this week at the Blazer Drop Shop food and clothing pantry located on the first floor of the Student Union.  The Drop Shop is open Tuesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m.to 2 p.m. weekly. 
 
PROLIFIC PASSERS
VSU junior Rogan Wells and Ohio Dominican sophomore hurler Evan Ernst are two of the top passers in the country as Wells was a multiple all-America honoree in 2018 and was the Harlon Hill Award runner-up, while Ernst earned Great Midwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2018. He was the nation's leading passer at 74.5 percent last season and leading the nation in passing efficiency at 184.4.  Last week, the quarterbacks went a combined 54 of 65 for 488 yards and four touchdowns.  
 
RAPID RUSHERS
VSU rushing trio of sophomores Jamar Thompkins and Seth McGill, along with senior Quahlin Patterson have had a strong start to the season.  All three had huge years in 2018, but Patterson led the team on the ground on Saturday, combining for 25 of the team's 33 rushes for 135 of the 180 rushing yards against the Golden Rams. Wells also had a strong game on the ground as he had five rushes for 50 yards.  
 
ABOUT OHIO DOMINICAN
Ohio Dominican is located in Columbus, Ohio, and has been playing football for 16 seasons.  The Panthers are 106-57 all-time and have been to the NCAA playoffs twice, most recently in 2014.  ODU erased a 14-point deficit at Shepherd (W.Va.) last weekend enroute to a 24-21 victory.  The Panthers were outgained by over 100 yards, but forced four turnovers.  Ernst went 31 of 39 passing for 273 yards and two scores as Devanaire Conliffe caught both scores, finishing the game with three catches for 96 yards andDavid Turner had ten catches for 61 yards.  As a team, the Panthers are sixth nationally in completion percentage at a 79.5 clip, while ranking fifth in fumbles recovered with three, ninth in kickoff return defense at just 6.67 yards per return.  ODU is fifth nationally in turnover margin (4.00) and 12th in turnovers gained (4.).  Individually, Ernst is seventh in passing percentage (79.5) and first in completions per game (31.00).  Turner ranks eighth nationally in kick returns at 36.5 yards per return, while Conliffe is fourth in touchdown receptions with two and Turner is third in receptions per game at 10.0.  Head coach Kelly Cummings is in his fourth year at ODU and is 24-9 overall. 
 
A VICTORY OVER OHIO DOMINICAN WOULD . . .

• Give VSU a 2-0 record to start the season for the 19th time in program history
• Set a new school-record for consecutive victories at 17 and continue the longest current streak in NCAA Division II
• Be the ninth-straight home win for the Blazers 
• Give VSU a 2-2 record all-time on Sept. 14
• Give VSU a 21-6 record as the top-ranked team in the country
• Be the first win over a team from the Great State of Ohio
• Give Coach Goff his second win over Ohio Dominican
• Give VSU a 3-3 record all-time in the D2 Football Showcase
• Be the 296th win all-time in program history and the 161st win at home
• Be the first win over a team from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference

 
NATIONAL BLAZERS
The Blazers lead the nation in completion percentage at an 89.7 clip on 26 of 29 in the win at Albany State on Saturday. VSU is 20th nationally in passes intercepted with two picks for the season, while ranking fifth nationally in passing yards allowed at just 68.0.  The Blazers are 17th nationally in red zone defense as they held ASU to 1 of 3 in the red zone, while only allowing three points for second nationally in scoring defense.  VSU is 24th nationally in scoring offense at 38 points per game, while ranking secondin passing efficiency defense at 43.63. VSU held the ball for 37:33 minutes for ninth nationally in timeof possession.  Individually, Wells is second nationally in completionpercentage at 89.5, while ranking 17th in completions per game at 23.00.  He is 16th nationally in passing efficiency at 183.3. Sophomore Jamar Thompkins ranks 19th in scoring at 12.0 points per game and 21st in total scoring, while ranking 13th in total touchdowns with two.