FAIRFIELD, Ala. – Behind a career-high six touchdown passes from Valdosta State senior quarterback Ivory Durham, the No. 14/15 Blazers got back on the winning track with a 55-7 victory at Miles College Saturday evening.  VSU improved to 2-1 on the year, while Miles fell to 0-3.
 
Durham finished the game 14 of 27 passing for 359 yards and the six touchdown passes.  He also had ten carries for 113 yards, while senior Jamar Thompkins finished with 12 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown, marking his third-straight game of eclipsing 100 yards on the ground.  Senior Seth McGill had ten rushes for 76 yards, while sophomore Kentucky transfer Travis Tisdale had two carries for 47 yards and the final touchdown of the game.  Receiving, sophomore Council Allen had four catches for 106 yards and a 75-yard touchdown reception, while graduate student Davie Henderson caught three balls for 89 yards and two touchdowns. 
 
As a team, the Blazers finished with a season-high 341 yards on the ground on 38 attempts, while recording 359 yards through the air and 700 yards on 65 plays of total offense for a 10.77 yard average per play.  The Blazer "D" held Miles to 115 yards on the ground and 69 through the air for 184 total yards on 62 plays. The 700 yards of offense was second-most in school history as VSU tallied a school-record 719 versus West Georgia on Nov. 27, 2021, in the NCAA psotseason.
 
Defensively, the Blazers had two sacks for 15 yards and were led by nine solo tackles from freshman Terrell Dudley, who was named Guardian Bank Blazer Defensive Player of the Game. He had two tackles for loss for 13 yards.  Durham was named Guardian Bank Blazer Offensive Player of the Game.
 
On the first play of the game, the Blazer "D" stood tall as sophomore Phillip Starks picked off Jacob Keller's pass at the MC 34.  From there, Durham rushed 16 yards to the 18 and then Thompkins scored from 18-yards out for a 7-0 lead with 14:18 left in the first quarter.
 
The game remained 7-0 until the Blazers got the ball back late in the first quarter and moved down to the MC 31.  On 4^th and 13, sophomore kicker Estin Thiele attempted a 48-yard field goal which was blocked by Jamarius Brown.  Early in the second quarter, VSU took over at the 20 and McGill used a 37-yard scamper setting up a great pass from Durham to freshman Ted Hurst for 18-yards and a touchdown with 13:17 left in the first half and a 14-0 score.
 
Miles came back and converted a third and four and a third and goal, following a pass interference call on VSU in the end zone.  MC's Brian Thomas scored on the ground from two yards out for a 14-7 score.  Later in the quarter, Durham hit graduate student Victor Talley for a 36-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone with 2:13 left in the half for a 20-7 lead as the extra-point was missed. 
 
For the half, VSU had 21 rushes for 225 yards on the ground as Durham led the way with eight carries for 110 yards, while Thompkins had six carries for 60 yards and a score.  Durham was 4 of 14 passing for 92 yards and two touchdowns to Hurst and Talley.  The Blazers had 317 yards of offense on 35 plays, while Miles had 127 yards on 37 plays. 
 
Midway through the third quarter, on a third and 10 on the Miles 36, Durham rolled out and hit Henderson for a 36-yard touchdown strike in stride for a 27-7 lead and 8:38 left in the third quarter. 
 
A big chop block call forced MC into a third in long after it had gotten a first down at the VSU 30.  The Golden Bears had to punt because of the infraction, as VSU used a steady diet of running from Thompkins then Durham hit graduate student Justin Jeffery in the back of the end zone on a rainbow pass for Durham's fourth touchdown pass of the game.  It was a 30-yard strike for a 34-7 lead with 1:19 left in the third. 
 
On defense early in the fourth quarter, the Blazers came up with a huge sack from Dudley for a loss of nine, followed by a punt and Durham hit Henderson for 38 yards and then found again for a 15-yard touchdown pass for Durham's fifth TD toss of the game and a 41-7 score. 
 
Following another sack by the Blazer "D" and a punt from the Golden Bears, Durham hit sophomore Council Allen for a blistering 75-yard catch and run for his sixth touchdown pass of the game and the fifth different Blazer to catch a touchdown pass in the game. 
 
In the final minute, Tisdale rushed for 46 yards to the Miles goal line and then with 12 seconds left, Tisdale got a great push from the offensive line for the score and the 55-7 final margin.
 
The Blazers continue on the road next week at 12 p.m. in Rome, Ga., versus Shorter.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links for the game next Saturday afternoon.