VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State junior wide receiver Jaheim Arnold scored on a two-yard touchdown pass from junior Jameson Holcomb with nine seconds remaining as the Blazers roared back in the second half for a thrilling 27-23 upset victory over No. 21 Delta State Saturday afternoon on Senior Day.  
 
The Blazers (5-4, 2-0 Gulf South Conference) will now close out the 2025 regular season next Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at No. 3 West Florida for the outright Gulf South Conference title.  The Blazers have won 11 GSC titles for most among current members in league history.  
 
VSU, which had not held the lead the entire game, was stopped on fourth down at the DSU two-yard line with 1:40 to play, trailing 23-20.  The Blazer "D", which was outstanding over the final three quarters as it allowed zero points, forced the Statesmen into a three-and-out as VSU used all three of its timeouts preserving the clock.  The Blazers had a great punt return from senior Council Allen for 29-yard to the DSU 26 with 1:12 to go.  
 
From there, Holcomb hit Allen for 11 yards to the DSU 20 and found Xyre Wilson for seven yards to the 13. Jameson and Allen connect, once again, for nine yards to the DSU five.  DSU was called for offsides as VSU attempted to spike the ball to stop the clock.  On a first and goal from the two, Holcomb hit Arnold, a junior, in the back of the end zone for a fantastic catch and a 27-23 lead.  The Blazers kicked off and senior Rance Conner intercepted Garrett Ames' pass to end the game.  
 
VSU outscored Delta State 17-2 in the second half after DSU jumped out to a 21-7 lead through the first quarter.  
 
With the win, VSU keeps its playoff hopes alive and will need to beat West Florida to earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA postseason.  Delta State (7-3, 1-2 GSC) entered the game seventh in the second Super Region Two rankings which were announced Monday.  The conference champions of the GSC, Conference Carolinas and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will receive automatic berths to the postseason, while there will be five at-large selections.  The NCAA Division II Selection Show will be Nov. 16 and broadcast on NCAA.com.
 
In a wild game and a tale of two halves, the Blazers tallied 344 yards of total offense for the game, including 185 yards on the ground for a 5.3 average per carry, while Holcomb went 21 of 29 passing for 159 yards, one interception and the winning touchdown to Arnold.  Junior Corey Reddick, Jr., accounted for 151 yards on 18 carries for the Blazers on the ground and one touchdown, while freshman Shawn Paschall had eight carries for 40 yards and a score.  Allen had seven receptions for 77 yards, while Arnold finished with four catches for 43 yards and the touchdown, his first as a Blazer.  
 
Defensively, VSU was led by sophomore Julius Pascal with 14 tackles, while senior Tyler Morehead had 11 stops.  Conner and junior Nick Mercer came up with huge interceptions.  The defense didn't allow a point following three first quarter touchdowns by the Statesmen.  
 
DSU finished with 328 yards of offense, on 242 passing yards and just 86 yards on the ground as it entered averaging 175.9 yards rushing and 422.8 yards of total offense for the season.  Statesmen quarterback Cole Kirk was 10 of 18 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns, but was knocked out of the game in the second half.  Ames finished 10 of 17 passing for 65 yards and threw two costly interceptions.  Nick Clark had 23 carries for 43 yards on the ground, while Kirk had eight carries for 26 yards and a score.  Neno Lemay finished with seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. 

Prior to the game, honored 28 seniors playing in their final regular season home game in a Blazer uniform along with two outstanding equipment managers.  The 2025 Senior Class has helped lead VSU to two national title game appearances in 2021 and 2024, along with three NCAA postseason berths and three Gulf South Conference titles.  The Blazers have gone 46-15 and 22-7 in Gulf South Conference play for the history of this senior class.  The 2025 Senior Class includes in numerical order; Council Allen, Zak Sedaros, Dallas Robinson, Josh Brown, Jaden Dawkins, Greg Hudgins III, Rance Conner, McCall Bennett, Abe Nyang, Pate Hogan, Seth Smith, Theron Stroops, Ashaud Roberson, Andrew Douglas, Eric Watts, Caleb Dawson, Aaron Willis, Jemarrlowe Sykes, Kenley-Mary Asse, Wyatt Anderson, Victor Cameron, Steven Mauro, Xyre Wilson, Ma'jon Wright, Kevin Robertson, Mark Robinson, Jonathan Martin and Lonnie Leverette, along with student equipment mangers Chase Kerlin and Keontrae Williams.  VSU Athletics would like to wish each of these seniors best of luck in their future endeavors!
 
The Statesmen capitalized on a Holcomb interception on the first possession of the game and then scored quickly by Kirk for a 7-0 lead.  Following a punt by the Blazers, Kirk found Lemay for a 60-yard touchdown strike and a 14-7 lead with 8:16 left in the first quarter.  VSU settled down and moved the ball down field as Paschall scored from 19-yards out for a 14-7 score with 6:01 left in the quarter.  DSU scored on its third-straight drive on a 3^rd and seven from the VSU 13 with a pass from Kirk to Carter Coullard and a 21-7 lead through the first quarter.  
 
The Blazer defense turned it up in the second quarter getting some stops and junior punter Devin Walter put a great punt down to the DSU nine as the Statesmen were not able to get out of the shadow of their own end zone flipping field position.  The Blazers began their next drive at the DSU 46 and moved down the 27, before settling for a 44-yard field goal from Matt Rolader for a 21-10 score with 3:47 to play in the half for the only points of the quarter.  Walter finished with seven punts for a 43.1-yard average, a long of 50 and one inside the 20.  
 
The Statesmen returned in kind flipping the field position as punter Price Nixon had a 64-yard boot to the VSU two with 8:49 to play in the third.  Paschall was tackled in the end zone for a safety by LaDainian Davis and Joshua Phillips for a 23-10 Statesmen lead.  
 
VSU made the Statesmen punt to turn momentum following the safety and then used a 43-yard touchdown run from Reddick, Jr., for a 23-17 score.  Ames' pass was picked off by Mercer on the ensuing drive and then the Blazers cashed in with a 30-yard field goal from Rolader for a 23-20 score. 
 
The teams traded punts for the majority of the fourth quarter as VSU stopped the Statesmen on fourth down with 6:07 to play, prior to the late game heroics. 
 
Delta State held the lead all but 3:38 minutes of the game with 3:29 being before DSU scored the opening touchdown of the game and the last nine seconds being after Arnold's touchdown catch.  The Blazers evened the all-time series with Delta State at 22-22-1 and now have won the last three in the series and are 10-11 all-time in Valdosta against the Statesmen.  

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