VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 20 Valdosta State football team fell 31-0 to UNC Pembroke Saturday afternoon in the Blazers' 2025 home-opener at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. 
 
The loss dropped the Blazers to 2-2 on the year, while UNCP improved to 4-1.  Turnovers proved costly as VSU had five miscues in the game with three interceptions and two lost fumbles.  The Blazers finished with 20 yards on the ground, while they had 312 passing yards on 30 of 53 passing between junior quarterback Jameson Holcomb, who saw his second-straight start and sophomore Harris Boyd.  Holcomb finished 9 of 17 passing for 111 yards and one interception, while Boyd was 21 of 35 passing for 201 yards and two interceptions.  VSU held a 332 to 285 advantage in total yards.
 
UNCP imprvoed to 3-1 all-time against VSU with the win as the Braves finished with 191 yards through the air and 94 rushing yards.  UNCP quarterback Tre Robinson was 11 of 17 passing for 120 yards and one touchdown, while Que Kennedy had two catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns receiving.  On the ground, Joel Felder had four carries for for 46 yards and a score.
 
On defense, the Blazers were led by seven tackles and a tackle for loss for five yards from sophomore Julius Pascal, while senior Mark Robinson also had seven tackles.  Senior Rance Conner had a forced fumble and fumble recovery along with three total tackles.  VSU had seven tackles for loss and one sack.  UNCP's Justin Foreman had seven tackles, while the Braves had five tackles for loss and one sack, along with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. 
 
Following a scoreless first quarter where both teams had turnovers where VSU threw an interception at its own 38, but forced UNCP into a turnover on downs on the ensuing possession.  From there, both teams had to punt heading to the second quarter.  Early in the second, UNCP scored on a 27-yard field goal from Taylor Harris for a 3-0 lead with 9:39 left in the half.  VSU began its next drive at the 50 as Harris slipped on the kickoff.  With good field position, the Blazers had a nice catch from senior Council Allen for 11 yards and moved down to the UNCP ten, but junior Ethan Eddins missed a 27-yard field goal with 6:04 left in the half. 
 
Following a punt by the Braves, VSU had another sustained drive as it started at its own 42 with 3:39 left in the half.  The Blazers moved down to the UNCP 29, before Holcomb coughed it up with 1:26 left in the half.  UNCP used a huge pass from Robinson to Jaquan Albright for 24-yards on a third and four from the VSU 39 and Kennedy caught his first touchdown of 15 yards for a 10-0 lead with 23 seconds left in the half. 
 
UNCP used a long drive for a 17-0 lead with 8:47 left in the third and then scored again with a 74-yard catch and run from Kennedy on a slant on 3^rd and 1 from the UNCP 26 for a 24-0 lead with 4:11 left in the quarter.   
 
The Blazers had one of the best drives offensively as graduate student  Xyre Wilson had a 29-yard reception and sophomore Joel Houedenou had a 13-yard reception to the UNCP six as time expired in the quarter.  A false start penalty on the Blazers pushed the ball to the 11, but the Blazers had to go for it on 4^th and 9 from the nine with an incomplete pass turning the ball over on downs.  UNCP scored its final touchdown on defense with a 45-yard interception return by Jamiel Davis for a 31-0 lead with ten minutes remaining. 
 
VSU will look to get back on track next week as Lenoir-Rhyne comes to town for a 4 p.m. kick at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. 

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