PEMBROKE, S.C. - The ninth ranked Valdosta State Blazers travel to Pembroke, South Carolina to face the UNC-Pembroke Braves on Saturday, Sept. 19. 

The Blazers are currently ranked ninth in the D2 Football poll, 13th in the AFCA poll and 14th in the Flo College poll. 

The two teams shared a common opponent in Fayetteville State, who the Blazers handled in a dominant win last week. The Braves meanwhile, fell to the Broncos 10-7 on Sept. 5th. 

The VSU offense put together another strong showing, putting up 454 yards of offense, while adding 38 points in the victory.  The Blazers currently boast the ninth highest scoring offense in Division II averaging 45 points per game. Champ Harris delivered his best passing performance of the season, going 19-30 for 273 and a touchdown, while also running for an additional 64 yards and a touchdown. 

Shawn Paschall turned in a great performance on the ground, rushing 16 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. While through the air. Jaheim Arnold had four catches for 118 yards, and Kenai Grier had two receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. 

Defensively, the Blazers put on a show, forcing four turnovers, including a 41-yard scoop-and-score by Curtis Janiver. 

Jayden Bethea led the team in tackles with seven; Ashton Heflin added five tackles and Rickey Ransom, Julius Pascal, Malik Moore and Izaiah Scott all had four, with Moore also adding a sack. 

Jabari McMillian earned GSC Freshman of the Week honors for his performance, coming away with three tackles and two interceptions in the win. 

Special teams had a strong outing also. Lucas Edenfield flipped the field for VSU, punting the ball five times for 197 yards with one punt going 50+ and pinning the Broncos inside the 20. Brett Fitzgerald contributed eight points, going one-for-two on field goals and a perfect five-of-five on extra points. Finally, Adrian Gonzalez had seven kickoffs for 449 yards and four touchbacks, averaging 64 yards a kick. 

Scouting the Braves 

The Braves come into Saturday's contest with a 2-1 record, winning their first conference game last week against Shorter 31-24. 

UNCP features a balanced offensive attack, averaging 117 yards through the air and 132 yards on the ground while averaging 19.6 points a game. 

On offense, quarterback Josh Ehrlich has completed 53.9 percent of his passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns to three interceptions. Ehrlich also leads the team in rushing with 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns. 

Running back Anthony Greene, also has 71 yards on the ground.  

Receivers Malik Brown and Avery Curtis are the standouts in the passing game. So far this season, Brown has six receptions for 103 yards, and Curtis has 15 receptions for 81 yards. 

The Braves defense is led by the duo of Jadin Bapitst and Fred Giles who both lead the team in tackles with 18.  Glies is tied for the team lead in sacks with Isi Etute who both have two. Glies is also the team leader in tackles for loss with four and a half. 

VSU is 1-3 all-time against UNCP, with their last win coming in 2014, winning 36-7. 

The game will kickoff at 1:00pm. 

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