2018 National Championship Team

2018 National Champions - Valdosta State 49, Ferris State 47

VALDOSTA STATE 49, FERRIS STATE 47 MCKINNEY ISD STADIUM, MCKINNEY, TEXAS DECEMBER 15, 2018

MCKINNEY, Texas - The first NCAA Division II national championship game at McKinney ISD Stadium was a Texas-sized shootout.

In a game that featured one tie and seven lead changes, the Valdosta State Blazers defeated the Ferris State Bulldogs 49-47 Saturday, winning their fourth national championship.

The Bulldogs cut the VSU lead to 49-47 on a 5-yard TD run by Sy Barnett with 40 seconds left in the game.

Clinging to the two-point lead, the Blazers needed a stop as the Bulldogs went for the two-point conversion to force overtime.

The Bulldogs pulled off a double-reverse, looking for Jayru Campbell, but the pass sailed incomplete. The Blazers recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock to seal the victory.

After finishing runner-up to Campbell for the coveted Harlon Hill Trophy, VSU quarterback Rogan Wells came through with the greatest game of his young career.

Wells tied an NCAA Division II national championship record with five touchdown passes. Overall, Wells completed 19 of 31 passes for 349 yards. However, it was Wells’ impact as a receiver that gave the Blazers a much-needed cushion.

The Blazers cooked up a variation of the famed Philadelphia Eagles’ trick play, Philly Special.

Backup quarterback Ivory Durham took a handoff from Wells after going in motion and then threw it back to Wells, finding him near the left pylon for a touchdown to put the Blazers up 49-38 with 11:45 remaining.

“(Durham) came in and that was a play we drew up in practice this week,” Wells said. “I was supposed to go out there, jog and then go by but the dude was on me so I didn’t think H.J. was gonna throw it but he threw it and I just went and got it.”

The Blazers finished with 496 yards of total offense compared to 449 for the Bulldogs. More importantly, the Blazers’ defense came up with a key takeaway in the third quarter.

Trailing 35-31, Ferris State looked to Campbell on third-and-11 from its own 31. Campbell dropped back to pass, but Alex Brown picked him off and nearly went for a touchdown.

The play set up quick strike for the Blazers as Wells fired to tight end Travis Taylor alone in the end zone to put the Blazers up 42-31 — the first double-digit lead in the game.

“We thought our receivers and our throw game were gonna be the difference, Bell said. “I said early on, we’re gonna put it in (Wells’) hands and be aggressive. That was the game plan and Rogan had to come up big for us in the biggest game of the year.”

A 2-yard rushing touchdown by the Bulldogs’ Marvin Campbell gave Ferris State a 31-28 lead with 9:49 left in the third quarter.

The first half was a seesaw affair that saw the Blazers go ahead on a 1-yard TD run by Seth McGill to put VSU ahead 28-24 to end the half.

The Blazers tallied 335 yards of total offense in the first half, recording 17 first downs on 42 plays.

Wells completed 11-of-17 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns, including a 66-yard strike to Lio’undre Gallimore to give the Blazers a 21-17 lead with 10:06 to go in the half.

Gallimore caught four passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns Saturday. Defensively, the Blazers were led by senior Raymond Palmer. Playing with a heavy heart after the death of his father on Dec. 5, Palmer tied for the team lead with seven tackles in the game — two for loss. (Written by Shane Thomas - Valdosta Daily Times)

Individual Statistical Leaders

Rushing: FSU - J Campbell 22-122/1TD; D. Earls 5-67; M. Campbell 1033/1TD VSU - J. Thompkins 16-72; R. Wells 13-39; S. McGill 8-23/1TD. Passing: FSU - J. Campbell 108-1-1, 99yds/1TD VSU - R. Wells 19-31-0, 349yds/5TD Receiving: FSU - K. Craig 3-89/2TD; D. Harrington 3-39. VSU - L. Gallimore 4-111/2TD; B. Saunds 3-75; K. Benjamin 3-55/1TD. Defense: FSU - D. Turner 8 Tckls/0.5TFL; A. Edwards 8 Tckls/1Sk, 1.5TFL. VSU - R. Palmer 7Tckls/2TFL; D. Brown 7Tckls; M. Jefferson 6Tckls/1Sk/1TFL.

Team

Ferris State Valdosta State

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final

10 14 14 9 47 7 21 14 7 49

FSU

26 48 270 11-19 179 67-449 1-5 0-0 5-0 7-56 2-40.0 7 of 13 27:10

Team Stats First Downs Rushing Attempts Net Rushing Yards Comp. - Att. Passing Yards Total Plays - Yards Sacks By - Yards Interceptions - Yards Fumbles - Lost Penalties - Yards Punts - Average Yards Third Down Conversions Time of Possession

VSU

27 42 122 20-33 374 75-496 1-4 1-31 1-1 8-114 1-42.0 11 of 17 32:50

The Road to McKinney

Second Round - #3 Valdosta State 66, #22 Bowie State 16

After receiving a first round bye, Valdosta State trailed 10-0 after the first quarter, but responded outscoring Bowie State 66-6 for the final three quarters en route to a 66-16 win in the second round of the tournament ... The 66 points marked the most scored in a game by the Blazers this season and in the playoffs in program history ... VSU tallied a 549-310 lead in total offense and had its eighth game of the season of 500 or more yards offensively and outscored BSU 45-0 in the second half.

Quarterfinals - #3 Valdosta State 61, #17 Lenoir-Rhyne 21

VSU scored early and often and built a 27-0 lead before LR knew what hit it ... The Blazers led 34-7 at halftime and then outscored LR 27-14 in the second half for the big win, marking the second-straight game in the playoffs of scoring 60 or more points ... VSU tallied its fourth-straight game of over 500 yards of offense (597) and ninth overall this season ... The Blazer "D" held the high-powered Bears offense to just 60 plays for 319 yards as it entered averaging 461.8 yards per game and 42.5 points per game ... 11 different Blazers had catches in the game ... VSU broke the GSC single-season scoring record in the game and tallied its third game of 60 or more points this season.

Semifinals - #3 Valdosta State 30, #11 Notre Dame College 24

In the tighest game of the year, VSU trailed at halftime for the first time all year and used a school-record 100-yard interception return for a score in the second half by senior David Brown to spark a 21-point final half en route to the 30-24 win over the pesky Falcons ... Redshirt freshman Jamar Thompkins rushed for 145 yards and a score, while sophomore Kenny Benjamin added four catches for 81 yards and a touchdown ... Notre Dame held VSU to just 329 yards for the game, while NDC had 371 yards ... The Blazers had 195 yards on the ground, while all-world freshman and Harlon Hill finalist Jaleel McLaughlin had 175 yards rushing ... VSU came up with the first of its two huge onside kick recoveries in the final two games of the season as freshman Seth McGill made a leaping catch for the recovery ... Prior to that, NDC returned a VSU fumble for a score and pulled within 30-24 with just over two minutes remaining.

2018 National Championship Bracket