FINAL STATS

ARLINGTON, Texas – No. 18 Valdosta State racked up 520 yards of offense and held Angelo State to under 300 yards on its way to a 43 to 10 victory in Cowboys Stadium on the final day of the Lone Star Football Festival presented by Firestone.

Valdosta State moves to 2-1 on the season while Angelo State falls to 1-2.

Gerald Ford led the Blazers with 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions. The Valdosta State defense forced Angelo State into seven punts and scored 31 points.

Angelo State took an early 3-0 lead on the opening drive with a 24-yard field goal by Jarred Martin. Valdosta State was forced to punt on its first two drives of the game but capitalized scoring on its next three drives by forcing the Rams to pun. Valdosta held the Rams to 13 plays over four drives after ASU's opening drive of 13 plays.

The Blazer took their first scoring drive down to the one-yard line before settling for a 19-yard field goal from Daniel Anderson. After and ASU three and out, freshman Austin Scott broke a 62-yard run for the first touchdown of the game to take a 10-3 lead in the middle of the second quarter.

Valdosta State forced another three and out and took over in its own territory. The Blazers were unsuccessful trying to draw off Angelo State on a third down. The Rams tried to block the punt and were called for roughing the kicker to keep the Blazers drive alive. Six plays later Gerald Ford scored on a 24-yard pass from Cayden Cochran for a 17-3 lead that held to the half.

In the second half the Rams stopped the Blazers on their first drive and turned around and marched 47 yards in six plays. C.J. Akins caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Blake Hamblin and went over the 100-yard mark in receiving yards for the first time this season to cut the lead to 17 to 10.

C.J. Akins led all receivers with 114 yards on six catches.

Valdosta State pulled some trickery on the very next drive with a fake punt that gained 39 yards and the Blazers kicked a 33-yard field goal and took a 20-10 advantage.

The Rams were pinned on the three-yard line on the ensuing kickoff and Donavan Roberts was dropped for a two-yard loss in the end zone for a safety. The Blazers took the free kick and converted with Ford's second touchdown reception of the game for a 29 to 10 lead.

Valdosta State's Cedric O'Neal scored on a one-yard rush in the fourth quarter while the final score of the game came on a fourth down call with Chris Anderson scored on a 16-yard pass from Graham Craig.

The Rams will host Abilene Christian next Saturday at San Angelo Stadium at 6 p.m.