Sport's page of The Delta Statement

1. Thursday, September 25, 2014 B2 The Delta Statement
Quarterback Tyler Sullivan went 41 for 64 for 502 yards. Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro
Casey Osborne scored two touchdowns for Delta State. Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro
Delta State defeats Valdosta State in conference opener
Lady Statesmen win first place in DSU cross country invitational
The Lady Statesmen cross country team shows off their award after winning the invitational. Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro
The DSU golf team won the Derrall Foreman Intercollegiate team title.
Photo by Elisabetta Zengaro
O.B. Taylor
Assistant Sports Editor
The Delta State Statesmen
earned a good start to their
Gulf South Conference
campaign by defeating
the Valdosta State Blazers 49-32
at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in
Valdosta, Ga., on Sept. 20.
The game started off with
a good start by the Blazers.
They scored the fi rst touchdown
of the game at the 10:31 mark
when quarterback Jake Medlock
rushed through the Statesmen’s
goal line to put his team up 6-0.
The Blazer’s extra point
was blocked by Delta State
defensive back Jordan Howard,
which resulted in that score line.
The next drive was riddled
by short passes by Statesmen
redshirt-sophomore quarterback
Tyler Sullivan. It led to a 37-yard
touchdown pass that Sullivan
completed to junior wide receiver
Casey Osborne to force his side a
7-6 lead with 8:23 left in the fi rst
quarter.
A few moments later,
Delta State kicked the ball off to
Valdosta State which resulted in
a fumble forced by Delta State
defensive back Jon Knox, when
he tackled Vincent Dallas.
The fumble was recovered
by Knox’s teammate Artavius
Morgan, and he recovered it on
the 14-yard line.
A few seconds later,
Sullivan scored a touchdown
for the Statesmen when he ran 5
yards to the goal line. It made the
score 14-6 Delta State with 7:19
left to play in the fi rst quarter.
Things went from bad to
worse for Valdosta State during
kickoff once again.
The Blazers turned the
ball over when Statesmen
linebacker Ronnie Smith tackled
Blazers’ running back Nick
Davis and forced the fumbled.
It was recovered by Statesmen
linebacker Joreco Beckwith at
the 44-yard line.
A few seconds later, Delta
State scored again when Sullivan
threw a 44-yard touchdown pass
to senior wide receiver Justin
Leavy which made the score 21-6
with 6:54 left in fi rst quarter.
In the second quarter,
Valdosta State kicker Anthony
Pistelli kicked a 26-yard fi eld
goal in the 14:00 mark to put his
side 21-9 down.
He kicked a 49-yarder to put
his side 21-12 down at the 5:37
mark.
After Sullivan and his
offense failed to get things going
on offense on the next drive after
Pistelli’s second fi eld goal of
the game, the Blazers were right
back in the game.
Blazers’ quarterback Kaleb
Nobles completed a 10-yard
touchdown pass to receiver
Donovan Bolden to put his side
21-19 down with 4:16 left in the
fi rst half.
With 1:43 left in the
fi rst half, Statesmen halfback
Timothy Foy scored a 3-yard
touchdown to put his side up
27-19. Sciorrotta’s attempt at the
extra point was good, and the
Statesmen now had a 28-19 lead.
Valdosta State responded
back with a Nobles 1-yard
touchdown pass to Austin Scott
with no time left in the fi rst half.
The score at halftime was 28-26,
with Delta State leading Valdosta
by one point.
In the second half, the
Blazers didn’t fare very well.
They gave up a rushing
touchdown which was ran by
running back D’Juan Bellaire for
12 yards to put the score 35-26
Delta State with 11:38 left in the
third quarter.
After failing to score in
their next drive, it got worse for
Valdosta State. Their defense
gave up an 85-yard touchdown
pass that Sullivan threw to
Osborne to put the Statesmen up
42-26 with 8:10 left in the third
quarter.
With 3:45 left in the game,
the Blazers’ quarterback threw
a 31-yard touchdown pass to
Chris Anderson. The two point
conversion failed which made
the score 42-32 Delta State
leading VSU.
The Blazers’ hopes of
victory were dashed when
Nobles threw an interception
which was caught by Statesmen
defensive back Romelo Wilson.
The Hawaiian native ran the
interception for a 31- yard
touchdown to help his side
secure a 48-32 victory.
Statesmen quarterback
Sullivan was 41 for 64 passing for
502 yards with three touchdown
passes and two interceptions. He
also ran 10 times for 26 yards
and a touchdown.
Running back Bellaire ran
the ball 19 times for 78 yards and
a touchdown averaging 4.1 yards
per run.
Junior receiver Osborne
caught nine passes for 192 yards
and three touchdown passes. He
terrorized the Blazers’ defensive
backs with his tactics of speed
and mastering the nine catches
he caught.
Leavy caught fi ve passes
for 100 yards and earned a
touchdown in the game. Senior
receiver Ricky Hunt caught
seven passes for 46 yards. Jarvis
York also caught seven passes in
the game against the Blazers.
On defense, redshirt
junior defensive back Jon
Knox had a solid game in the
tackle category while forcing
a fumble during a kickoff in
the first quarter. He collected
seven in the game.
Sophomore linebacker
Wilson Curtis also had a solid
game collecting seven tackles
while forcing two of them for
a loss.
The Statesmen are 2-0
overall and 1-0 in the Gulf
South Conference. Head
Coach Todd Cooley was
pleased about his team’s
superb effort against a tough
Valdosta State side.
The Statesmen will
return to Parker Field-McCool
Stadium on Saturday, Sept.
27, to take on Central State
on Pig Pickin’ Day. Kickoff
time is at 6 p.m. It will be the
Statesmen’s first game on the
new turf.
Elisabetta Zengaro
Editor in chief
A combination of
endurance and
experience led the Lady
Statesmen to a fi rst place
fi nish in the Lady Statesmen
Cross Country 5K Invitational at
the DSU Derrall Foreman Golf
Course on Saturday, Sept. 20.
For the fi rst time in six
years, the Lady Statesmen hosted
their fi rst home race with more
than 24 college and high school
teams and over 400 runners.
The Lady Statesmen had
a strong start to the race, but
leadership from the senior-most
runners on the team, Tressa Lamb
and Mary Katherine Chunn,
propelled the Lady Statesmen to
a fi rst place win across the fi nish
line.
Lamb and Chunn were the
Lady Statesmen’s top runners in
the race and set the pace for the
rest of the team.
Chunn claimed fi rst place
in the race with a time of 20:07,
breaking her personal best time
for the second consecutive race
in a row. Chunn was also the
Lady Statesmen’s top runner in
the Fleet Feet Invitational (5K)
at Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 13,
fi nishing 31st overall with a time
of 20:24 (her previous personal
best time), but ran 17 seconds
faster than that to keep the Lady
Statesmen in the running for fi rst.
As a transfer from Blue
Mountain College, Chunn
enters her fi rst season as a Lady
Statesman, but her consistency
and competitive drive have
already proven to be a key aspect
of the team.
Chunn was one of the top
three runners in all her races
at Blue Mountain College,
where she helped lead the Lady
Toppers to the NAIA National
Championship qualifying race in
the 2010-2011 season, and so far,
she continues to make headlines
as a top runner and leader for
Lady Statesmen cross country.
Not far behind Chunn was
fellow teammate, Lamb, who
fi nished the race third overall
with a time of 20:20 seconds—12
seconds faster than the previous
race.
As the Lady Statesmen’s
only senior, Lamb has been
running with the Lady Statesmen
since her sophomore year in
2011, where she helped lead the
Lady Statesmen to a second place
fi nish in the UAH Fleet Feet/Earl
Jacoby Memorial 5k and a fourth
best fi nish by a non-NCAA
DI program in the Vanderbilt
University Commodore Classic.
Lamb then helped guide
the Lady Statesmen to a fourth
place fi nish in the 2012 GSC
Championship and came in 62nd
at the NCAA South Regional
with a time of 25:14. Lamb
posted her personal best times
in two races and fi nished in the
top 20 twice throughout the 2013
season.
She was only eight seconds
behind fellow teammate Chunn
in the Fleet Invitational (5K) in
Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 13, to
fi nish as the second top runner
for the Lady Statesmen and 35th
overall, while helping to secure
the Lady Statesmen a ninth place
fi nish in the race.
While Chunn and Lamb
posted the best times for
the Lady Statesmen, other
key performances by fellow
teammates Tori McDonald,
Maria Arzate and Anna Poteet,
kept the Lady Statesmen ahead
of the competition.
McDonald fi nished the race
as the Lady Statesmen’s next top
runner, crossing the fi nish line in
just under 21 minutes at 20:51
to secure a ninth place fi nish.
McDonald’s time of 20:51 was a
career best.
Azarte fi nished just two
seconds later to claim the 11th
spot at 20:53.
Poteet came in 17th to round
out the top 20 runners, with a
time of 21:12 and set a personal
record beating her best time from
her freshman year.
Hannah Register and
Madison Nash came in 24th and
38th respectively.
The Lady Statesmen
fi nished the race with a combined
total of 41 points and time of
1:43:23 to win the race.
Of the teams that
participated in the college
women’s 5K, Mississippi
College and Millsaps College
were the Lady Statesmen’s
toughest competition.
The Lady Statesmen’s
newest Gulf South Conference
rival, Mississippi College,
came in second place with 58
points and a time of 1:44:28.
The Lady Choctaws robbed the
Lady Statesmen of an eighth
place fi nish at the Fleet Feet
5K, but the Lady Statesmen
proved the better team this time.
They will continue to face the
Lady Choctaws throughout the
season and will travel to Clinton,
Miss., later in the season for
the Mississippi College DII
Challenge 5K.
Coming off a sixth place
fi nish at the SAA Cross Country
Conference Championship last
season, the Lady Majors of
Millsaps College had one of the
most senior squads with four
seniors and two juniors leading
the team, but managed only a
third place fi nish.
Mississippi Valley State
University came in fourth,
Henderson State University
came in fi fth, Jackson State
University came in sixth,
Belhaven University was seventh
and Stillman College fi nished the
race in eighth place.
Following the conclusion
of the college women’s 5K race
was the college men’s race, high
school girl’s race and high school
boy’s race.
The last time the Lady
Statesmen hosted a home race
was in 2008, where 23 college
and high school teams came
to compete. Over 400 high
school and collegiate runners
participated in the event, and the
Lady Statesmen came in third
overall.
The Lady Statesmen will
travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to
compete in the Jacksonville State
University XC Invitational 5K
on Oct. 4. The race is scheduled
to begin at 9:00 a.m.
DSU men’s golf team
finishes first
Florian Mondoloni
Sports Editor
The men’s golf team won
the Derrall Foreman
Intercollegiate team title
on Sept. 19 and 20, at
Par 72, 6,515-yard Cleveland
Country Club.
Seven teams participated
in the tournament. The fi nal
ranking from one to seven was
Delta State University (score of
825, -39), Mississippi Gulf Coast
CC (835, -29), Central Alabama
CC (852, -12), Delta State Green
(860, -4), Arkansas-Monticello
(867, +3), Mississippi College
(886, +22) and East Mississippi
(888, +24).
Two Statesmen had very
good scores, Chad Cupples and
Reed Lindsey.
The team was facing a 13
stroke defi cit going into the
second day of the tournament,
but their scores helped to make
the comeback possible. Cupples
fi nished 10 under par, which
means he fi nished at 62. Lindsey
fi nished with a seven-under,
which means 65.
Lindsey shot 16-under 200,
which made him earn the medalist
honors. Cupples was second with
a 15-under 201, which made him
get All-Tournament laurels. Brad
Thornton played for DSU Green
and made seven-under 209.
The Statesmen will return
to competition at Columbus,
Ga., to play against CSU
Columbus State University on
Sept. 29-30.