CLEVELAND, Mississippi – Delta State University football lost a heartbreaker in triple overtime on Saturday afternoon, falling to No. 23 Valdosta State 40-34 on Homecoming. DSU honored its 23 seniors prior to kickoff and crowned senior Allison Dale as Homecoming Queen during halftime ceremonies.

THE BASICS

• Score:  Blazers 40, Statesmen 34 (3OT)
• Records:  Delta State (5-5, 1-5 GSC), No. 23/19 Valdosta State (7-2, 4-2 GSC)
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 7 | 4 p.m. (CDT) Kickoff | Homecoming and Senior Day
• Location: Parker Field-McCool Stadium | Cleveland, Miss.
• Series: Statesmen lead 20-14-1.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Scoring:

• On the opening drive, the Statesmen used 11 plays to march 73 yards down field that resulted in a 10-yard passing score from Tyler Sullivan to James Johnson, his second touchdown of the season. DSU took the early 7-0 at the 12:18 mark, following a made PAT by Vince Sciorrotta.
• The Blazers executed on their first two possessions, scoring a pair of touchdowns on Cedric O'Neal runs. Valdosta took the 14-7 lead with 2:55 to go in the first quarter.
• Valdosta scored its third unanswered touchdown on a pick-six by Kenny Moore, extending the Blazer lead to 21-7 at the 13:01 mark in the second quarter. Moore's 94-yard return ties Valdosta's record for longest interception return.
• VSU used a 27-yard field goal from Gavin Wilson with 8:06 to go in the half to go up 24-7 over the Statesmen.
• The Green-and-White answered in their next drive with a five-yard touchdown pass from Sullivan to senior Darius Powell. An unsuccessful PAT attempt notched the score at 24-13 in favor of the Blazers with 6:06 on the clock, a score that held with both teams going into the locker room.
• Valdosta extended its lead to 27-13 by tacking on another field goal at the 6:18 mark in the third quarter.
• DSU narrowed the lead to a touchdown, 27-20 with over two minutes to play in the third, when Sullivan found senior Jarvis York on the left side of the end zone for the seven-yard score.
• The Statesmen tied the game at 27-27 on the ensuing drive to open the fourth quarter. A huge block by Mose Countryman created a hole for Justin McArthur to find his way to the end zone for his first score of the night and third of the season.
• Regulation expired with the score deadlocked at 27-27, forcing overtime. Valdosta scored on a 10-yard pass from Roland Rivers to go up 34-27.
• In their first attempt in overtime, the Statesmen used a pass over the middle to Patrick Bethley to tie the game at 34-34.
• Neither team scored in the second overtime, as both teams fumbled away their opportunities on the first snap of each possession. 
• VSU's O'Neal put the Blazers up 40-34 on a 7-yard rushing touchdown to start the third OT.  The 2-point conversion sailed through the hands of the intended receiver.
• After gaining six yards on the first snap of their possession, Delta State's Eddie McCadney fumbled giving extra effort in hopes of picking up the first down, sealing the victory for the Blazers.

Defense:

• The Statesmen held the Blazer offense, averaging 229.4 yards passing on the season, to 195 yards.
• Valdosta went 8-of-18 in third-down conversions, 1-of-1 in fourth-down conversions, and 4-of-4 in red zone opportunities.
• DSU held VSU to just three points in the second half after surrendering 24 in the first.

 
Special Teams:

• Sciorrotta went 4-for-5 in PATs, missing his second PAT of the season, while having no chances to kick a field goal.
• Cody Mills punted four times for 151 yards, averaging 37.8 yards and a long of 48.

 
Key Stat

• Delta State's turnovers proved to be detrimental with VSU scoring 10 points off of six Statesmen turnovers.

 
Game Changer

• DSU's fumble in triple overtime secured the win for the Blazers.

 
Notables

• Junior quarterback Tyler Sullivan made his return after a four-game absence due to injury. The Louisville, Mississippi, native went 20-for-42 for 237 yards and five touchdowns, marking his third consecutive start against Valdosta with five scoring strikes.
• Richard Nash eclipsed 200 career tackles with his 19-tackle career-high performance. His previous career-high was 17.
• McArthur, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, produced a season-high 81 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards with a touchdown for a total of 125 all-purpose yards.
• Delta State's last appearance in overtime came during the 2011 campaign, as then-No. 2 Delta State rallied to defeat No. 1 North Alabama 30-24 on a Brant Botill touchdown at Braly Municipal Stadium in front of 11,500 fans.

From Coach Cooley:
"We should have won the game in regulation. We can't turn the ball over six times. I hated that these two kids fumbled the football because they played really well all night long. It was an unbelievable game, but we came up short again. I'm just proud of our guys because they kept fighting. We will bounce back next week, get ready for Mississippi College, and try to keep the Heritage Bell at Delta State."


Up Next
The Statesmen wrap up regular season action on Saturday, Nov. 14 against in-state rival Mississippi College with the Heritage Bell at stake. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. in Clinton and the game will be featured as the Gulf South Conference's Florida Spacecoast Beaches Game of the Week on ESPN3. Don Russell and Rick Rhoades will have the call.