By: Lloy Hudson

Sports Editor

UNC Pembroke handed Valdosta State a historic defeat Saturday, shutting out the Blazers 31-0 at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium in VSU’s home opener. 

It was the program’s first shutout loss since 1991 and the first ever at home.

The Blazers struggled to find rhythm offensively, cycling through quarterbacks and failing to cross midfield on several possessions. 

Costly turnovers and penalties erased the few promising drives they managed to string together.

“Obviously, didn’t play well at all,” head coach said after the game. “But it’s up to me, first of all, to get it fixed and the guys in that room to do everything they can to get it fixed. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

Valdosta State’s defense held firm early, but surrendered a late first-half touchdown that gave Pembroke momentum heading into the break. 

The Braves then capitalized on big plays in the second half to pull through.

“Our defense played well in the first half,” the coach said. “But the offense couldn’t get it going, put us in some tough spots, and then the big plays in the second half kind of got us in a bigger hole than we were already in.”

Receiver Council Allen, one of the few bright spots for the Blazers’ offense, credited preparation for helping him find openings despite the struggles.

“Just with a defense, I noticed actual film sessions with Coach Nelson,” Allen said. “He really breaks everything down from weak spots to the false steps and everything. So that’s how I found the no spacing and everything.”

Allen said his motivation came from within the team, even in a tough outing.

“The team. It’s us. It’s strictly the team,” he said. “Starting tomorrow, we get in practice, we working. We got to hit the ground, and we go day by day.”

The quarterback situation remains unsettled for the Blazers, who have rotated signal-callers through the first four weeks. The coach said the position will continue to be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.

“It’s going to go week by week until we solidify it as an offense,” he said. “We just have to play better as a whole.”

Despite the setback, the Blazers remain focused on the next conference game, which begins next week with Lenoir-Rhyne.

“You know, we still got our goals in front of us with conference games coming,” the coach said. “But we have to take it one week at a time. That was a tough loss for us today, and we’ve got to find a way to address those issues.”

The next home game is set for Oct. 4th at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium at 4 PM and is pink themed.

Stream Football through FloSports.