BLAZE OF GLORY

FLORENCE - Winning games in the fourth quarter has been a way of life for Valdosta State this season, and the Blazers saved their best for last Saturday.

Valdosta State drove 37 yards in the closing minutes to cap yet another second-half comeback and claim the Division II national championship with a 25-20 victory over Northwest Missouri on a rainy afternoon at Braly Stadium.

Michael Terry scored on a 1-yard run with 22 seconds remaining to cap the game-winning drive as the Blazers claimed their second Division II title in the last four years. Northwest Missouri, meanwhile, lost in the title game for the third year in a row.

"This means so much to me and to our Blazers family," said Valdosta State quarterback Willie Copeland, who threw for 257 yards and one touchdown. "Our fans have supported us all year. After we lost to Delta State, a lot of people counted us out, but we stuck together as a family and now we're national champions."

The win capped a remarkable playoff run for Valdosta State, which trailed in the second half in all four of its playoff games.

"We had been in that situation before, and our kids knew how to respond," Valdosta State coach David Dean said. "In every playoff game, we've been behind at one time, but these guys have never pressed the panic button. Our guys have hearts as big as any I've ever been around."

This was Dean's first year as head coach at Valdosta State, but the longtime Blazers assistant was part of the school's other national championship in 2004.

Northwest Missouri took a 14-3 lead into halftime. The Blazers rallied to take a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Bearcats answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by Xavier Omon early in the fourth quarter.

The momentum, however, quickly shifted back to the Blazers when Maurice Leggett blocked the extra point kick. The ball went into the hands of Roger King, who took it 90 yards for the defensive 2-point conversion, cutting the Bearcats' lead to 20-19.

"Give Valdosta State credit for making some plays when they had to," Northwest Missouri coach Mel Tjeerdsma said. "The blocked kick was a huge play."

Dean admitted the blocked kick gave the Blazers the spark they needed.

"It was a big momentum changer," Dean said. "We did lose our cool and get a penalty when we scored, which upset me, but it was still a huge play. We had just taken the lead, and two or three plays later, they're back in the end zone. It knocked the momentum off their back and put it on ours."

After an exchange of punts, Valdosta State moved the ball past midfield before stalling. Steven Wright's punt pinned the Bearcats at their own 18. A holding penalty moved Northwest Missouri farther back and the Bearcats were forced to punt. Michael Stadler's punt went off the side of his foot for just 27 yards and the Blazers took over at the Bearcats' 37 with 4:01 remaining.

Copeland started the drive with three-straight completions to move the ball to the 19. A 5-yard run by Rashawn Robinson gave the Blazers a first down at the 18, and Copeland hit Scott Palmer for eight yards to the 5.

Two runs by Terry moved the ball to the 1 and the Bearcats chose not to call either of their two remaining timeouts as the clock ticked under a minute. On second-and-goal, Terry went in from the 1 to put the Blazers up 25-20 with 22 seconds remaining.

"We were very confident on the final drive," Copeland said. "We didn't come all the way to Florence to lose. We just had to execute our blocks, our runs and our passes, and that's what we did."

After the ensuing kickoff, Valdosta linebacker William Montford wrapped up the title when he intercepted a Joel Osborn pass. The Blazers ran one final play to run out the clock as the Valdosta State fans stormed the field to begin the celebration.

Valdosta State finished with 305 yards of total offense to just 235 for the Bearcats. The Blazers held All-America tailback Omon to 63 yards rushing on 27 carries.

"Our coach (defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen) came up with a great scheme to stop him," said linebacker Michael Cullen, who led the Blazers with nine total tackles. "Our defensive line played the best I've ever seen them play. They manhandled their offensive line and that made it easy for the rest of us."

Tjeerdsma said he was surprised at how Valdosta State dealt with Omon.

"They shut down our running game, which no one has been able to do in a long time," he said. "We had some holding calls that hurt us also, and you can't have those in a championship game. We knew Valodsta's defense was quick to the ball, but they were even quicker than we thought. For the first time in a long time, our offensive line did not dominate."

Valdosta State got a 35-yard field goal from Zac Williams on the game's opening possession to go up 3-0. Northwest Missouri went up 7-3 when Aldwin Foster-Rettig intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 31 yards for a score.

The Bearcats got another score just before halftime on a 3-yard pass from Osborn to Mike Peterson to take the 14-3 lead into halftime.

But the Blazers got back in it with a quick touchdown in the third quarter. Copeland hit Clay Callaway for a 7-yard scoring pass to trim the Bearcats' lead to 14-10. The Blazers regained the lead at 17-14 early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard pass from Ronnye Nelson to Zach Parker.

"We've got a lot of great seniors on this team and somebody asked me about how we'll do without them," Dean said. "But I'm not worried about next year right now. Tonight, I just want to enjoy being Division II national champions."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@timesdaily.com.