Leggett's knack for the big play propels Blazers

FLORENCE - Scoreboards and naysayers be darned, Maurice Leggett expected a win.

So did the rest of his Valdosta State teammates, even after the Blazers trailed by two scores in the second half of Saturday's NCAA Division II National Championship Game.

Why not?

The Blazers stormed back one more time for a 25-20 win against Northwest Missouri at Braly Stadium, capping a postseason of theatrics.

Valdosta has trailed in the second half of each of its four playoffs game this year, using big plays to seize momentum when it mattered.

"Our motto is 'Expect to win,' " Leggett said. "Sometimes we start slow, but we stick to our motto until time expires."

Leggett exemplified that creed Saturday.

Just after Northwest Missouri threatened to retake control, answering consecutive Blazers scores with a touchdown for a 20-17 lead, Leggett stole back the momentum.

The senior cornerback rushed around the end to block the Bearcats' extra-point attempt, and teammate Roger King scooped up the ball and returned it for the first defensive conversion in the history of the Division II championship.

That cut the Blazers deficit to 20-19 with 12:33 remaining in the game, putting Valdosta State in position to take a late lead with a field goal.

"Maurice Leggett just has a knack for doing that," Blazers coach David Dean said. "If he's not blocking them, he's always around to scoop them up and take it the distance for a score."

Leggett, who has blocked three kicks this season, denied a crucial kick that clinched a 28-27 win against Arkansas Tech earlier this season. Saturday's might have been better.

"I don't know if I've seen a more clutch block than that one at that time to snatch momentum back," Dean said.

"We thought it was going to be a bigger momentum-changer, but we lost our discipline a little and got a 15-yard penalty," Dean added, referring to the unsportsmanlike penalty King drew for summersaulting into the end zone. "But it was huge because we had just taken the lead and they got back in the end zone, trying to seize momentum. Somehow or another, we found a way to knock that momentum off their back and it put it on ours."

It wasn't the only game-changer for Leggett. The cornerback also nabbed an interception to cap a defensive stand with the Blazers defending a short field after an 18-yard punt gave Northwest Missouri possession at the Valdosta State 44-yard line.

"I was a little upset with it because we had the wind at our back," Dean said. "Steven Wright, our punter, has done a great job. He just picked a bad time to have his worst punt of the year. I saw those (defensive) guys run out like they always do."

The Bearcats, who led 14-10 at that point, converted a fourth-down, but netted just three yards on the drive, which ended when Leggett plucked a tipped pass out of the air at the 36 with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

"It doesn't really faze us wherever the ball is at," linebacker Michael Cullen said. "We just go out there with the mindset of getting a stop, and that's what we did all day."

That's what Dean loves about his comeback kids.

"Our kids never panicked," Dean said. "You look at them and never felt like they were out of a game. They're just a resilient crew. I told them I love them all like they were my own."

Bryan App can be reached at 740-5730 or bryan.app@timedaily.com.