Valdosta State pulls out gritty win over Clark Atlanta

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - It wasn’t pretty, but the Graham Craig era starts off in the win column, as Valdosta State picked up a gritty victory over Clark Atlanta Saturday in Birmingham.

The Blazers topped the Panthers 31-28 Saturday afternoon at Legion Field for the inaugural Week Zero Labor Day Classic.

The two were knotted at 14 apiece at the half, and exchanged scores in the second half until Valdosta State pulled away for good when Matt Rolader drained a 24-yard field goal with just under 8:00 to play to seal up the victory.

“We were put in some tough spots and were able to fight our way out of it,” said Craig. “Proud of the way we did that a couple of different times where it looked like we got the momentum back and we’d give it right back and end up fighting out of it again. Proud of the way we did that, but definitely some things to clean up.”

The Blazers tallied 423 yards of offense with 235 passing yards and 188 on the ground. In his first start, quarterback Harris Boyd finished 14 of 24 passing for 235 and one touchdown and one interception. Reddick finished with 10 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.

The Blazers hit the road next week to face Johnson C. Smith in North Carolina. Kick off is set for 12 noon.

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