Carrollton, GA - Saturday marks a big day for the West Georgia football program, as the Wolves look to bounce back from last week's setback against West Alabama, taking on 17th-ranked Valdosta State in Valdosta.

The Wolves fell on Regional television last week to the West Alabama Tigers after UWA used a 14-point outburst in the third quarter to spoil West Georgia's bid for a win in the opening game of the 2011 GSC schedule.

West Georgia built a 13-7 lead at halftime of last week's game, but a 14-3 outburst in the third quarter gave the Wolves their third loss of the year, dropping UWG to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in Gulf South Conference play.

Senior running back James Kennebrew led the UWG contingent with 11 carries for 73 yards, as the Wolves rushed for 149 yards total on the night. As a team, West Georiga was also 14-of-24 for 270 yards in the contest.

Junior quarterback Emmanuel Taylor had 13 of those 14 completions for 184 yards, while the other pass came from wide receiver VJ Hunt, who connected with Denarius Appling on the second drive of the game for an 86-yard touchdown pass.

Appling set a single-game career high with six receptions for 168 yards on the night. That yardage put him eighth on the all-time single-game list, just surpassing Ron Dixon's 165-yard effort against North Alabama in 1996. He now has 20 receptions on the season for 341 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Wolves have played hard-nosed defense all year, led by a plethora of players, notably senior safety Jenoris Darby. He has 44 tackles on the year, including one for a loss and an interception. Second on the team is junior lineman Juan Pickett, who has 37 tackles this season, including 2.5 for a loss, three quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries. 

One of the biggest turnarounds for the Wolves in the 2011 campaign has been in the turnover game. West Georgia has forced 17 turnovers this season, but has turned the ball over just 10 times on the season.

The Wolves have seven interceptions on the year by seven different players, including two for a touchodown from Waylon Kimble and Teddy Lawrence. UWG has 10 fumble recoveries on the year, including two by Pickett and Drek Mathews. For Mathews, both of his came against Harding, including one that he returned 52 yards for a score.

Valdosta State enters the contest averaging 28.8 points and 393.9 yards of offense each game while surrendering 23.2 points and 360.5 yards of offense. The Blazers rush for 163.5 yards a game while passing for 230.4. Theseus Jackson ran for a career-high 177 yards last week and has now rushed for 420 yards on the season while also catching five passes for 69 yards. Meanwhile, four Blazers have caught at least 20 passes on the season, led by Griffin Roelle with 30. Quin Roberson has added 28 while Seantavious Jones has 25 to go along with a team-best 496 yards and five touchdowns. Trey Herndon rounds out the group with 21 receptions. Chris Pope continues to lead the Blazer “Black Swarm” defense with 77 tackles, including 8.0 for loss, while also intercepting one pass and breaking up three more. Lawrence Virgil has been a force on the defensive line as he has tallied 5.0 tackles and a team-best 8.5 tackles for loss while also forcing two fumbles.