Carrollton, GA - The West Georgia Wolves pushed 12th-ranked Valdosta State to the hilt Saturday afternoon at University Stadium, but in the end, the visiting Blazers used a powerful second-half surge to take down West Georgia 35-30 in Gulf South Conference play.

The matchup was a hard-fought battle between two old rivals that saw more than 850 yards of offense as well as 19 penalties between the two teams. The Wolves rushed for 186 yards on the afternoon, including 117 from quarterback #Dallas Dickey#, who had his second career game with 100 or more yards.

Dickey was also 11-of-21 for 230 yards and two touchdowns on the afternoon, but Valdosta State's Kaleb Nobles was equally as strong, going 19-for-21 off the bench for 238 yards in the VSU win. West Georgia struggled to slow down Seantavious Jones, who had 11 catches for 187 yards and three scores.

The Wolves were outstanding on the defensive side of the ball in the the opening half, holding the Blazers scoreless for the first time since 2007 and a span of 74 games and 148 halves of football.

Dickey led the Wolves straight down the field on their opening drive of the game, going 57 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead in the contest. #Quan Jones# finished off the drive with a one-yard plunge, celebrating his birthday with his sixth rushing touchdown of the season. The Wolves added a 20-yard field goal from #Mark Bardenwerper# in the second quarter to close out the first half scoring and head to the locker room with a 10-0 advantage.

The second half looked as though the defensive battle would continue, as both teams held their opponent to a three-and-out on the opening drives of the period.

But that changed quickly on the Wolves' second possession of the half, as Dickey connected with #Denarius Appling# for a 63-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive to give West Georgia a 17-0 lead with 11:26 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing drive, the Blazers drove right down the field, but a third-down sack by #Tyrell Adams# forced a 44-yard field goal attempt. The kick was good, but West Georgia was penalized for roughing the kicker, giving VSU new life. Two plays later, Nobles found Jones for the first VSU score of the day.

West Georgia quickly responded, as Dickey moved the Wolves into Valdosta State territory in three plays. But on the fourth play, the Wolves fumbled a handoff, which Valdosta State returned into UWG territory. Nobles and the Blazers took just six plays to go 39 yards and West Georgia led 17-14.

UWG was held to a three-and-out, giving the ball back to VSU near midfield. The Wolves' defense stiffened inside the 20 again, but another roughing the kicker penalty on a missed field goal attempt gave the Blazers another second chance, and Nobles took advantage again, hitting Jones for another score and a 21-17 lead.

VSU scored another touchdown with just over six minutes left in the game, but #Derick Seward# put air back into the UWG crowd with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the ensuing play. It was the first kickoff return for a touchdown by a UWG player since Detronn Harris on October 19, 2002, exactly 11 years ago and pulled the Wolves to within five points.

Both teams added one more touchdown, but West Georgia's onside kick with just over a minute to play was recovered by Valdosta State, giving the Blazers the chance to run out the clock.

West Georgia falls to 4-3 on the year and 1-2 in GSC play while the Blazers move to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Wolves will take on 8th-ranked West Alabama next weekend on the road.