CARROLLTON, Ga. – The turkey has been eaten, the dressing served, the pumpkin pie is gone, and the only thing left on the West Georgia Wolves plate this week is a second round NCAA Playoff showdown with the top-seeded Valdosta State Blazers on Saturday.
 
When toe meets leather at 1 p.m. on Saturday, the Wolves and Blazers will not only be renewing their rivalry for a second time in four weeks, but a spot in the Super Region 2 final is on the line.
 
"Well, obviously we're excited about having another opportunity to play, and continuing our season," said head coach David Dean. "We realize we have a heck of a challenge in front of us, you know, we were down that way four weeks ago and we've got to go back down and play them again, and they're a good football team and have had a great season."
 
West Georgia (9-2) defeated Albany State last week in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs, while Valdosta State (9-1) had a bye week after earning the Region's top seed.
 
"They're going to be pretty well-rested this week, because they were off last week after getting the bye," Dean added. "So, I'm sure they got healed up whereas we had a pretty physical football game."
 
The Wolves' defense powered them through last week's 23-7 victory over the SIAC Champion Albany State Golden Rams, and another challenge awaits the Wolves with the high-powered offense of Valdosta State.
 
But it's a familiar challenge for the Wolves with the two teams just meeting in week nine of the regular season, and the Blazers coming away with a 36-34 victory. West Georgia was down 20 points in that game before making a furious comeback that came up just short.
 
"Hopefully we're going to play better than we did in the first half, and play like we did in the second half in that first game," said Dean.
 
Fans can expect a quarterback clinic as Saturday's game features two of the top quarterbacks in the conference and the region. Both Harrison Frost and Valdosta State's Ivory Durham were named this week Harlon Hill Trophy Candidates out of Super Region 2. The Harlon Hill Trophy is given annually to the top player in all of Division II.
 
Frost has thrown for a school record 3,237 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Frost's passing yards are good for ninth in all of Division II. The Kennesaw native is 19^th in the country in completion percentage and ninth in the country in completions per game.
 
Durham, the Blazer signal caller, is a dual-threat quarterback who has thrown for 2,345 yards and 20 touchdowns while adding 661 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
 
Despite the bye week, Valdosta State is reeling coming into the second-round game, losing their final regular season game at West Florida, 61-42, snapping a 30-game regular season winning streak.
 
Awaiting the winner of Saturday's game is the second-seeded Bowie State Bulldogs and the Newberry Wolves who meet in Bowie, Maryland on Saturday at 1 p.m. as well.
 
Fans making the trek south to Valdosta can purchase tickets at the above link. Links to follow the game are attached as well. Kickoff from Bazemore-Hyder Stadium is set for 1 p.m.