VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State receiver Gerald Ford caught a seven-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds left in the game to give the No. 14 Blazers a 21-17 win over the University of Arkansas at Monticello football team Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

The VSU touchdown drive came on the heels of a go-ahead scoring drive by UAM, capped with a nine-yard pass from senior Scott Buisson to junior DJ Stephens to give the Boll Weevils (3-5, 2-4 GSC) a 17-14 lead.

UAM had three scoring chances inside the VSU five-yard line throughout the game that resulted in zero points. The first came as time expired in the first half with an incomplete pass intended for senior receiver Jywin Ceasar from Buisson. The final two chances came on consecutive drives early in the fourth quarter. The VSU defense held UAM junior Nakita Myles for no gain on three consecutive rushes at the 11:26 mark, which was followed by a blocked field goal attempt on UAM’s next drive.

UAM jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 43-yard field goal by freshman Taylor Pontius at the 8:54 mark and a 28-yard touchdown pass to Stephens from Buisson with 30 seconds remaining. Pontius’ field goal capped a five-play, 17-yard drive that used just 1:28, while Stephens’ touchdown capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive that used 3:43.

The Blazers (6-1, 4-1 GSC) answered with the only score of the second quarter on a seven-yard touchdown run by Ronnye Nelson to end a nine-play, 89-yard drive that used 3:17 to give UAM a 10-7 advantage at halftime.

In addition to his game-winning touchdown catch, VSU’s Gerald Ford was also responsible for the only score in the third quarter with a 32-yard catch from Brett Whitmire at the 7:19 mark to cap a seven-play, 89-yard drive that used 2:38.

Individually for UAM, Buisson finished the game 27-of-42 through the air with 329 yards, his first 300-yard passing game since throwing for 395 in last season’s win over Harding. Buisson added two touchdown tosses in the loss to VSU, and also had a team-high 48 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Senior Johnny Polite aided Buisson’s rushing numbers with 12 carries for 43 yards, while Myles had the majority of the workload with 18 carries for 40 yards.

Buisson’s leading receiver was Stephens, who hauled in a final total of 13 catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Stephens becomes the first UAM receiver to have at least 200 receiving yards in a game since Tim Harris had 210 in a win over Harding in 2007.

Ceasar added eight catches for 76 yards in the loss. The Marrero, La. native is now just three catches away from becoming UAM’s all-time receptions leader.

UAM finished the contest with 168 more yards of total offense with a final total of 459 to VSU’s 225. The Boll Weevils had 329 yards passing and 130 yards rushing, while the Blazers had 225 yards passing and only 66 yards rushing.