Valdosta State looks for Bonner's replacement

VALDOSTA - Dusty Bonner was the right player at the right time for Valdosta State. Now that he&#39;s gone, who will take his place? <br> <br> ``I don&#39;t think anybody could ever replace him,&#39;&#39; coach Chris Hatcher said. ``It&#39;s going to be a long time before we get a kid this good again.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Last year, Bonner threw for 4,037 yards and 52 TDs, leading Valdosta State to a 12-1 record and the Gulf South Conference title. In his two seasons with the Blazers, Bonner led the team to a 22-3 record and twice won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the top player in Division II. <br> <br> ``He kind of got a lot of interest drawn back into the program,&#39;&#39; Hatcher said. ``A lot of people came to see Dusty. We&#39;re hoping they like what they saw so much they&#39;ll continue to come and support us.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Buster Faulkner, Bonner&#39;s backup a year ago, completed spring practice as the No. 1 quarterback, but Hatcher said Kenn Barnett, who started before Hatcher and Bonner arrived at Valdosta State, will get a chance to win the job back. <br> <br> ``I feel real good about both players,&#39;&#39; Hatcher said. ``It&#39;s going to be wide open.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Whoever starts will have the comfort of handing off - often, probably - to Aaron Jenkins. He ran for 1,503 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2001. <br> <br> But the Blazers&#39; defense may be the focal point, at least early. It led Division II in points allowed last year (14.5 a game), and leading tacklers Ced Dickerson and Wesley Brown are among seven returning starters. <br> <br> ``We got a lot of notoriety for our offense, but our defense has been pretty good, too,&#39;&#39; Hatcher said. ``We&#39;re going to count on those guys this year, and if they get us the ball, maybe we can put some points on the board.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Scoring points wasn&#39;t a problem last season; in fact, the Blazers didn&#39;t have many problems at all. They outscored their opponents 617-188, scoring at least 31 points in all 13 games, and gained nearly double the yards. <br> <br> But a poor performance in the quarterfinals of the Division II playoffs led to a 37-34 loss to Catawba in overtime. Valdosta State had five turnovers and two blocked field goals in the game. <br> <br> ``We didn&#39;t play our kind of game,&#39;&#39; Hatcher said. ``We always said we could only beat ourselves, and that&#39;s what happened.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He doesn&#39;t think it will happen this year. <br> <br> ``We always expect to win every game, even though we&#39;ve got a lot of inexperienced guys,&#39;&#39; Hatcher said. ``But this is their time to step up. If we can continue to improve, it could be a big year.&#34;

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