Monday, December 12, 2011

A final look at the historic WSSU football season

WINSTON SALEM, North Carolina -- In a historic season like the one Winston-Salem State just completed in football there are a lot of little things that have to go right.

I thought that the way the Rams approached each game is something you don’t see too often. Not once when I interviewed coach Connell Maynor or his players during the week did they look ahead to the big picture.

It’s kind of difficult for me to even listen to players and coaches talk about “taking them one game at a time” because it’s a bad cliché. It’s obvious you play the games one at a time but there have been numerous occasions where a team has looked too far ahead. The Rams never did that, and I’m not sure how Maynor and his assistant coaches pulled that off.


Maynor looks ahead after Rams' loss

WINSTON SALEM, North Carolina - With their magical ride over, the Winston-Salem State Rams will need time to heal from the sting of just missing a chance to play for the NCAA Division II football championship. Coach Connell Maynor, on the other hand, couldn't help but look ahead. "We don't rebuild," he said, "we reload."

The Rams fell short of Maynor's summer prediction of a national championship with Saturday's 21-14 semifinal loss to Wayne State at Bowman Gray Stadium.

But their 13-1 record is the best in program history, and the 13 victories are the most in a season by a historically black college. Also, the Rams are CIAA champions, and their No. 3 ranking in the AFCA poll is a program best.

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Rams' Cooper faces draft decision 

Nicholas Cooper
WINSTON SALEM, North Carolina -- Running back Nic Cooper emerged from the Winston-Salem State locker room Saturday with a large icepack wrapped around his right shin.

About an hour after the Rams' dream season ended with a 21-14 loss to Wayne State, Cooper couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment.

"It does hurt," he said of the Rams falling two wins short of the Division II championship. "You can see the finish line, but you can't get there. It's like you pull a hamstring, and you can't get there. It's a sick feeling."

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