Saturday, January 26, 2008

Juco QB oozing confidence at Jackson State

Terrence Onyiuke can rave about his current and future teammate A.J. McKenna. The Lackawanna (Pa.) Junior College defensive lineman and Jackson State commit is nearly in awe of McKenna's physical quarterbacking attributes.

"He's an excellent quarterback," Onyiuke said. "We went to the (conference) championship and he took us there. He's got a strong arm. He can throw at least 60 yards on one knee. He makes good decisions with the ball when it's needed." It doesn't take much of a conversation with McKenna, who has signed and is taking classes at JSU, to see where Onyiuke got that feeling.

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MEAC/SWAC sports clipboard

Photo: Bethune Cookman University baskeball 5-9 freshman guard, Demetria Frank, Miami Jackson Senior High School, Miami, FL.

1. Fort Pierce Central graduate and former Florida A&M star Terry Beauford has signed on to become the offensive line coach at Hampton University under new coach Jerry Holmes. Beauford had led the offensive line at Hampton for five years before spending two seasons as the head football coach at Morehouse College.

Beauford was a dominating lineman for the Cobras during the 1980s and was a two-time All-American at FAMU before being taken in the seventh round of the 1991 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. He played for the Green Bay Packers for 1 1/2 years after being waived by the Chargers. Beauford also spent time in the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League before getting into coaching.

2. North Carolina A&T State University and North Carolina Central University are both on the 12 game 2008 schedule for Coastal Carolina University. The Chanticleers are in their seventh football season and will open their schedule at FBC Penn State. This will be Coastal Carolina first ever game against a football bowl championship team. They will play at North Carolina A&T on September 27 and host North Carolina Central on October 18. The Chanticleers finished '07 with a 5-6 record, which included a victory over Winston Salem State and a loss to Delaware State.

3. Morgan State University is scheduled to play Towson University of the Colonial Athletic Conference in the Tigers home opener on September 6, 2008. This will be the 21st meeting between the Baltimore area rivals. Towson of the CAA is playing a 12 game schedule in '08 and will open with their first ever FBC game at the U.S. Naval Academy on Aug 30.

4. Coppin State University athlete, Natoya Baird, a product from Zenith, Tobago continued her impressive early season form with a silver medal at the New York City Gothham Cup. Baird just missed another gold medal when she cleared the bar at 1.70 metres, the same height as the winner, Brenna Militello, from the University of Alabama. However, Militello was declared the winner because she cleared the bar in her first attempt.

Baird was also in ripping form at the Winter Invitational in Delaware on January 13. She was a member of the double gold elite club, winning the high jump with a 1.65m jump and capturing gold in the 110 metre hurdles final in 9.28 seconds.

5. Cuquie Melville, Delaware State University won a bronze medal in the 500m, with a 16.16 seconds clocking at the Purple Tiger Indoor Meet at LSU last Sunday.

6. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore has become the first Historical Black College and the 20th university accredited by PGA of America to offer their Professional Golf Management Program. The PGA/PGM University Program is a 4½-year structured college curriculum for aspiring PGA Professionals. The educational program is accredited by The PGA of America and includes extensive classroom studies, internship experience and player development providing students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the golf industry.

7. The Southern University and Bethune-Cookman University baseball teams, along with USC and USC will take part in the Urban Invitational Feb. 29-March 2.

The Feb. 29 schedule has Bethune-Cookman at Southern Cal and Southern at UCLA, both at 6 p.m. On March 1 at the Urban Youth Academy, UCLA plays Bethune-Cookman at 5 p.m. and USC takes on Southern at 8. UCLA is at USC and Southern faces Bethune-Cookman at the academy on the Compton College campus March 2. Both have 1 p.m. starts.

8. The sixth annual Bethune-Cookman University Alumni Baseball Game has been set for Feb. 16, the school announced. The game will be held at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Festivities will begin at 11 a.m. with a home run derby and the game will begin at 1 p.m. The 2008 Wildcats, coming off back-to-back Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship seasons, will open the year Feb. 22 at home against Temple University.

9. While the Bethune-Cookman University women's basketball team has been struggling lately, one player who has been excelling is freshman guard Demetria Frank. The 5-foot-9 Miami native had a strong performance Monday in the Wildcats' 54-52 loss to Morgan State. Frank scored 14 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Frank has scored in double-figures in four of her last five games, and for the season is averaging 10.5 points and 3.9 rebounds.

10. The Prairie View A&M women's team is the only undefeated team in conference play at 5-0. The Lady Panthers are the defending SWAC champions and are coached by Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, a former WNBA Player of the Year. Before Cooper-Dyke's arrival three years ago, Prairie View was a perennial last-place finisher in the standings.

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Savannah State bouncing back

Photo: Savannah State Anthony Jones scraps for rebound against Kansas State.

The non-national news.

Three days later, Savannah State went to Bethune-Cookman and prevailed 50-36 for its third road victory this season (tripling last season's away-from-home output). "We have to keep striving," said Broadnax, whose Tigers, playing as a Division I independent, are 10-14 in his third season. "We play these money games against powerful programs and it benefits our entire athletic program. There's a reality to it.

"We fight and scrap, but our margin for error is zero. Would it really have been a big deal to score five points instead of four at Kansas State? Yeah, we're not in the record books, but you still get your head handed to you. So you've got to maintain some perspective. I'm always looking at how we fight, how we respond."

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South Carolina State to host 15 football recruits today

Photo: Head Bulldog Coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough is ready to reload the program with talent to win the elusive MEAC title.

A larger, more heralded group of high school seniors are making a football recruiting trip to South Carolina State University this weekend.

A total of 15 prospective recruits will tour the campus and meet with the Bulldog coaching staff who find themselves -- in a couple of cases -- competing against Football Bowl Subdivision schools in the Carolinas. One of those recruits, running back Martin Ward (5-10, 190 lbs.) out of Mount Zion High School, had the University of South Carolina atop his list of college choices after decommitting from the University of Georgia.

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UMES freshman Chena Parker has risen from the bottom of the depth chart

PRINCESS ANNE -- It's been a strange career already for Chena Parker. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore freshman center made her debut in the Hawks' season-opening game, against Morgan State. She played just five minutes, took one shot and grabbed two rebounds. In the ensuing five games, she stepped on the court in four of them, playing just five more minutes. Not a headline-making start, but she was determined to stay focused. In fact, on the UMES athletic Web site, her athletic goal for the season is to stay focused, and she feels her lack of playing time actually has helped.

"I saw early on, when she first came in for individual workouts, that she was something special," Batchelor said. "I saw some unique characteristics as far as her soft hands and her touch, but she wasn't quite ready for the defensive end, the transition, the speed of the game.

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Boubacar Coly’s effort fuels Morgan State Bears

Photo: Top-50 recruit out of Laurinburg (N.C.) Institute, Morgan State University's senior forward/center Boubacar Coly is playing like one of the best in the country at his positions.

BALTIMORE - After consulting with family and Amadou Gallo Fall, the director of scouting for the Dallas Mavericks who found 6-foot-9, 220-pounder in Ziguinchor, Senegal, Boubacar Coly transferred to Morgan State. “I needed a second chance,” Coly said. “Coach Bozeman has been given his second chance and he understood more than anyone else.”

This year, he’s playing like one of the best centers in the country, as he’s led the Bears to a 9-8 record and second place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at 4-1. Coly is averaging 9.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, which is 10th-most in Division I. His 2.6 blocks per game rank 9th in major college basketball.

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Morgan State (9-8, 4-1 MEAC) is tied for second in the MEAC thanks in part to the play of forwards Marquise Kately, junior (California) and Boubacar Coly, senior (Xavier); Combined points: 22.1. Combined rebounds: 16.

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DSU Hornets head to Florida looking for momentum

Photo: Delaware State University Men's Head Basketball Coach Greg Jackson is rallying the Hornets for another championship title run.

Trip includes stop at nemesis FAMU

DOVER -- Delaware State's men's basketball team lost two conference games last season. On Jan. 27, 2007, DSU lost at Florida A&M 73-69. Less than two months later, those same Rattlers beat the Hornets at the buzzer 58-56 to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

DSU, coming off Monday's 63-61 home loss to North Carolina A&T, begins a two-game trip to Florida today with a 4 p.m. start at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach. On Monday, the Hornets take on Florida A&M at Tallahassee at 7:30 p.m. DSU hopes to emerge with two wins and momentum.

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