Former Skyline star DeVante Kincade now tearing it up at Grambling State

DALLAS, Texas -- Former Skyline quarterback DeVante Kincade had a great first season at Grambling State, where he accounted for 3,286 yards of offense and 35 touchdowns and was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Now he's preparing for his senior season, and he's the SWAC Offensive Preseason Player of the Year. He's expected to do a lot of the things he used to do for Skyline. This highlight from last season should remind Skyline fans of what Kincade did at Skyline:



Kincade starred at Skyline through the 2012 season and then signed with Mississippi on signing day in 2013. He was part of one of the early signing classes for Hugh Freeze, who abruptly resigned Thursday after allegations of sketchy behavior -- here are those details.

Kincade transferred to Grambling State after the 2015 season so he could be closer to his mother, who was struggling with some health issues. He talked about it shortly after transferring in a story in The Clarion-Ledger.

"So hard," he said. "It was a stress, man, because I was thinking about my mom and I wanted to practice plus I had homework on top of that. I told her I just want to come home and be closer to her so I won't have to be going back and forth that far."

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NSU, Southern fans ready for upcoming season

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana -- Are you ready for some football?

Northwestern State and Southern fans from Central Louisiana are ready for the upcoming season as both schools held preseason pep rallies in Alexandria Thursday.

Meanwhile, Southern coach Dawson Odums is also optimistic about the 2017 season.

Picked to finish second in the SWAC Western Division, the Jaguars are eligible for the SWAC Championship Game Dec. 2 in Houston and the Celebration Bowl — a bowl game pitting the winners of the SWAC and the MEAC — Dec. 16 in Atlanta.

"I think 2017 is going to be a good year for us," Odums said. "We return a lot of seniors, especially our starting quarterback (Arthur Howard) and our tight end (Dillon Beard). Both of those guys are preseason All-Conference performers, so we're looking for great things out of those guys."

Odums has made quite the dent in Central Louisiana with his recruiting as Tioga's Jalen Ivy signed with the school in February, while Peabody's Jamar Washington, Chris Nash and Robert Perry along with Marksville's Qa Mingo and Tioga's Jestan Deville will be preferred walk-ons once fall camp begins.

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New York fuels Donaldson’s competitive fire

NEW YORK, New York -- It has been an intense and exciting summer for Khaila Donaldson, who enters her senior year at Howard University this fall. An outside hitter on the Bison volleyball team, she has done her best to train while doing an internship at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. A successful internship will result in a full-time offer for the company’s two-year rotational analyst program, and Donaldson has put her competitive energies to use in doing a standout job.

“Most of it is personified in competition and trying to be the best at all times,” said Donaldson, a finance major. “I’m trying to be the best. I’m competing with myself.

“What I’ve learned with volleyball is the stress passes,” she added. “Hopefully, if you do well enough under pressure, the end result will be something you will be proud of.”

Howard’s volleyball team has gone to the national tournament the past two years, and Donaldson’s goal is to repeat that and make it to the Sweet 16, building a foundation for the team’s future success. Training has not been easy with the demanding internship, but she’s done her best to squeeze in workouts.

Despite the pressures, Donaldson, who grew up in the Chicago area, has fallen in love with New York and looks forward to returning to the city after graduation. She will do so with the confidence she has developed attending Howard, a renowned HBCU in Washington, D.C.

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NCCU head coach measures up to Triangle peers

CARY, North Carolina -- Five college football coaches sat on stage during the 15th Annual Bill Dooley Pigskin Preview.

Among the coaches was legendary quarterback whisperer David Cutcliffe, the head coach at Duke. Sitting to Cutcliffe’s left was his protege, second-year East Carolina head coach Scottie Montgomery. At the end of the table sat coaches from rival schools: North Carolina’s Larry Fedora and N.C. State’s Dave Doeren. Between Fedora and Doeren sat N.C. Central’s Jerry Mack.

If the casual football fan looked at the stage and was asked to pick the most successful of the five, who would it be? Cutcliffe’s had his fair share of success, first as the head coach at Ole Miss and for the last 10 years at Duke, giving life to a Blue Devils program that was constantly at the bottom of the ACC. He tied for a division title as the Rebels head coach, and won the ACC Coastal Division in 2013.

Fedora took over a North Carolina program at a dark time, right when the team was under heavy fire from the NCAA. Despite that, Fedora led the Tar Heels back to the top of the conference, winning the Coastal in 2015. Doeren won two MAC conference titles at Northern Illinois, but has not had that kind of success since taking over in Raleigh.

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JSU's Robert Porter earns first CFL start

VANCOUVER, B.C., Canada – The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will enter Friday’s road game against the B.C. Lions without one of their key leaders on defence.

When the team released its roster and depth chart for the Week 5 matchup at BC Place, missing on it was strong-side linebacker Maurice Leggett. With Leggett out, Robert Porter will earn his first CFL start.

Porter, 24, played two seasons at Jackson State, where he earned All-SWAC honours in 2015, lining up at both corner and nickel. That year he finished with 38 tackles and one interception. He also broke up 12 passes.

Porter, who stands 5-10 and weighs 190 pounds, went undrafted to the NFL in 2016, but later signed a free-agent deal with the Chicago Bears. After his release from the Bears, the Bombers signed the Detroit, Mich. native to a contract in January. He was assigned to the practice roster at the start of the 2017 CFL season.

With the absence of Leggett, the Bombers are without two of their original starting linebackers. Weakside linebacker Ian Wild was injured during a 29-10 loss to the Calgary Stampeders in Week 3 and has been ruled out for at least six weeks. Kyle Knox, who lost out the middle linebacker job to Sam Hurl, has been playing in relief of Wild.

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Towson-Morgan State Hold Battle For Greater Baltimore Press Conference

BALTIMORE, Maryland -- (7/18/17) Today, representatives from Towson University and Morgan State University held a joint press conference atop the Greene Turtle in Towson, Md., to announce the 'Battle For Greater Baltimore' – a renewal of the sports rivalry between the Baltimore area's only two local universities with a college football program. The competition for local bragging rights begins on September 2, 2017, when the Bears take a short trip over to Johnny Unitas® Stadium to take on the Tigers.

"Both programs have a rich history of playing outstanding football and this rivalry is something that our students, fans, and alumni can look forward to each year," said Edward Scott, director of intercollegiate athletics for Morgan. "Our goal is to create an event that is more than just a football game; we see this as an opportunity to rally the Greater Baltimore community."

"We are excited to renew the rivalry with Morgan State," said Towson University Director of Athletics Tim Leonard. "The series is not only good for both Universities, but it is also very beneficial to the Greater Baltimore community. Both myself, and (Morgan State AD) Ed (Scott), are committed to playing this game as often as the schedule permits."

The teams are scheduled to play the home-and-home series in 2017 and 2018. During the press conference, both AD's noted that they are working out the details of extending the series through 2020.

Saturday, September 2, will mark the 24th meeting in the series between the two university football programs that began with a 34-7 Morgan Sate win on September 1, 1979 at Towson. The Tigers hold a 17-6 advantage in the all-time series and will be playing Morgan for the first time since 2011. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The game will be broadcasted by WEAA, 88.9FM and televised.

Fans can keep up-to-date with all MSU Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/MorganStBears and @MSUBearFootball. You can also become a fan of the Bears on Facebook at Facebook.com/MorganStateBears.

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

NSU-ODU to Renew Basketball Rivalry This Year at Scope Arena

NORFOLK, Virginia – The Norfolk State and Old Dominion men's basketball programs will renew a once-strong rivalry this upcoming season when the two teams play a non-conference game at Norfolk Scope Arena on Dec. 22.

Game time will be 7 p.m. from Scope Arena in the first game between the two programs in two years. The teams last met on Dec. 29, 2015, a 68-57 win for the Monarchs at ODU's Ted Constant Center. That game marked the first meeting between the two programs in 15 years after they met at Scope Arena during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons.

"I am looking forward to a great evening of basketball between these two outstanding programs," said NSU Athletics Director Marty L. Miller. "I think this is the game that fans from both institutions want to see on the schedule every year. This game will be marked on the calendar of every sports fan in the Hampton Roads community."

ODU leads the all-time series 12-6 dating back to the first ever meeting during the 1965-66 season. The two programs played regularly during the early 1970's, meeting several times during the regular season at Scope Arena and in the NCAA tournament when both teams were members of Division II. Altogether, the teams have met 10 times at Scope Arena over the years.

"I am very excited that we have renewed the series with ODU," said NSU head coach Robert Jones. "When we played in 2015 the atmosphere was electric! The city was buzzing, and there was talk in the barber shops, beauty salons, and other places about this game.

"It also showcased how comparable our basketball programs really are. It allowed us to gain new fans who had never seen us play before that have continued to support us since then. Now that the game has moved to the Scope Arena, it will allow more fans to witness this exciting game. My hope is that this will become an annual event."

NSU will have game tickets available for sale. More information
will be announced at a later date.

Mike Bello, Assistant Sports Information Director
NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION