Hornets eager to be new MEAC king

Photo: Delaware State quarterback Vashon Winton prepares to throw a pass Monday night at Alumni Stadium during the first preseason practice for the Hornets.

Conference teams look to overthrow playoff-challenged Hampton

By KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal


DOVER -- Hampton University, please step aside.

That sentiment has echoed throughout the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference over the past three football seasons.

It echoed in Dover on Monday as Delaware State held its first preseason practice at Alumni Stadium.

Though the Pirates have earned three straight automatic bids to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and are led by perhaps the conference's most respected coach, they have not converted those playoff berths into a single postseason victory.
In 2004, Hampton lost to William & Mary, 42-35. In 2005, Richmond won, 38-10. And last season, with a team coach Joe Taylor considered the best he's ever had, the Pirates lost 41-38 to New Hampshire.

"I don't think it's embarrassing," Taylor said during the league's recent media day at Virginia Beach, Va. "You can go back and see how competitive we were. We were just minutes from winning last year, and that's as close as we've been."

But for some in the MEAC, a league constantly looking to prove itself, close is not enough.

"The fact that [the MEAC] hasn't won, that doesn't speak well of us as a conference," South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough said. "Hampton has been that team, and they share that weight with the rest of us. That doesn't say that any of us would have done any better. We all have to improve and play better."

In fact, Hampton is not alone in MEAC playoff futility.
Since 1978, the MEAC is 8-20 in I-AA playoff appearances.

Is it a mere coincidence the league's coaches and sports information directors voted -- or wish for -- South Carolina State to win the MEAC title this season?

MEAC teams have lost eight I-AA first-round games going back to 2000. The conference last won a playoff game in 1999, when Florida A&M beat Appalachian State.
Programs like South Carolina State and Delaware State -- which challenged Hampton for the league title last season -- believe they can not only get to the postseason, but win a game once they get there.

DSU had a chance last season, finishing 8-3. Had the Hornets won their season-finale against Howard, they might have been considered for an at-large NCAA selection.
"They won the conference and represented the conference," Hornets senior linebacker Russell Reeves said of Hampton. "You can't be mad at them [for losing], because we didn't get to go [to the playoffs]. They played, but just came up a little short."

For Delaware State to do better than Hampton in the postseason, the Hornets must beat the Pirates in the regular season. The two teams square off Sept. 29 at Hampton.
Last season, the Hornets lost at home, 29-14. Had DSU won, the league championship --and automatic bid to the playoffs -- would have been theirs to hold.

"You can't kill yourself over what happened last year," Reeves said.

"Some games we didn't play well at the end and it affected the outcome of our season. It starts and ends with us."