By VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
Pete Adrian calls it the Super Bowl.
Sounds a little over the top, even for pregame hype, doesn't it, considering it's only Division I-AA Norfolk State taking on Division II Virginia State? Today's Labor Day Classic kicks off the Spartans' season at 6 p.m., at Dick Price Stadium.
Yet, consider this. In 10 years as a Division I-AA team, the Spartans are 5-5 against the Trojans. Adrian is 1-1, with last year's 29-14 victory breaking a three-game losing streak to Virginia State.
Jason Kressen, a redshirt senior looks almost pained when he says, "I don't know what it feels like to walk off the field having beaten Virginia State." Kressen was sidelined last year when NSU recorded the victory.
"This year is about vindication for me," he said.
"We showed them the film from two years ago," Adrian said. "It was ugly."
The Spartans have stressed all preseason that they want this year to be about making a statement in the MEAC, so is this non-league game a must-win? Hardly. But anything less than a manhandling of Virginia State from a team that appears ready to have a breakthrough season would be disappointing.
A year ago, the Spartans led the Trojans 22-0, earning two touchdowns via special teams before the opponent made the final score respectable.
"I've been on our offense because we won last year, but we had 190 yards and we ran 39 plays," Adrian said. "We've got to come out and dominate."
These Spartans, who say they formed a unique bond by lifting each other during the wicked heat that made two-a-days more difficult than normal, say they are stronger than in years past. Adrian says they are deeper at every position, too, but also younger. Twenty-seven seniors are gone from last year's team, and 50 of the 89 players on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores.
If Virginia State has any advantage, it is that the Trojans have already played a game. They fell 52-21 last week to Carson-Newman, a I-AA team ranked 22nd in the preseason Sports Network Poll.
A history-making game awaits in two weeks when NSU travels to Rutgers to takes on its first Division I-A opponent, but for now it's Virginia State, and Adrian promises no Spartan is looking ahead.
Virginia State, he said, "is all we've talked about."
Now it's time to play.
Pete Adrian calls it the Super Bowl.
Sounds a little over the top, even for pregame hype, doesn't it, considering it's only Division I-AA Norfolk State taking on Division II Virginia State? Today's Labor Day Classic kicks off the Spartans' season at 6 p.m., at Dick Price Stadium.
Yet, consider this. In 10 years as a Division I-AA team, the Spartans are 5-5 against the Trojans. Adrian is 1-1, with last year's 29-14 victory breaking a three-game losing streak to Virginia State.
Jason Kressen, a redshirt senior looks almost pained when he says, "I don't know what it feels like to walk off the field having beaten Virginia State." Kressen was sidelined last year when NSU recorded the victory.
"This year is about vindication for me," he said.
"We showed them the film from two years ago," Adrian said. "It was ugly."
The Spartans have stressed all preseason that they want this year to be about making a statement in the MEAC, so is this non-league game a must-win? Hardly. But anything less than a manhandling of Virginia State from a team that appears ready to have a breakthrough season would be disappointing.
A year ago, the Spartans led the Trojans 22-0, earning two touchdowns via special teams before the opponent made the final score respectable.
"I've been on our offense because we won last year, but we had 190 yards and we ran 39 plays," Adrian said. "We've got to come out and dominate."
These Spartans, who say they formed a unique bond by lifting each other during the wicked heat that made two-a-days more difficult than normal, say they are stronger than in years past. Adrian says they are deeper at every position, too, but also younger. Twenty-seven seniors are gone from last year's team, and 50 of the 89 players on the roster are either freshmen or sophomores.
If Virginia State has any advantage, it is that the Trojans have already played a game. They fell 52-21 last week to Carson-Newman, a I-AA team ranked 22nd in the preseason Sports Network Poll.
A history-making game awaits in two weeks when NSU travels to Rutgers to takes on its first Division I-A opponent, but for now it's Virginia State, and Adrian promises no Spartan is looking ahead.
Virginia State, he said, "is all we've talked about."
Now it's time to play.
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