By KRISTIAN POPE, The News Journal
Win would give Hornets significant boost in chase for MEAC title
DOVER -- A conversation this week between a Delaware State assistant football coach and a Hornets player ended with a rather urgent statement, considering it is still September.
"He said if we don't win this game," junior fullback Adam Shrewsbury said of today's game at No. 13 Hampton, "then our season is over."
While no DSU coaches were willing to make that statement publicly, it hit home with guys like Shrewsbury, who feel the program's push to win a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.
Photo: DSU Coach Al Lavan Hornets are ready for Hampton.
Win would give Hornets significant boost in chase for MEAC title
DOVER -- A conversation this week between a Delaware State assistant football coach and a Hornets player ended with a rather urgent statement, considering it is still September.
"He said if we don't win this game," junior fullback Adam Shrewsbury said of today's game at No. 13 Hampton, "then our season is over."
While no DSU coaches were willing to make that statement publicly, it hit home with guys like Shrewsbury, who feel the program's push to win a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.
Photo: DSU Coach Al Lavan Hornets are ready for Hampton.
Is today's game DSU's most important of the season?"That's what it is," Shrewsbury said. "But every game is going to be like that. We're not promised anything. It's the biggest game of the season, but every game will be the biggest from this point."
Just three games into the season, and with virtually the entire schedule of league games remaining, here's how the postseason looks for DSU (2-1, 1-0 MEAC) heading into today's game:
Hampton, while not the overwhelming power it was last season, appears to be the best team in the MEAC. The Pirates are 3-0, with all their wins over MEAC teams.
If the Hornets lose today, they would need Hampton to lose twice in MEAC play in order to have a chance at the regular-season championship and automatic berth in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
South Carolina State (2-2, 2-0 MEAC), the preseason favorite, travels to Hampton on Oct. 20 and plays host to DSU on Oct. 27. Either one of those games could determine the champion.
"Every game [from] here out is for the MEAC championship," DSU senior defensive lineman Kelly Rouse said. "But they're [Hampton] the champs. You got to knock off the champs."
Beating Hampton on its own turf hasn't been easy for DSU. The last time it happened was 1969, when coach Arnold Jeter led DSU to a 20-0 win.
The teams didn't meet from 1971 to 1994. Since the series resumed in 1995, Hampton has gone 11-1 against the Hornets.
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