By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
For this season’s first two weeks, Prairie View has had the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Specialist of the Week.
In week two, it was junior free safety Val Ford, who returned two blocked punts for touchdowns and made a tackle for a safety, accounting for 15 points in a 22-7 win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday.
In week one, it was freshman kicker Brady Faggard, who kicked two field goals and was 4-for-4 on PATs in a 34-14 win over Texas Southern. PV made three field goals all last season.
The importance of this can’t be underestimated.
Prairie View (2-0, 1-0 SWAC), which visits Southern (2-0, 1-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium, struggled mightily on special teams last season.
Punter Eric Hernandez, a three-time all-conference talent, had to also place-kick after preseason All-SWAC selection Mario Sanchez was academically ineligible. Then Hernandez struggled with a quad injury.
“That really hurt us last year,” Prairie View coach Henry Frazier III said. “Especially because we had so many close games.”
To that end, PV signed three kickers in the offseason. And the team had to replace the steady Hernandez.
Well, freshman Pedro Ventura is ninth nationally (and leads the SWAC) in punting, at 44.4 yards per punt. The Panthers are eighth in net punting (40.8 yards).
And Faggard is already 6-for-7 on PATs and 2-for-3 on field-goal tries. Last season, PV was 11-for-18 on PATs and 3-for-9 on field-goal tries.
More, College Sporting News, which covers the Football Championship Subdivision, named Ford and junior cornerback Riante Jones as its national special teams players of the week.
Jones blocked three kicks: the punts returned for TDs by Ford and a field-goal try.
Plus, against TSU, strong safety Anthony Beck blocked a field-goal try (and had a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown).
“Special teams has been huge for us,” Frazier said. “We were able to make some depth. We’re making plays.”
SU’s Smith honored
For this season’s first two weeks, Prairie View has had the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Specialist of the Week.
In week two, it was junior free safety Val Ford, who returned two blocked punts for touchdowns and made a tackle for a safety, accounting for 15 points in a 22-7 win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday.
In week one, it was freshman kicker Brady Faggard, who kicked two field goals and was 4-for-4 on PATs in a 34-14 win over Texas Southern. PV made three field goals all last season.
The importance of this can’t be underestimated.
Prairie View (2-0, 1-0 SWAC), which visits Southern (2-0, 1-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday in A.W. Mumford Stadium, struggled mightily on special teams last season.
Punter Eric Hernandez, a three-time all-conference talent, had to also place-kick after preseason All-SWAC selection Mario Sanchez was academically ineligible. Then Hernandez struggled with a quad injury.
“That really hurt us last year,” Prairie View coach Henry Frazier III said. “Especially because we had so many close games.”
To that end, PV signed three kickers in the offseason. And the team had to replace the steady Hernandez.
Well, freshman Pedro Ventura is ninth nationally (and leads the SWAC) in punting, at 44.4 yards per punt. The Panthers are eighth in net punting (40.8 yards).
And Faggard is already 6-for-7 on PATs and 2-for-3 on field-goal tries. Last season, PV was 11-for-18 on PATs and 3-for-9 on field-goal tries.
More, College Sporting News, which covers the Football Championship Subdivision, named Ford and junior cornerback Riante Jones as its national special teams players of the week.
Jones blocked three kicks: the punts returned for TDs by Ford and a field-goal try.
Plus, against TSU, strong safety Anthony Beck blocked a field-goal try (and had a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown).
“Special teams has been huge for us,” Frazier said. “We were able to make some depth. We’re making plays.”
SU’s Smith honored SU junior running back Kendrick Smith, who transferred from Southern Illinois and sat out last season after starring at Coffeyville Community College, was the SWAC Newcomer of the Week.
Smith turned two catches into two TDs and 32 yards and he came on late to run for 58 yards on seven carries.
Because of Smith’s offseason and because of hamstring issues in spring and early in preseason camp, the staff has worked him in slowly. But he’s shown spurts of some special talent.
“His thing is learning the system,” SU offensive coordinator Mark Orlando said. “He hits that hole. He’s got big-play ability.”
Yellow flags
Prairie View has been penalized 26 times for a SWAC-worst 278 yards in two games — 15 for 141 in the season opener, a 34-14 win over Texas Southern and 11 for 137 in a 22-7 win over North Carolina A&T.
“We have to do a better job in terms of discipline,” Frazier said. “That’s one thing we’re going to harp on this week.”
SU has been flagged nine times for 79 yards. Both totals are SWAC lows.
Quick view of Prairie View
Said SU coach Pete Richardson, “Coach Frazier is doing an outstanding job with that team. His kids are playing hard. They’re making plays. He has 22 seniors, led by his quarterback. He understands the systems and makes the plays.
“Defensively, they fly around to the football. Offensively, they do a lot of things to cause some problems.”
Quick view of Southern
Said Frazier, “They’re much better (than last season, when SU went 5-6, including a 26-23 overtime loss to PV in Houston), a little more physical. Coach Richardson does a great job. I have tremendous respect for him. This year is a new year. I know they’ll be ready.”
The work
SU took Monday off, in what is becoming its first normal work week of the season.
The norm the last few seasons has been a short workout Sunday — “to get the soreness out,” Richardson said — and off Monday because players usually have many class conflicts with a 3:30 p.m. practice.
Last week, SU practiced at 6 p.m. Monday and did not practice Thursday. The previous week, coming off preseason camp, SU did not work Sunday.
Notes
In FCS stats, SU is 11th in total offense (476.0 ypg), 13th in rushing offense (265.5 ypg) and 18th in pass efficiency defense. PV is seventh in scoring defense (10.5), 10th in tackles for loss (10.0 per game) and first in sacks allowed (none). &hellip SU sophomore Tremaine Williams, a reserve defensive back, had an MRI on a right knee injury Monday. Williams suffered the injury on kickoff coverage late in the third quarter Saturday. SU leads the SWAC in third-down conversions (15-for-31, 48.4 percent) and opponents’ third-down conversions (5-for-28, 17.9 percent).
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