By Nick Deriso, The Monroe News StarNOT FLASHY, BUT SOLID
First-year Grambling coach Rod Broadway’s style isn’t flashy. In fact, it’s sometimes almost boring.
A sample: “Don’t try to make plays that are not in your area,” Broadway told the team this week. “Take care of your responsibility.”
But that kind of solid, foundation-building approach is finding a home in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, despite the lingering reputation of flamboyant character/coaches like Marino Casem, Archie Cooley and Melvin Spears.
After all, it could be argued that both participants in the most recent SWAC title games (Alabama A&M’s Anthony Jones and Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Mo Forte) were proponents of this assignment-oriented approach — as are recent championship coaches like Charlie Coe and Pete Richardson.
DON’T MISS IT
When Grambling plays Alabama A&M this Saturday, it will be one of just three home games in 2007, the second consecutive season that’s happened.
Over the past 25 seasons at Robinson Stadium, GSU has held as few as three home games on 10 other occasions.
But it’s not the shortest home slate ever.
Under former coach Doug Williams in 2001, the Tigers played just two games in Grambling — going 2-0 over Alabama A&M and Texas Southern.
GSU then played four home contests in 2002-05.
Still, playing so few times in front of the locals puts additional pressure on the team to perform well, something first-year Grambling coach Rod Broadway is well aware of.
“I’ve heard so much about the atmosphere here,” Broadway said. “I’m excited for our fans and our football team. Hopefully, we can go out and represent the university and the athletic department well.”
Grambling has posted undefeated home records nine times (1983, ’89, ’91, ’93-94, 2000-02, and ’05) since “The Rob” opened in September 1983. Its only winless campaign at the stadium was in 2004.
ENEMY LINES: A&M
Alabama A&M, coming off its first-ever SWAC championship in 2006, returns 13 starters — including dual-threat quarterback Kelcy Luke.
That led preseason league voters to predict a return to the title match, which has also featured A&M in 2000, ’02 and ’05. Each previous time, however, the Bulldogs fell to this week’s foe, Grambling.
“We’ve got some demons to face,” said A&M coach Anthony Jones. “We’ve got to get ourselves ready to face a good football team on the road. (First-year Grambling coach Rod) Broadway has them playing well in all three phases of the game.”
Always a defensive-minded squad, A&M has emerged as a scoring threat in 2006 — averaging a league-leading 45 points a game so far in wins over Tennessee State, Clark-Atlanta and Mississippi Valley.
That’s helped the Bulldogs open a season at 3-0 for the first time since 1966, according to the SWAC.
“They’re the conference champions, and have played in a number of championship games,” Broadway said. “You don’t play in that many conference championship games without doing a good job. It’s going to be a great challenge.”
Freshman Ulysses Banks has run for 314 yards in the past two games alone, while the underappreciated Luke — still largely unknown, despite leading A&M to consecutive nine-win seasons — is throwing for 293 yards a game.
“He’s a leader, and he’s proven to be a winner,” Jones said of Luke. “I’m blessed to have him on our team.”
Grambling holds a 12-4 lead in a series that dates back to 1941. A&M recorded a shutout in that first meeting; Grambling held the Bulldogs scoreless the last time this league game was held at Robinson Stadium, in 2005. There were 44 years between the second and third games of this series, held in 1945 and then ’89. A&M has been an annual opponent since it joined the SWAC in 1998.
“We’re excited to play the conference champions,” Broadway said. “You can never underestimate the heart of a champion. That means they will not give up, and they’ll be there until the last whistle. That’s where we have to get our guys.”
SWAC ATTACK
VIEW FROM SOUTHERN
Once again, Southern had its troubles with Prairie View — though the Jaguars were able to avoid the overtime upset that defined their 2006 season.
The defense overcame a series of offensive mishaps, including as many as six dropped passes, to win 12-2.
“I don’t know if it’s what they did or what we did to ourselves,” Southern coach Pete Richardson said.
Photo: Texas Southern vs. JSU was played in monsoon.
OFF THE SNIDEJackson State has finally gotten its first win of the season, besting Texas Southern 28-7 in a rain-soaked contest.
JSU finished 2006 on a 1-4 slide, then opened this year 0-2.
“We needed a win bad,” said coach Rick Comegy. “We haven’t had one in a while. Hopefully that will lead us back to the hopes and dreams we had for the season.”
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