Prairie View, Alabama A&M meet for SWAC titleBIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Prairie View A&M's football program has come a long way. The team that once couldn't win now doesn't bother pondering the possibility of losing. The Panthers face Alabama A&M Saturday at Legion Field in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game, and coach Henry Frazier III was taken aback when asked if his team would still consider the season a success if it loses. “I haven't even thought about that,” Frazier said. “Not winning, that's not even something we've thought about. Ask me Saturday. I can't really answer that. That's not even in our minds.”
Yep, Prairie View (8-1) hardly resembles the program that lost 80 consecutive games in the 1990s. The Panthers are playing in their first SWAC title game and haven't won the league title since 1964. They won 11 league titles before there was a championship contest. Alabama A&M (7-4) made it to the championship game by winning its last two games following a 33-27 loss to Prairie View. The Bulldogs rallied from a 33-7 deficit midway through the third quarter before the comeback stalled.
Prairie View climbs from rock bottom to top of SWACOnce a rock-bottom program, PV has made one of college football’s all-time-great climbs.
PRAIRIE VIEW — While his assistants prepare the Prairie View A&M Panthers for their next football game, head coach Henry Frazier III swaps stories during practice with John “Doc” Mayes, the school's longtime director of athletic training. Most of Mayes' tales have a similar theme — the time one of the team's buses caught fire en route to a game, the road trip on which each player's daily meal allowance was $12.50, the overnight stays when the Panthers had to sleep three to a hotel room, with the odd man out relegated to a rollaway bed. They all end the same way: At the final gun, Prairie View always lost.
Frazier makes the implausible a reality
Prairie View goes from basement mainstays to conference title game
PRAIRIE VIEW — Prairie View A&M coach Henry Frazier III does not have a large office, but what there is contains a lot of significant mementos. On his desk are pictures of family members. Nearby are trophies in recognition of his coaching achievements. And nestled against a wall is Frazier's signature “championship” belt. The belt, which reads “PV Football 2009” on one side and “SWAC Champions” on the other, has become the symbol of Frazier's primary goal since he took over the program Dec. 22, 2003. That goal can become a reality if the Panthers (8-1) defeat Alabama A&M in Saturday's Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship Game at Birmingham, Ala.
Thanks to Frazier, Prairie View no joke
Long before Anthony Jones became the head football coach at Alabama A&M, he knew about Henry Frazier III, an up-and-coming coach at Bowie State. Jones coached against Frazier during his days at Morehouse College. The two hit it off, Jones said, during a recruiting fair in Maryland a few years ago. "I brought my son with me and he was going around recruiting players for me to come to Morehouse," Jones said. "Frazier was impressed with that. We became friends from that point on. "I have a lot of respect for him." Jones and Frazier, now the head coach at Prairie View, will put their friendship aside Saturday when the Bulldogs (7-4) take on the Panthers (8-1) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game at Birmingham's Legion Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN Classic.
Prairie View's Black wins top SWAC offensive honor
Prairie View A&M junior quarterback K.J. Black was named Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year when the conference's postseason honors were released Wednesday. Texas Southern junior quarterback Arvell Nelson received Newcomer of the Year honors. Grambling State defensive end Christian Anthony was named Defensive Player of the Year, and Grambling kicker Ari Johnson was named Freshman of the Year.
Black, a transfer from Western Kentucky, threw for 1,775 yards and 19 touchdowns against four interceptions to lead Prairie View (8-1) to its first SWAC Western Division title. The Panthers will face Alabama A&M in Saturday's SWAC championship game in Birmingham, Ala. Black, who was also named to the All-SWAC second team, began the season as a backup, but started the Panthers' last seven games, all wins. He completed 71.3 percent of his passes and was second in the FCS in passing efficiency (172.18).
Seniors have sad history vs. Prairie View
Ulysses Banks has never beaten Prairie View. Neither has Thomas Harris, Xavier Manuel, Jeremy Maddox or Maurice Thomas just to name a few. In fact, only one of Alabama A&M's 12 seniors - fifth-year receiver Anthony Mitchell - has ever beaten Prairie View. That came in 2005. Since then, Prairie View has beaten A&M four straight times. Banks and the rest of A&M's seniors will take their final shot at Prairie View Saturday in the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game at Birmingham's Legion Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN Classic.
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