South Carolina State's Wiley down, what now?

The bad news for South Carolina State fans broke Wednesday evening when Bulldogs backup quarterback Derrick Wiley showed up at the player's only practice with a cast on his leg.

Turns out Wiley, the MVP of last season's season-opening win over Grambling, broke a bone in his foot earlier in the summer and just recently underwent surgery to correct the problem. The injury puts Wiley's early season availability in doubt, and for that matter, should his recovery take longer than expected there is a chance that Wiley could miss the entire season.

It's not that Wiley, a player that S.C. State head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough has compared to former Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards several times over, had big-time stats a season ago. In fact, after the Grambling game, Wiley didn't do much, finishing with 224 rushing yards and just 101 passing yards on 11 of 20 passing with no touchdowns and two interceptions.

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Savannah State and Tuskegee signs Beach High teammates

Teammates on Beach High School’s girls basketball and track and field teams, seniors Brianna Little and Alicia Champion sat side by side Thursday and secured their collegiate futures. Little signed to play basketball at nearby Savannah State University, while Champion will run track at Tuskegee University. “I’m very excited knowing that I will have the opportunity to play on the next level,” Little said. Champion received a greater financial package via a full academic scholarship, rather than accepting an athletic scholarship, to attend Tuskegee.

“I know without academics, you can’t go as far as you want in life,” Champion said. “Plus, running track is something I love. I try to do my best on the field and in the classroom.”

Little, a 5-foot-6 point guard, spent the first three seasons of her basketball career at Beach overshadowed by star teammates Khalilah Watson and Monique Willis. But in her senior year, Little flourished for the Bulldogs in a prominent role. Little averaged 18.3 points and 3.6 assists per game while using her speed and quickness defensively to disrupt and frustrate opposing teams while coming up with an average of five steals.

“Savannah State has come in and gotten, what I think is, a major D-I player,” Beach coach Ronald Booker said. “She has tremendous potential because you can teach a lot of things, but you cannot teach the quickness she possesses. And she finishes well at the basket and she shoots the ball well.”

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Former Howard Bison Elected Mayor of Trenton, NJ

Honorable Tony Mack, Mayor-Trenton, New Jersey

Former Mercer County Freeholder Tony Mack, was elected the next mayor of Trenton, New Jersey following Tuesday’s convincing runoff victory over Manuel “Manny’’ Segura. Born and raised in the Wilbur section of the city, Mack captured 7,257 votes (62.24 percent), compared to 4,375 (37.52 percent) for Segura.

Mack, a former three-sports student-athlete at Howard University graduated from the Hilltop in 1989, and was a member of the football, wrestling and baseball teams from 1984-88. The HU Hall of Fame inductee played baseball under former head coach Chuck Hinton. He wrestled under former wrestling coach and current Howard alumni trustee, Dr. Paul Cotton. Mack played football under former head coach and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Willie Jeffries. Mack was also a teammate of current Bison director of athletics, Charles Gibbs. He was a member of the 1987 football team that won the MEAC title and finished 9-1.

Mack will succeed Douglas H. Palmer, whose 20-year run as mayor officially comes to an end when Mack is sworn in July 1.

“I do not have the words to express my appreciation for the love and support I have received throughout this incredible journey,” Mack told his supporters at the Trenton Marriott Downtown. “The Wilbur section wasn’t New York, but the sentiment was that if you could make it there, you could make it anywhere. This is a humbling experience for me. We are going to put you first in everything we do … and I mean that. Things did not deteriorate overnight, and we can not fix it overnight. But we can get started right away.”